1. So You Want to be a Chairwoman/man?
David H. Song, MD, MBA, FACS
Regional Chief, MedStar Health Plastic Surgery
Professor and Chairman
Department of Plastic Surgery
Georgetown University School of Medicine

2. Disclosures Biomet Microfixation – developer of SternaLock®
Elsevier – Plastic Surgery 3e, 4e
Editor of Volume IV
Healthengine – Chief Medical Officer

3. Bio – Education/Training
UCLA Med School
University of Chicago
General Surgery
Plastic Surgery
Microsurgery
Booth School of Business (Strategy/Marketing)

4. Bio - Employment University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Assistant Professor
Section Chief of Plastic Surgery
Associate Professor
Professor
Vice-Chairman, Dept. of Surgery
Cynthia Chow Endowed Professor
Associate Dean for CME
MedStar Health Regional Chief 2017-
Professor and Chairman, Department of Plastic Surgery, Georgetown University School of Medicine

5. Why Move? University of Chicago Medicine MedStar Health…..
One Acute Care Hospital – 500 beds
PRS: 1/10 Sections in the Dept. of Surgery
Integrated PRS residency 2/year
Zaccone Family Microsurgery Fellowship
MedStar Health…..

6. Largest Health System in Mid-Atlantic

7. Largest Health System in Mid-Atlantic 10 Acute Care Hospitals

8. MedStar Health MedStar Institute of Plastic Surgery 3 Divisions:
Podiatric Surgery
Center for Wound Care/Limb Salvage/HBOT
Plastic Surgery: Aesthetic, Breast, Pediatric, Micro, Hand
Department: Georgetown University SOM
Integrated PRS residency - 18 residents
Podiatric Residency – 24 residents
WoundCare/Limb Salvage fellowship

9. MedStar Health Future Goals
MedStar Institute of Plastic Surgery
Growth:
Addition of faculty
Addition of resident compliment
Addition of microsurgery fellowship
MedStar Health Research Institute
Increase Extramural funding
Systemwide integration of Health Services Research
Outcomes
Cost Effectiveness
Clinical Innovation

10. Section/Division To Department Things to consider
”All Politics is local” – Tip O’Neill
University of Chicago –
Except Ortho/Optho, ALL service lines are Sections of the Department
A Department of PRS would have to compete against the larger Department of Surgery
Resource pool would be limited if PRS would have become a Department
Growth is tethered…but slumps in business are backstopped
Faculty and staff hiring decisions…multiple layers of checks
MedStar Health –
Very different structure
Untethered growth across the system wide Department (without walls) with 3 distinct divisions
Tax structure more favorable
Autonomy for all decisions (but also full responsibility)
Faculty and staff hiring decisions…Full autonomy

11. Section/Division To Department Things to consider
”Not All Departments are created equal”
Checklist
Governance and reporting structure
Peer departments assessment
Tax structure
Infrastructure considerations (finances, IT, academic, research, HR)
Compensation plan (centralized vs. within the purview of the Chair
Climate survey
Vision and strategy alignment with the Med Center and/or University
Med Center owned by University vs. stand alone
E.g. Growth of cosmetic surgery as a plus, minus or neutral ?
Who leads negotiations with 3rd party payors
Weighted value of the tri-partite mission?

12. Section/Division To Department Things to consider
Due Diligence
Call the previous Chair, other chairs in the institution, key faculty, residents, nurses, admin.
Study the institutions 990 form and recent annual reports
Background check of all admin. staff and C-suite
Self Reflection
Do you really want this?
Family/Lifestyle considerations
Goal Setting
100 day goal
Vision and mission
Strategic plan
Create and define metrics…then share them

13. Section/Division To Department Things to consider
Seek Advice and Help: -Colleagues -AAPS/ACAPS/ASPS etc. -Past Chairs -Current Chairs -Business Contacts outside of Medicine

14. Thank You and Best of Luck!