Equipping Section Chiefs to Enhance Operational Wellbeing: Implementing Annual Orientation Retreats

Section Chiefs in academic radiology departments are asked to manage operations across many domains beyond radiology or medicine, to lead and unite diverse faculty groups, and to represent the vision of the Chair and Vice Chairs to section members. In addition to carrying out policies and supporting departmental culture, Section Chiefs represent their section to the department and institution. Yet, in many cases, the path to this role may not include the requisite training or experiences for optimal performance, and Section Chiefs may not be provided with the broad information to carry out these duties. This paper presents the need for, and aims of, annual clinical Section Chief orientation retreats. Retreat goals include optimizing the effectiveness, performance, and confidence of Section Chiefs, to the benefit of both their section members and the department. We describe the program format and detail elements of the Section Chief retreat we created at our large hybrid academic and community radiology department.