RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Physician leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic: an emphasis on the team, well-being and leadership reasoning
JF BMJ Leader
JO BMJ Leader
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 20
OP 25
DO 10.1136/leader-2020-000344
VO 5
IS 1
A1 Taylor C. Standiford
A1 Kavya Davuluri
A1 Nicole Trupiano
A1 David Portney
A1 Larry Gruppen
A1 Alexandra H. Vinson
YR 2021
UL http://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/5/1/20.abstract
AB Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many aspects of normal operations in academic medicine. While effective leadership is always important, the intensity and urgency of COVID-19 challenged academic medicine leaders to find new ways to lead their institutions and manage their own experiences of the pandemic.Methods Sixteen physician leaders from Michigan Medicine took part in semistructured interviews during April and May 2020. Participants were asked open-ended questions about the attributes and techniques that were important to effectively lead during a crisis. The authors analysed the interviews using thematic analysis.Results Participants described three overarching themes of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) bringing together a diverse team with clear, shared goals; (2) using a range of strategies to tend to their teams’—as well as their own—well-being; and (3) engaging in leadership reasoning as a way of learning from others and reflecting on their own actions to inform their future leadership practice.Conclusion The results of this study reveal several salient themes of crisis leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also highlight the role of leadership reasoning, a reflective practice employed by leaders to understand and improve their leadership skills. This finding presents leadership skill development as part of lifelong learning in medicine. Findings may be incorporated into best practices and preparations to inform future healthcare leaders.No data are available.