Deans and deaning in a changing world

Much has been written about the threats to medical schools and teaching hospitals, but less attention has been given to what these changes mean to the individuals who lead these institutions. In the belief that the quality of leadership of academic medical centers, especially medical schools, will help determine the future of these institutions, the author assesses the situation of deans today. He first discusses the dramatic decrease in the tenures of deans over the last 20 years and reviews the evidence for some of the possible reasons that this has happened, such as possible changes in the personal characteristics of deans (not a factor), their salaries (not a factor), the inflated titles and increasing power of deans, and the greatly expanded sites of the operations that deans now govern (caused by the enormous increase in the health care establishment and corresponding increases in medical schools). However, the author maintains that these reasons do not sufficiently account for the "administrative distress" that has affected the deanery. Causes for such distress include expectations that are too high, a constituency that is too broadly based, the dean's stunted intellectual life, unreasonable boundaries, a level of authority not commensurate with responsibility, and a faculty prone to second-guessing. The author concludes by stating that the dean must set the agenda for action by the medical school, indicates some main items of that agenda (such as promoting diversity in the physician workforce), and then offers a variety of "personal tips" to help deans survive, such as getting a good administrative assistant, talking to people one-on-one, and following up on whatever one does. He ends on a lighter note with advice to deans for personal survival, such as taking breaks, rationing travel, and planning for life after deaning.