|
|
December 2007 - Leadership Training: Central to SOM Mission
|
Stony Brook University School of Medicine is a growing and changing entity. The 2007/08 first year class is the largest ever (116 students), our curriculum continues to change with new clerkships and additional clinical skills training, and more than 40 new faculty have joined the Medical Center in 2007. With growth comes the need to build mid-level faculty leadership. This is an important step to increasing departmental research, professional development, and creative ways to train future physicians.
Members of my Leadership Advisory Group have embarked on a journey this academic year that will optimize their talents and abilities in leadership roles. Each is participating in the School of Medicine Advisory Group Leadership Academy, which began as a two-day retreat in early October. The program continues with six leadership training sessions, scheduled until mid-April. Some of the themes of these sessions include “Inspiring a Shared Vision,” “Modeling the Way,” and “Enabling Others to Act.”
In addition to leadership training, this select faculty group (19 individuals) makes suggestions and offers advice on proposed activities of the Medical Center. They are assisting me in the formulation of Medical Center policies, such as pharmaceutical company access, improving intra and interdepartmental collaboration, and increasing diversity. They are also helping to create job descriptions and performance evaluations for clinical personnel and looking at ways to increase time and resources for professional development.
I have charged the group to transmit the leadership lessons and other information they learn to their colleagues, junior and senior faculty alike. The intent of this communication is to spur faculty-wide interest in the importance of leadership training and to create a more cohesive interdepartmental network of shared information, ideas, and goals.
The School of Medicine needs strong mid-level leadership to meet expectations now and in the future. One goal is to become a global institutional leader in discovering better diagnostics and therapeutics during the post-genomic era of medicine. The ingredients for this goal are present within the School of Medicine, as exemplified in this issue of Medical Center News.
The issue highlights interdisciplinary work of researchers from multiple departments, includes information on new technologies for genomic and proteomic research, and describes the purpose of the coming STAR Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering. The STAR Center, a university-wide enterprise for translational research, broke ground in September.
It will take leadership skills from mid-level faculty to harness our expertise and resources to reach our goals. It will take leadership to manage a faculty network that builds bridges to other departments, as well as other university disciplines. And it will take leadership to inspire a shared vision for all our endeavors, whether they involve goals in research, clinical care, or education.
© Copyright 2007 by Medical Center News
Top of Page
|
|
