Hail to the chief: Chief resident training

By: Julie McCoy March 23rd, 2009

There’s no question that chief residents are a vital part of the management of the residency program. Whether your program has already selected next year’s chiefs or just starting the voting process, program directors and coordinators need to think about how they’re going to prepare chiefs for their new role.

I recently wrote an article in Residency Program Alert, which describes some of the different ways program leadership can set their chief residents up for success. Program directors can do the following:

Support the chief resident as a leader
Set clear expectations and responsibilities for the chief resident
Explain which issues you want to handle and which the chief should deal with
Include the chief resident at all residency-related meetings

Formal training sessions are another way to enhance the chief resident’s effectiveness. Many specialty societies or even institutional GME offices offer training on topics such as:

Time management
Leadership skills
Teaching skills
Conflict resolution

If your institution does not offer training specifically for chief residents and your budget doesn’t allow for travel, see if your chief resident can sit in on pertinent faculty development sessions offered by the hospital.

In many programs, the chief impacts many of the coordinator’s job functions. Coordinators should work closely with their chiefs to build a good working relationships. Get off on the right foot with these tips:

As soon as the new chiefs are elected, sit down with them and review your role and how the two of you will interact
Decide on the best method for communication: e-mails, pages, in person, etc.
Explain deadlines and the format in which you need different information from the chief resident
Recognize the chief resident for his or her hard work

What training do you give your rising chief residents? How do you get them up to speed before they start? How do you recognize your chief residents? Leave a comment below.

Comments(2) Program Management, RFS, Residency Program Alert, Resident Well Being

Comments

By Karla Hemesath on March 24th, 2009 at 10:07 am

Hi–We (institutional GME office) are in the midst of planning our first chief resident retreat scheduled in June. We tentatively are discussing issues such as conflict resolution, team leadership (using principles of Team STEPPS), and aspects of consult etiquette. We are still planning, but hope it will be successful. Would love to hear wisdom from others.

By Andrea Perseghin on March 24th, 2009 at 1:42 pm

Our institution offers a chief training. Something I think should definitely be added is information on crucial conversations – having to sit down with a colleague and authentically provide feedback about behavior or performance. This is a skill that all chief residents (and for that matter Program Directors and Coordinators) need training in.