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| The Ivory Tower |
Recently a colleague
tipped me off on a 1999 paper titled Understanding Academic Medical Centers: Simone's Maxims.
I recommend anyone associated with an academic medical center to read, study
and learn the truths in this manuscript. Of the many relevant and
seemingly timeless points, here are a few:
Institutions Don’t Love
You Back. True. And, on further
thought, it is the relationships with people, staff and select colleagues at an
institution that make the experience memorable and meaningful, not the
institution itself.
For Academic Leaders,
the Last 10% of Job Accomplishment May Take as Much Time as the First 90% and
May Not Be Worth the Effort. Absolutely. Know when to leave the party, preferably while the
party's still full.
Faculty Fired for
Incompetence Will Almost Always Land a Better Job at Higher Pay. Eyeopening.
With Rare Exceptions,
the Appropriate Maximum Term for an Academic Leader/Administrator Is 10 Years,
Plus or Minus 3 Years. This must be why,
subconsciously, I bowed out of the Internal Medicine Clerkship Directorship at
7 years.
Leaders Are Often Chosen
Primarily for Characteristics That Have Little or No Correlation with a
Successful Tenure as Leader. Being a good clinician or researcher does not always translate
into a successful leader or team manager.
Academic Battles Are
Recurring and Continuous, and No One Can Win Them All. Definitely, pick your battles wisely. No one can
go undefeated in either life or sport.
Last, Academic
Medicine Is a Noble Calling. Yes! I could not agree more.
I would encourage you to
read the full manuscript. It is most enlightening.
