Leadership

We aim to maintain a diverse leadership team in the Department of Surgery. This includes setting goals that significantly diversify all leadership positions in our department.

We are working improve retention rates by fully eliminating underrepresentation in departmental leadership. To achieve this, we are consulting with departmental leadership (section heads, associate chairs, and chair) to find novel ways to create an expanded structure of non-overlapping leadership positions within the department.

We partner with institutions across the country to provide early career faculty members with the opportunity to network, establish collaborations, disseminate their research, observe experts in their field perform procedures that are not currently provided at Michigan Medicine. These opportunities have traditionally been reserved for senior faculty. 

Participating institutions for this program include: MGH, Brigham and Women's, Florida, Dartmouth, Duke, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and the University of Alabama – Birmingham.

Since 2012, we have built and sustained a Leadership Development Program (LDP) within the Department of Surgery. The program has expanded from our original course for mid-career and senior surgeons to include additional courses that focus on leadership development for early career surgeons and residents, in addition to a virtual webinar series.

Our leadership development courses:

• Early Career Surgeon LDP: This course focuses on the leadership skills necessary to achieve professional and personal goals.
• Mid-Career to Senior Surgeon LDP: This course teaches surgeons about skills for institutional and professional society leadership.
• Resident LDP: This course prepares residents to take on leadership roles throughout their career, as they progress from trainee to surgeon.

Our goal is to maximize the unique potential and talents of each individual, as well as address challenges that they may face. Moreover, we strive to create a leadership structure that is diverse and reflects the differences in the world around us and our patients. For faculty members across all tracks, we have established a Leadership Development Committee. 

This committee is focused on:

• Reviewing faculty accomplishments annually to identify “high leadership potential” faculty
• Finding opportunities for Assistant and Associate-level faculty members
• Providing a tailored approach to sponsorship

Faculty members who are qualified and interested in being considered for future leadership roles will be matched to potential sponsors and opportunities, such as vice chair positions or the Junior Faculty Advisory Committee.