Hiring top-notch Physician Managers can be especially challenging considering that their primary training is rooted in medicine and not in business. This makes knowing what to look for in a potential hire even more important, as they can lack the managerial training necessary to be the most effective manager for your organization.

Important Factors to Consider

To help enhance your Physician Manager screening process, you may want to consider some enlightening results from a King Saud University study regarding Physician Managers and their management training needs.

• Most Candidates Lack Specific Management Training Few if any Physician Managers have a degree in management, let alone specific training regarding the administrative tasks they will perform in their new position.
• They Want Training 93% of Physician Managers surveyed reported an interest in receiving relevant training to help them effectively execute their job.

The Top 4 Weaknesses of Physician Managers You Need to Look For

1. Financial Management Skills - When Physicians were asked to rate the areas they felt the most deficient in, financial management topped the list. Skills related to making budgets and managing the finances were felt to be most problematic and in need of improvement.
2. Strategic Planning - Another top problem area for many Physicians relates to the formulation and planning of organizational strategies. Many felt that they did not have the relevant training or background to best formulate the strategies necessary to address their organization's needs.
3. IT Utilization - It's not surprising that IT utilization is a stumbling block for many Physicians who spend the majority of their time focused on clinical care and not IT issues. Many Physicians endorsed the need for assistance when it comes to harnessing new technologies in order to effectively manage their organization.
4. Quality Control - Instituting measures to ensure that quality healthcare is delivered in an organization while also keeping an eye on the bottom line can be a big ask for someone with no QC training. This makes focusing on QC learning opportunities for Physician Managers especially beneficial when boosting both the productivity and quality of these organizational leaders.

The Best Approaches to Training

If you are interested in enhancing the skillsets of the Physician Managers you recruit, you need to consider what educational approaches work best for this group. When Physician Managers were asked, this group voiced a preference for training via workshops and discussions versus seminars and lectures.