How to assess doctor managers' managerial attitude: results from an e-Delphi process

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Behavior
• Medical Education

Background:

• Western healthcare systems, including Italy's, have reformed significantly since the 1990s.
• New doctor-manager roles emerged, blending clinical and managerial duties.
• Doctor-managers often lack formal training and face conflicts between clinical and economic goals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define new evaluation dimensions for managerial attitude.
• To enhance the existing Cicchetti Scale.
• To develop a new tool assessing doctor-managers' required managerial competencies in Italy.

Main Methods:

• Updated Cicchetti's 2005 scale for contemporary healthcare challenges.
• Conducted a scoping review of 24 key articles.
• Performed thematic analysis using NVivo, identifying 171 items.
• Refined items into a 61-item Health Middle Manager Competencies Scale.
• Evaluated the scale via a Delphi panel e-survey and Cronbach's alpha for reliability.

Main Results:

• A 61-item Competencies Scale for Middle Managers of Health was finalized.
• The Delphi panel validated the scale's relevance and significance.
• The scale demonstrated acceptable reliability, confirmed by Cronbach's alpha.
• The new scale encompasses essential competencies for healthcare middle managers.

Conclusions:

• The study offers insights into doctor-managerial attitudes.
• Contributed to updating Cicchetti's Scale.
• Developed a new tool to assess essential managerial attitude components for contemporary doctor-managers.