To be or Not to be a Clinical Director?

Abstract

The clinical director can improve the recovery of large numbers of mental health consumers by influencing the direction of local mental health policy, planning and funding. The effective clinical director will be an experienced psychiatrist with clinical credibility, who is present and available, leads by example, is flexible, energetic, delegates, can "manage up" and has probably undergone management training.

The Function of a Medical Director in Healthcare Institutions: A Master or a Servant

“…The MeD has to control and restrict any abusive or irresponsible behavior of physician(s) in charge of each medical unit or division in the institution; a neutral behavior of the MeD in this context may simply imply a suspicious complicity with the above mentioned Physician(s). In fact, he or she must be in alignment with the institutional constitution represented by policy, protocols and procedures; additionally, the MeD should not become a self-servant, servant of his fears, mainly the fear of being dismissed by the ExD, or even servant of his instincts and subjective inclinations 40,41. Rather than becoming self-servant, the ideal MeD may reach an altruistic sense and ultimately the successful MeD is the one capable of making the institutional policy as his own policy and to be genuinely driven to attain this goal 42…”

“…The MeD must have the qualities of a leader23,40 and these qualities may be inherent to his personality but also have to be acquired and developed; essential qualities include fairness with adjusted authority. Excessive authority leads to abuse, lack of authority leads to laxity, authority without fairness leads to injustice, fairness without authority leads to inefficiency, and lack of fairness may lead to discrimination 43.…”