Leaders across the nation are noticing a new trend — physicians seem less willing and interested in taking on roles beyond their clinical work.
Traditionally, physicians have balanced full-time clinical loads with extra responsibility as a leader or educator.
“But as people and the workforce have evolved, there’s a growing understanding: if you’re going to commit to something and do it well, you need dedicated time to focus on it,” Michael White, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Valleywise Health in Phoenix, told Becker’s. “As they assume leadership and educational roles, they want those responsibilities to be part of their identity and integrated into their day-to-day work. That’s different from how these roles have historically been structured.”
The increased interest in work-life balance for medical professionals has also contributed to younger physicians declining extra responsibilities.
“There’s a separation now between their passion for healthcare and their desire for work-life balance,” Nariman Heshmati, MD, chief physician and operations executive at Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Physician Group, told Becker’s. “What hasn’t changed is physicians’ deep commitment to patient care and to the healthcare system.”
Here’s what leaders are seeing and how they can respond to this trend.
The trend
At many systems, residents and new physicians seem uninterested in leadership, teaching and even committee responsibilities. But it looks a little different in each system.
For Valleywise, “I see it applying to any role we’re asking clinicians to take on that isn’t direct patient care,” Dr. White said.
At Lee Physician Group, leadership roles are hard to fill. There are also fewer people interested in teaching, but those who are motivated make it work.
“Part of that is because it aligns more naturally with clinical practice,” Dr. Heshmati said. “They’re already seeing patients so why not take on a medical student or a resident? The main concern I hear with teaching is efficiency. People worry that teaching might reduce the number of patients they can see.”
There’s a similar trend at Penn Medicine Doylestown (Pa.) Health, where younger physicians are striving to achieve work-life balance. However, in achieving that balance many become less interested in leadership, since it “seems more like administration, and most younger physicians are uninterested,” Sean Reinhardt, MD, vice president and chief medical officer at the system, told Becker’s. Yet the personal fulfillment derived from teaching still inspires physicians to set into the role.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was the only system to tell Becker’s they are not seeing a decline in leadership or teaching interest. Instead, the amount of interest is so high they have introduced leadership development, residents as teachers and advanced skill in medical education curriculum to their residency program, Joseph St. Geme III, MD, physician-in-chief and chair of the department of pediatrics at CHOP, told Becker’s.
How to get physicians interested
Making leadership and teaching roles more attractive starts in a few ways:
1. Dr. White: “As current healthcare leaders, we need to think carefully about how we delegate work, ensure responsibilities are met, and find innovative ways to support these evolving roles — all while continuing to meet the patient care needs across our organizations. We have to make it a rewarding opportunity, not just one more thing we’re asking them to take on. We need to help them see how they, individually, can make a meaningful difference and give them the tools to succeed in doing that.”
2. Dr. Heshmati: “We’ve moved away from ‘this is the way it must be done’ to ‘let’s explore the different ways we can do this and find what works best.’ As it becomes harder to fill these roles, flexibility is key. You’ll have some people who want to fully dedicate themselves to leadership. Others might want a mix: some clinical, some leadership. Others still might want to split time between teaching and administration. Some may want to go part-time but still contribute across those domains. As long as the work gets done, as long as they’re helping lead, caring for patients, and contributing to system design — it works. Flexibility isn’t just acceptable anymore; it’s necessary to attract talent. Everyone has limited time and energy, and we have to make a compelling case for why some of that should be dedicated to leadership.”
3. Dr. Reinhardt: “You have to take a tailored approach and meet each physician where they are – if they are interested in teaching, find them satisfying teaching roles. The same goes for leadership. Both sets of people are out there, and you just have to find them. In addition, the system needs to find creative ways to incentivize these activities so that they don’t detract from patient care or compensation.”
4. Dr. Geme: “First and foremost, physician leaders can model the joy that they experience in association with leadership responsibilities and with teaching. In addition, leaders can emphasize the importance of leadership and teaching roles in delivering high-quality patient care and developing future generations of physicians. Leaders can also develop innovative programs to introduce trainees to leadership and teaching, aiming to stimulate interest in these areas.”
