FORECAST 2000 - A PREDICTION OF SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED BY SENIOR MEDICAL-TREATMENT FACILITY LEADERS INTO THE 21ST-CENTURY

This paper reports results from a Delphi study conducted among the Com manders and Deputy Commanders for Administration of 37 Army medical tr eatment facilities (MTFs), who identified the most important issues ch allenging their institutions for the remainder of this decade, and the skills, knowledge, and abilities required by MTF leaders to deal succ essfully with those challenges. A Delphi mail-out was conducted in two iterations. Respondents identified 187 health care issues which were divided by content into nine domains by a panel of health care experts . The domains, ranked by importance, were cost-finance, health care de livery, access to care, quality and risk management, technology, profe ssional staff relations, leadership, marketing, and ethics. In the sec ond Delphi iteration, MTF leaders agreed upon the necessary skills, kn owledge, and abilities of future leaders. Results indicated that futur e leadership will require enhanced financial, quantitative, and techni cal skills, as well as competence in a broad array of interpersonal an d communication skills. Implications for military medical leader devel opment initiatives are discussed.