Administration in family medicine education: an academic quandary

Family medicine leadership is faced with the challenge of maintaining the progressive development of a new academic discipline. Academic administration has presented a dilemma to all fields, and there has been very limited training to assist administrators in academe. A survey of department chairmen and residency directors in family medicine determined that a high percentage of leaders have moved into their positions directly from practice or from faculty responsibilities. Predominant needs were in the areas of finance, external relationships, time management, and conflict intervention. There are several implications from this study which should be considered in the selection, training, and evaluation of academic family medicine administrators.