MANAGEMENT FOR CLINICIAN OR THE CASE OF BRINGING THE MOUNTAIN TO MOHAMMED

This paper reports on a new and innovative initiatives undertaken to d evelop the first intensive residential management program for clinicia n managers in Australian hospitals. A number of health care experts ha ve argued that the reform of the health system, and public hospitals i n particular, can only occur if clinicians are given, and take on, gre ater management responsibilities. This paper outlines why there has be en resistance to this occurring and the pressures for this to change. It then discusses how the introduction of the Management for Clinician s Program has begun to enhance and encourage a greater acceptance of t he clinician manager role in hospitals. It describes how the program s eeks to promote a greater understanding and acceptance of management a mongst clinicians. The paper also outlines how the program was designe d and implemented. While short courses for clinician managers have bee n available for sometime in Australia, the program described in this p aper is path breaking for a number of reasons.