Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

SECTION I: T MINUS THREE YEARS Role definitions: Board of Directors: The board of directors is responsible for strategic and generative thinking about the organization and its mission, including vision and goals. It also encompasses oversight of the organization’s functions; first and foremost its quality of patient care and, at a close second, its financial sustainability. The governing body has a fiduciary obligation to provide safe and high-quality care to the patients who seek health services from the organization. If the hospital is a 501(c)3 not-for- profit — as most hospitals are — the governing body also has a responsibility to improve the health of the community, often called “community health need” and “community benefit.” Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Responsible for quality of care and fiscal responsibility, including: Providing information and support systems Providing recruitment and retention services Providing physical and financial assets Identifying a nurse leader at the executive level who participates in decision making Representing the hospital in the community Speaking for thehospital inmatters of regulatory, legislative and accreditation issues Chief Operating Officer (COO): Responsible for the day-to-day operations (staffing, resourcing, service, plant and clinical equipment) of the hospital. Chief Finance Officer (CFO): Responsible for the registration and billing of patients, negotiations with third-party payers, and management of all issues related to the balance sheet of the hospital (debt structuring, investment management, accounts payable, etc.). ChiefMedicalOfficer (CMO)/Vice PresidentMed- ical Affairs (VPMA): Responsible for the effective organization of themedical staff structure, including the medical executive committee; together with the CNO, assures the quality of care provided and patient safety. Chief Quality Officer (CQO): Responsible for lead- ing the quality improvement staff and working with the board-level quality committee to ensure that the organization has allocated necessary resources towards data infrastructure and change management expertise in order to successfully improve quality of care on a continual basis, and that the metrics being tracked show a realistic picture of the organization’s quality record. (Note: In forward-thinking hospitals and health systems, the CFO, CMO/VPMA, and CQO work very closely together.) Chief Nursing Officer (CNO): Responsible for the effective organization of the professional nursing structure; together with the CMO/VPMA, assures the quality of care provided and patient safety. Chief Information Officer (CIO): Responsible for building and maintaining efficient, cost-effective, and secure clinical and business information technology networks to support the day-to-day and strategic needs of the hospital. Medical Staff: Oversees the quality of care, treat- ment and services provided by those individuals with clinical privileges; self-governing but account- able to the governing body, who approves the medical staff structure and clinical privilege criteria, which conforms to medical staff guiding principles. There is a single organized medical staff unless criteria are met for an exception to the single medical staff requirement. CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 102