Enhancing The Professional Culture Of Academic Health Science Centers

The future of basic and translational research in health care depends on the ability of large, complex health science centers to educate, discover new answers to complex problems, and operate in the service of the public good. So what ingredients are required for successful research in academic health science centers (AHSCs)? This volume presents a number of compelling, international stories about personal and professional investments in research activities as well as the challenges, opportunities, and satisfactions. Each chapter explores concepts for successful research with a focus on the ways communities of practice form and sustain themselves in this complex environment. They explore questions such as creating and sustaining community, promoting innovation, transitions in leadership, and cross-generation collaboration from a personal perspective. They also present a series of portraits of scientists at work: building relationships, supporting one another, and contributing to their fields of study in unique ways. Enhancing the Professional Culture of Academic Health Science Centers offers enlightening reading for researchers, administrators, and policy makers interested in present and future research activities in AHSCs, who will be inspired by narratives of perseverance, passion, generosity, and generativity that fuel research in the centers.

This inspiring new book weaves a web of stories focusing on people whose work in health professions education has touched the lives of others in very important ways. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of an education innovator and is supplemented by short reflections from those individuals whose lives have been changed as a result of that work. With a focus on the process of innovation, the book organically explores various phases from conceptualization, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination. Educators' Stories of Creating Enduring Change generates a deeper understanding of an individual's capacity for creating enduring change. It is ideal for all medical professions educators.

'Patient-centered care is really about finding the thread that connects us as human beings with our patients. Compassion, meaning, gratitude, joy, these are all aspects of that thread that we share. This thread is what connects us to one another in the best possible way...This book on leadership is all about how we, as leaders, can foster capacities that can help us, and our health-care communities, to be our best selves, together.' From the Preface This inspiring new book from the Culture, Context and Quality in Health Sciences Research, Education, Leadership and Patient Care Series directly confronts the challenging times in which the business of health care finds itself. With a specific focus on the concept of wisdom, it considers the critical role of leadership in fostering and developing culture in health care. Each of the chapters reflect a key component of wisdom and ways to nurture wisdom in both individuals and organizations. It features personal accounts, interviews, and case studies demonstrating the benefits of working together as one. Fully referenced and passionately written, this book offers practical solutions for healthcare educators and leaders at all levels.

In 2006 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, recognizing the need for a new impetus to encourage clinical and translational research. At the time it was very difficult to translate basic and clinical research into clinical and community practice; making it difficult for individual patients and communities to receive its benefits. Since its creation the CTSA Program has expanded, with 61 sites spread across the nation's academic health centers and other institutions, hoping to provide catalysts and test beds for policies and practices that can benefit clinical and translation research organizations throughout the country. The NIH contracted with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2012 to conduct a study to assess and provide recommendations on appropriateness of the CTSA Program's mission and strategic goals and whether changes were needed. The study was also address the implementation of the program by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) while exploring the CTSA's contributions in the acceleration of the development of new therapeutics. A 13-member committee was established to head this task; the committee had collective expertise in community outreach and engagement, public health and health policy, bioethics, education and training, pharmaceutical research and development, program evaluation, clinical and biomedical research, and child health research. The CTSA Program at NIH: Opportunities for Advancing Clinical and Translational Research is the result of investigations into previous program evaluations and assessments, open-session meetings and conference class, and the review of scientific literature. Overall, the committee believes that the CTSA Program is significant to the advancement of clinical and translational research through its contributions. The Program would benefit from a variety of revisions, however, to make it more efficient and effective.

The leadership and management of academic health centers present challenges as complex as any in the corporate environment. A consensus is emerging about their integrated mission of education, research and service, and this book, first published in 2005 and focusing on value-driven management, provides a truly comprehensive review of these issues available. Based on reports produced by the Blue Ridge Academic Health Group, which has developed a framework for meeting the challenges of improving health in the 21st century, it also contains invited commentaries and case studies from leading authorities in and beyond the United States. It identifies the public policies and organizational practices required to maximise the health status of individuals and the population, and highlights innovative practices. It is essential reading for managers and leaders of clinical and basic science departments in academic health centers, and for all those involved in health systems management studies.

Academic Health Science Centers are complex organizations with three principal functions: the education of the next generation of health professionals; the conduct of biomedical and clinical research that leads to new treatments and approaches to disease; and the delivery of comprehensive and advanced patient care. This is the first comprehensive book that describes in detail the knowledge and skill base necessary to successfully lead these complex organizations. Written by the world's leading authorities it combines the science of leadership, organizational structure, financial and personnel management, public relations and communications, trainee and student policy, community relations, and globalization. "This volume focuses on policy considerations that provide the foundation for AHSCs to thrive. While the legislation, challenges, and strategies will change over time, the need for strong policy to influence and guide organizational and individual behavior will not. AHSCs are complex organizations that must continue to evolve to face the multifactorial nature of health care problems. How they do so will depend to a great extent not only on having appropriate policies in place but also on their success in translating these policies into effective implementation." Andrew M. Ibrahim and M. Roy Wilson, in the Foreword

Culture, Context and Quality in Health Sciences Research, Education, Leadership and Patient Care (Second book in a series of five) Sustainably Improving Health Care promotes the importance of integrating improved care outcomes, system performance, and professional development so that the future of health-care advancement is creative and sustainable. It addresses the challenge of creating and nurturing a culture of continuous improvement that is able to sustain and generate creative professional work for the improvement of health care. Using real-world examples, the book succinctly reveals how the model can be practically applied from a variety of different perspectives. "This book makes the persuasive argument that well-intended efforts to redesign and reform health care will enjoy only short lives without the full commitment and engagement of the health-care worker - the product of the sustainability- and capacity-building engine of professional development." Dave Davis MD, CCFP, FCFP, in the Foreword "This book is about a model that has emerged from our own work, our observations of the work of colleagues and others, and our refl ections about the requirements for the future of the continual improvement of health care. We explore its origins, its content and manifestations, and its implications, particularly for health professional leaders interested in the ongoing improvement of health care. Form and vitality develop in the model as it engages reality - the reality of trying to create cultures of sustainable, generative approaches to the ongoing improvement of health care." From the Preface

The Transformation of Academic Health Centers: The Institutional Challenge to Improve Health and Well-Being in Healthcare’s Changing Landscape presents the direct knowledge and vision of accomplished academic leaders whose unique positions as managers of some of the most complex academic and business enterprises make them expert contributors. Users will find invaluable insights and leadership perspectives on healthcare, health professions education, and bio-medical and clinical research that systematically explores the evolving role of global academic health centers with an eye focused on the transformation necessary to be successful in challenging environments. The book is divided into five sections moving from the broad perspective of the role of academic health centers to the role of education, training, and disruptive technologies. It then addresses the discovery processes, improving funding models, and research efficiency. Subsequent sections address the coming changes in healthcare delivery and future perspectives, providing a complete picture of the needs of the growing and influential healthcare sector. Outlines strategies for academic health centers to successfully adapt to the global changes in healthcare and delivery Offers forward-thinking and compelling professional and personal assessments of the evolving role of academic health centers by recognized outstanding academic healthcare leaders Includes case studies and personal reflections, providing lessons learned and new recommendations to challenge leaders Provides discussions on the discovery process, improving funding models, and research efficiency