Program coordinator succession planning
I’m on the verge of being coordinator-less. One of coordinators has taken a position in the GME office.
We have about 100 internal medicine residents, and I oversee all of the administrative functions of the department, including several coordinators. So, it’s up to me to make sure the baton gets passed from my old coordinator to the new one as smoothly as possible.
While I always knew this was a possibility, the reality is a much starker landscape than I had imagined. My initial thoughts included the following:
- “Of course I totally support your pursuing this fabulous opportunity!” (Translation: How dare you leave me?)
- “We’ll need to spend a little time reviewing your current duties to make sure I’m up to speed on everything you have going on.” (Translation: OMG! I have no idea exactly what you’re doing these days.)
- “Let’s brainstorm a little bit about who will be responsible for what while you transition.” (Translation: I sure hope the chiefs realize they’re going to have to do all the scheduling for awhile.)
- “With some advance planning and a lot of communication, we’ll be just fine until we can hire a new person and get him or her up to speed!” (Translation: Maybe I should find a new job too. This is going to be really painful)
Once I got through the paralysis, I started making lists. Then I started drawing lines and circles and arrows. After a brief pause to panic, I posted the job and started weighing the pros and cons of stealing a current coordinator or training someone new from scratch.
The overarching lessons of all of this are:
- None of us is irreplaceable
- It’s always good to do a little cross training. . .just in case
- Keeping job descriptions and duties up to date keeps you from having to completely start from scratch
- Whether you’re one of several coordinators in a department or you’re running the show by yourself, it’s a good idea to put mechanisms in place so that if you do leave, the newbie won’t be as lost
That being said, does anyone want to relocate to Charlottesville, Virginia next week?
I would love (translation: I am begging) to hear what succession plans you readers have put into place. Do you do anything now, such as create lists, files, manuals, so that new coordinators have a guide? For those of you who manage other coordinators, what do you do to get all the information in the old coordinator’s head into the new one?
Any help would be appreciated!
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Diane Farineau
Diane W. Farineau is the director of administration for graduate medical educational and faculty affairs at the University of Virginia Health System in the Department of Medicine.
Diane has written 35 posts.
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I was one of those Program Administrators who recently took a job in the GME office. I transitioned for 3 months and worked part-time (in theory!) for each office.
I created a task list for the new program administrator identifying the task, the due date, notes on where she could locate the information. That has now become a roadmap for the position and all she has to do is to update that list to keep it current for each year. The duties are very cyclical and easily lends itself to that type of task timeline. If she leaves, it’s a good resource already in place.
Since I am working for the same institution, I also made myself available to the new program administrator for questions and assistance when needed. This allowed for a very smooth transition.
using Microsoft One Note is an excellent resource to create an electronic notebook that is a hands on manual
I have been a program coordinator for about 8 years now. I remember my first year very well. Every meeting, every word related to fellowship really sounded like,,blah,blah…blah,blah blah….
With good advise from a fellow coordinator, I read the ACGME website top to bottom with relation to my program. Then I actually read it two more times. Finally, it all started to make sense. I would honestly say this is a 3 -5 year learning process. Anyone can do the paperwork or make binders, but it truly took years to fully understand every aspect of being a coordinator. With the help of a Program Director, fresh out of residency and fellowship, she and I became a powerhouse in running the program. I guess my point is, read, read, read as a start. Then I began networking with other program coordinators I met at a conference. This was invaluable. I have since taken another position within the hospital as an Exec. Sec. because Program Coord. do not rank high on a pay scale sadly. Luckly another program in the hospital needed a coordinator and hired me part-time on my own to do their program. I love doing this and now will not lose all that I invested to learn it.I wish I could apply but moving alittle further south hopefully. Best of luck to you.
When I started this fellowship coordinator position as a temp in April ‘05, I knew nothing. They had gone through 3 secretaries before me and there was very little info to go. I too, read through the ACGME website so that I could get a time line. I think that made it so much easier which under the added demands of an internal site visit were many.
Best wishes to the one looking for a coordinator. (I’d relocate to either Texas, Florida or near VA, in DC.)
I started as general surgery coordinator in August of last year. The coordinator prior to me has been here for 20 years and is still in the same department. She already has a great system in place, the only problem is, it’s not on paper so I constantly find myself asking her questions.
My plan of action is to create work instructions on how to complete a task and how that task ties into ACGME requirements. I hope by doing this I will familirize my self not only with the task but the requirements as well. Having an auditing back ground I have learned it is always better to have something in writing, lets face it memory is not as reliable as we would like it to be.
Good Morning Diane ~ Been there, done that, earned a few stripes. Here are a few things I learned along the way.
1. Stay calm
2. Communicate to all parties involved that we are going throught the transition period (i.e., please stay calm…)
3. Focus on deadlines (ACGME site visits, internal reviews, resident surveys, etc.). Enlist (augment) other coordinators to assist you in the transition process ($$$ talk).
4. Split your time and dedicate x amt. of time to your role and that of a coordinator. Keep your boundaries to prevent burn-out.
5. Lean on the GME community (us). We’re all here to help each other!!!!
I’ll email you off-line with a few other resources (too numerous to name here).
Hi Sharon could you please share your task list with us if possible. We are in transistion too and that will surely help us
K.K
YOU ALL ROCK!!!! Thanks so much for all the great feedback!
Diane
Hi All ~ Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way. Should you like additional info, email me at sallyann@umn.edu
1.Secure passwords, codes, access information w/out-going coordinator (GME databases, pass to phone, computer, etc.).
2.Identify where program information resides (electronically and hardcopy) on all facets of program with outgoing residency/fellowship coordinator.
3.Identify where the history of program resides (i.e., ACGME letters, citation response letters, etc.)
4.Review orientation schedule for incoming residents/fellows and graduation events for out-going residents fellows. These events occur annually and tend to get lost in the shuffle.
5.Determine dates for upcoming internal/external reviews and status of PIF should a site visit be coming in the next few months.
6.Communicate to all involved parties (i.e., email) the transition and list a contact person for them to turn to in the transition.
7.Turn off access to computer systems on coordinators final day (nothing punitive yet for security reasons).
8.Determine what amount of time you can dedicate to the transitioning office (I did ½ days) and then stick to the schedule.
9.Recruit other coordinators in the area to assist with on-boarding new residents/fellows, surveys, credentialing, etc. Remember to augment those who will be assisting you in the transition.
10.Keep the PD and CR updated on a weekly basis (meet with them) and enlist their assistance during the transition and hiring.
Hi, Diane,
Please send your new coordinator to the annual meeting that is held for Internal Medicine Residency Administrators/Coordinators. I’m a Family Medicine Program Manager, and I attend the annual Residency Program Solutions Conference every year in Kansas City. That was a tremendous help to me when I was new and still is 7.5 years later. If there’s a list serve through the ABIM for coordinators, get her signed up as a member so she may have that service. I am part of AFMA’s list serve group, and I network with people from around the U.S. almost on a daily basis. I have learned so much from the list serve — I don’t know what I would do without it.
As mentioned above, make sure she has all the sign on information for your annual updates the program does if she is in charge of doing that as a lot of coordinators are. Make sure she knows where there’s a hard copy or e-copy of old internal reviews and site reviews to refer to if that will be part of her job duties as I’m sure the PD will ask her to produce them for internal review/upcoming site visit preparation. (Just finished my internal review information packet today – whoa, load off of my shoulders!)
Make sure she is trained on ERAS and knows the password for this assuming your organization uses that for resident recruitment.
You could ask another IM Program of which you are familiar with if the PD would mind letting their Coordinator be your new Coordinator’s mentor. I have mentored a couple new coordinators via email and phone.
It’s amazing how much support there is out there for Coordinators! Good Luck!
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