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Amy Buencamino, MD, FAAP
Department of Pediatrics
Associated Physicians
Madison, WI 53705
Sara Dovichi, MD, FAAP
Department of Pediatrics
Fairport Pediatrics
Fairport, NY 14450
To the Editor.—
We read with interest the recent Pediatrics article entitled "Training Young Pediatricians as Leaders for the 21st Century" by Leslie et al.1 The article highlights the importance of addressing the training of young pediatricians as leaders. As recent graduates of our pediatric residency training program and a chief residency year, we are especially cognizant of this need. As stated in their article, in the current milieu of the health care field, all physicians (pediatrics trained or otherwise) have multiple opportunities to function as leaders. We are particularly committed to the training of pediatric residents and pediatric chief residents as leaders.
We reiterate the authors’ statement that for too long the field of medicine has perpetuated the dictum that leadership is an innate characteristic rather than a skill to be learned. We applaud not only the Pediatric Leadership Alliance’s Young Pediatric Leaders for the 21st Century Training Program to train young pediatricians as health care leaders but also the authors who addressed this need and assessed this particular leadership program.
We, as former pediatric chief
residents at the Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong,
University of Rochester Medical Center (Rochester, New York), along
with our department chair, Dr Elizabeth McAnarney, felt that this was a
crucial but undervisited component of the current training of pediatric
residents in this country. To explore this further and enhance our own
personal chief residency experience, we created and participated in a
leadership series within our own institution. We identified a variety
of individuals from different backgrounds including medicine,
administration, and law who varied in age, experience, position, and
training. Every other week, over 
3 months, we conducted a
30-minute interview with each individual, learning about their personal
experience in attaining their current leadership role. The series
culminated in a day-long event during which we, as chief residents,
acted as "Chair for the day." Under the guidance and
supervision of our Chair, Dr McAnarney, we attended various meetings
and appointments that enabled us to witness firsthand what the leader
of our department experiences on a daily basis.
At the conclusion of our leadership series, we realized that we had participated in an event that afforded us the unique opportunity to meet and interact with as well as learn from the influential leaders in our institution. Despite the diversity among the myriad of leaders we interviewed, several common themes surfaced from our meetings. Such themes included the importance of having a vision, sharpening one’s ability to identify and seize career-making opportunities, and recognizing and knowing one’s own goals, priorities, and individual motivation. Perhaps the most poignant and consistent lesson taught to us by these various leaders was the importance of establishing a mentor and cultivating that relationship throughout one’s career. Overall, these themes impacted us as aspiring leaders in the pediatric field and may prove to be invaluable lessons throughout our future careers.
The series was a clear divergence from the usual training of a pediatric resident. However, it was instrumental in our understanding of what makes a successful leader. Such training, if incorporated into pediatric residency training, could be the stepping stone for more formal leadership training and could act as a springboard in propelling residents to pursue more active leadership roles during their career and to ultimately succeed at them.
REFERENCE
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