Viewpoint

GIR Introduces New Leadership Resource

By A. Jerome York
Vice President and CIO, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio

The inaugural GIR Leadership Institute (GLI), in Park City, Utah, was a great success! We were fortunate to have recruited an excellent faculty who provided useful content while incorporating interactive tasks to help the fellows develop team and leadership skills. This first class didn't shy away from becoming partners in the development of the Institute and freely shared their thoughts on what worked and what could be improved. Overall everyone was pleased with the level of content, the knowledgeable faculty and the diversity of hands on learning opportunities. Participants brought a wide variety of expertise from medical informatics and educational technology to clinical applications and research systems.

The program provided a rich array of learning tools beginning with reading assignments and completion of self assessment surveys. This provided the fellows with specific content about academic health centers (AHC), medical schools, teaching hospitals and about themselves, which enhanced their learning and participation during the sessions. At the Institute, the fellows explored the cultural and organizational characteristics of academic medical centers.

Pat Skarulis, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, opened the program with an overview of successful leadership styles and moderated a panel of medical school CIOs sharing leadership lessons. David Damassa, Tufts University School of Medicine, covered the changing landscape of medical education and the challenge this presents to faculty and those that support new teaching tools. Jim McNamee, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Mike Kienzle, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, delved into the many facets of research from how the money flows and the movement from PI to collaborative research to patents, intellectually property, IRBs and why they matter.

John Hutton, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, wowed everyone with his inside look at the relationship of the clinical side of the house with education and research. He then took them even deeper into the administrative world with his thoughts on the role of the dean within the medical school.

Beyond the cultural education there were several sessions that provided hands on learning experiences and take home tools. Jenifer Jarriel, Baylor College of Medicine, provided several exercises to assist with project planning, engaging the right people and understanding how personalities influence projects. Wayne Thompson, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, gave an engaging presentation on shared governance and how to include the right people. He gave several examples of governance models and explained how institutional goals and needs influence selecting a model that works best. Mary Alice Annecharico, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, facilitated a discussion with the faculty and fellows about the role of partnerships in managing the IT portfolio and provided tips on building successful relationships.

The fellows also worked on several team projects one of which was to develop a solution for a case study which they presented at the end of the program. Everyone had a great time at the institute gaining valuable knowledge from each other and the faculty. We are looking forward to next year's Institute and are grateful to our fellows and faculty for making this inaugural Institute such a rewarding experience.

GIR 2006 Leadership Institute Program (PDF, 9 pages)