New Program Teaches Leadership and Teamwork to Radiation Oncology Residents

The modern practice of medicine is reliant on highly functioning teams, and physicians are often charged with leading these teams. Yet physicians rarely receive leadership training in medical school or during their residencies.

“The medical field is probably three or four decades behind the business world when it comes to leadership training, though there is some emerging momentum in this area,” says Rahul Tendulkar, MD, Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Tendulkar, Director of Cleveland Clinic’s radiation oncology residency program, recently added leadership training into the curriculum for their residents. Every six months, residents leave the clinic and spend a full day participating in experiential leadership exercises and listening to a variety of speakers. Topics include emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, work-life balance, mentoring and organizational culture.

“A lot of people refer to these skills as soft skills, but these skills are really essential for patient care,” says Dr. Tendulkar, who recently published an editorial about the new initiative in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology with former chief resident and current staff at Cleveland Clinic Akron General Camille Berriochoa, MD. “Having empathy and being able to put yourself in the shoes of your patient is something we do on a regular basis, but it’s not something we talk about or teach people. We don’t tell students they should be aware of the impact they can have based on the words they use or their body language, but we should.”

Medicine is a team sport

It’s especially important for radiation oncologists to practice such skills because they, like most physicians now, work in a team setting, interacting with radiation physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, nurses and others outside the specialty including surgeons and medical oncologists.

“The team aspect is really crucial in our specialty, but I think that’s true for all of medicine,” Dr. Tendulkar says. “The author and physician Atul Gawande wrote that the practice of medicine has changed from where doctors were like cowboys functioning independently to now being more like members of a pit crew where we all have to work interdependently.”

Few had leadership training

He describes his program as a grassroots effort and says it’s crucial to get buy-in from department leadership and faculty first so that they are willing to make time for residents to work on these skills. The first leadership retreat for Cleveland Clinic radiation oncology residents was held in 2015, and leadership development training became a formal part of the curriculum in 2017. A pre-experience survey by Dr. Berriochoa found that 82 percent of the residents considered leadership training to be very important to their career as a physician, yet only 18 percent had any prior formalized leadership training and, for these individuals, this training occurred before their medical careers.

After the first session, says Dr. Tendulkar, 100 percent of residents said the training session either met or exceeded expectations and that they would recommend such programming to their fellow trainees.

“It’s always a breath of fresh air to have these leadership retreats,” says Shireen Parsai, MD, current Chief Resident, Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, who has been on two retreats so far. “It takes us out of the clinic and makes us see our role in delivering healthcare from a different perspective. We get a chance to be introspective about how we interact in the system and outside of it.”

Countless benefits

Dr. Tendulkar says he hopes the editorial will inspire leaders of other residency training programs to start their own resident leadership training. Yet, he also acknowledges that it’s difficult for medical schools and residency programs to find time for anything more.

“Medical students have to cram so much knowledge into their heads in such a short period of time,” he says. “Hopefully program directors determine that leadership training is valuable enough to make time for.”

He lists countless benefits from teaching leadership skills to medical students and residents, from equipping physicians with the skills necessary to attain executive positions, to influencing public policy, to advancing multidisciplinary research initiatives, to improving the quality and safety of patient care and to enhancing physician engagement and wellness.

“I think all of medicine would benefit from incorporating more leadership training into medical schools and residency programs,” he says. “Ultimately, it will lead to better patient care, better functioning hospital organizations, better teamwork, and ultimately, those things benefit all of society.”

Learn to become a physician leader with Cleveland Clinic Global Executive Education programs, including The Cleveland Clinic Way: Intensives, Samson Global Leadership Academy and the Executive Visitors’ Program.

Photo credit ©Russell Lee