Leadership Development and Mentorship

BY DR. SUHAIL RAOOF, FCCP
Incoming ACCP President

“Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.” –Longfellow

One such indelible footprint has been left in the lives of many in the pulmonary/critical care community by Dr. Dorothy A. White, FCCP. She was a gifted clinician, a clear thinker, and a prolific writer who worked at Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Living in New York, I had heard of her excellence and had read her scholarly papers on a vast array of subjects, especially on lung infections in immunocompromised hosts and chemotherapyrelated pulmonary toxicity. Her colleagues, Drs. Neil Halpern and Diane Stover, describe her as an exceptional doctor who was able to extract a maze of information from the most complicated cases and distill from it what was relevant and important; she was the ultimate diagnostician. Above all, they spoke of a kind and gentle soul who was the consummate teacher, a person who taught her fellows artfully and supplemented their knowledge with her vast knowledge and body of experience. During all her years of mentoring, she was never demeaning or condescending to her junior colleagues. Unfortunately, she died in September 2010, but she left behind a legacy that will long be remembered.

Dr. Robert Lee is a young faculty member who joined the MSKCC team and took over Dr. White’s patients. His insights about her are very moving and touched hundreds of individuals who had gathered in homage of Dr. White. His first sentence, “I never met you, nor heard you speak…” attracted the attention of all. He talks about the profound impact Dorothy had on his life. She was his mentor “in absentia.” She became a guiding star in his life, as he sought to emulate what she did or would have done in different situations.

Dr. Lee’s words highlight the power of mentorship. Inspiring mentorship has the power to guide others to advance their careers and to develop to their full potential. Mentorship extends broadly to encompass values and virtues that a person may imbibe from a teacher or a colleague.

The ACCP is an institution that brings professionals together at different stages of their careers., Hence, it has the potential to instill an effective mentorship development process for the entire cross section of its membership.

In order for this process to have a meaningful impact on members, it should be multitiered. This is best exemplified by sharing some of the e-mails and conversations we have had this year from the following ACCP-and non-ACCP-associated people:

Students, Residents, and Fellows
Mr. Paul Markowski, ACCP’s Executive Vice President and CEO, was approached by medical students, residents, and fellows at New York Methodist Hospital. Medical students requested that a link be set up on the College Web site to provide them with information, such as the spectrum of services covered under pulmonary medicine, the lifestyle, the usual pay scale, and the percentage of applicants who are accepted into pulmonary and critical care training programs. They sought the assistance of volunteer mentors from the College who could provide answers to their specific questions. Some medical students wanted to talk to physicians in academic and private practices and get a snapshot of “a day in their lives.” One senior clinical fellow stated, “I am graduating in less than 1 year from my fellowship training. I aspire to become the President of the ACCP in 10 years. How can I get involved with the College from this stage onward, and how can the College help me to realize this dream?”

Recent Graduates From Fellowships and New FCCPs
A young physician in academic medicine had attempted to get involved with sleep networks of several societies, including the ACCP Sleep Medicine NetWork. After waiting around for several months, he became disappointed and almost resentful. He inferred that to get a break, he would need “someone from within the College to get him in.” On occasion, senior members of the College saw their junior faculty members exhibiting exceptional dedication or expertise in their areas of work or interest. Such young faculty members hold the promise of the leaders of tomorrow. It is only appropriate that they be involved in the College from an early stage and be groomed for leadership roles for which they may demonstrate an aptitude.

General Membership and, Particularly, Those in Private Practice
As a College, it is our responsibility to inculcate leadership skills in our general membership. Such skills will equip our members to assume leadership positions in their hospitals and areas of influence. This aspect was clearly enunciated at our recent Board of Regents meeting.

Existing Leaders of the College
Another type of pressing need emerged in the summer months when nominations for ACCP leadership positions were being considered. Several members, selected for leadership roles, were unaware of what was expected of them. Their evaluations indicated delinquencies in participation in board meetings and conference calls. Their lack of involvement was perceived as lack of interest.

Hence, it was recommended, not surprisingly, that these individuals be replaced with others who demonstrate greater interest in College activities. Talking to some of these individuals revealed a very different story. Not having gone through a formal orientation for their committee assignments, they were not aware of what was expected of them. Not being acquainted with many of the individuals on their conference calls, and not being as well-versed as most with the issues being discussed, they did not announce their presence and were reluctant to actively participate in conference calls. As this is probably a common occurrence among our leadership, we need a solution to this type of quandary.

ACCP Staff and International Members
One ACCP international member, encouraged by his presentation of a “Case Puzzler” at CHEST 2010, wrote to us about his interest in getting involved in ACCP international leadership. “Please help me and guide me,” he wrote.

And finally, since we have almost 90 staff members working at the College, many for much of their professional life, it behooves us to provide them with similar opportunities for leadership development at the College.

Plan of Action
For all the above reasons, the importance of launching leadership development within the College cannot be overemphasized. A supple ad hoc committee, consisting of young leaders of the College, physicians in private practice, a few ACCP Past Presidents, and staff, has been established. The group is chaired by Dr. Lisa Moores, FCCP.

This ad hoc committee considered the following action items:
•Setting up a mechanism whereby trainees and young faculty are aligned with senior faculty or mentors with similar professional or research interests.
•Exploring how to utilize the new IT capabilities of the College that are being put into place. With these expanded capabilities, the College can be in a better position to provide additional opportunities for those outside of existing leadership to get involved in the activities of the College and engage with one another.
•Implementing orientation courses for all new ACCP leaders each year. This may include an online component covering the structure, mission, and operations of the College, including general topics pertinent to leadership and governance, and a face-to-face meeting specific to the committees on which that individual will serve.
•Designing an introductory and advanced leadership development course every year at CHEST, with an option to procure a “certificate of completion.” An option to advance, annually, the skills acquired through these courses, needs to be developed. Programs and education will address the needs of different career levels. Targeted leadership development training will be provided for existing leaders at the spring governance meeting.
•Involving College leadership, including the Board of Regents, Membership Committee, Governors, Past Presidents, and NetWorks, to act as mentors for the junior ACCP members. Explore expanding opportunities for new FCCPs and members of the College to have roundtable conferences in open NetWork meetings and to interact with leadership at various functions during the annual meeting and other regional opportunities throughout the year.
•Requesting the International Governors and Regents to identify junior colleagues in their regions who possess leadership qualities and who may benefit from leadership development programs offered by the College. Such young international leaders may be considered for moderating sessions at CHEST and playing a meaningful role in the all-new “global” track, highlighting sessions with an international focus, at annual CHEST meetings.

The ad hoc committee has had a conference call, as well as a face-to-face meeting at ACCP headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois. It was gratifying to see the enthusiasm, experience, pragmatic approach, and desire to methodically implement this project in phases in a manner that will impact the culture of the College in a cogent and tangible way. We look forward to the committee’s leadership role in this leadership development project. Dr. Darcy Marciniuk, incoming President-Elect, has also pledged to continue implementation of leadership development and mentorship in his year of presidency.

Thank you, Dr. White and Dr. Lee, for strengthening our resolve to launch leadership development and mentorship within our College.