Who leads America's hospitals?

A common perception in the field of health services administration is that increasing numbers of physicians and other degreed professionals are aspiring to and securing chief executive officer (CEO) positions in American hospitals. Numerous articles have reached this conclusion, yet empirical research is not available to support it. This article provides basic research to clarify the perceived influx of physicians, registered nurses, and doctoral degreed professionals into CEO positions for the years 1972, 1982, and 1983. This article identifies physician administrators by bed size, hospital service, and hospital control. It also identifies Ph. D. and RN administrators by bed size for the same years. This article identifies past and present trends of physician administrators in top level administrative positions and calls for additional research to delineate trends and implications throughout this decade and into the next.