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[Head of department--selected and trained as a leader?]
J Haffner1, F A Mürer, O G Aasland
1Kirurgisk avdeling Buskerud sentralsykehus, Drammen.
Background:
The importance of recruitment and leadership training for heads of hospital departments has been discussed for several years. We wanted to study how these heads were recruited, and to what extent they were trained for their leadership tasks.
Material And Methods:
Information was collected by a questionnaire; 567 out of 657 (86%) responded.
Results:
37% of the respondents had been interviewed before being appointed. In the interviews, most of them had been asked about leadership experience and training, a larger proportion among the heads of large departments (more than 99 employees) than small (less than 30 employees). 20% of the heads of small departments and 43% of heads of large departments had undergone leadership training at university level. 25% had spent more than one week per year during the last three years on additional training in leadership and administration compared to 81% on continuing medical education.
Interpretation:
The results indicate that employers place great importance on leadership training, whereas the heads of department appear to place more importance on continuing medical education.