ASCO is hiring an oncologist to lead their Clinical Affairs department

ASCO to Establish a Clinical Affairs Department to Provide Hands-on Assistance to Oncology Practices

ASCO is forming a Clinical Affairs department dedicated to providing services, education, and resources to support oncology practices. This new department will offer hands-on assistance in areas such as practice management, quality care assessment and improvement, and efficiency and business intelligence to meet the needs and demands of the current oncology landscape.

The Clinical Affairs department will begin providing assistance to practices by the end of 2014. The Society plans to house existing practice management resources in the new department and, over the next year, will expand these offerings to include support in the following areas:

• Business of oncology
• Practice management (staffing, technology, services, etc.)
• Practice transformation to medical home, to certification, etc.
• Market analysis

ASCO is seeking an oncologist to lead the Clinical Affairs department who has experience in all aspects of managing an oncology practice. This senior director will also work across ASCO and the cancer community to support all initiatives to enhance oncologists’ efforts to provide the highest quality of care.

Learn more here.

HBR post: Should You Get an MBA

A few months ago, there was a blog post on HBR titled, "Should You Get an MBA?" This seems to be a growing question among physicians who are interested in transitioning into a non-clinical career in the business or corporate world. Many will convince you to make the investment to pursue an MBA while others will persuade you to save your time and money since you don't "need" an MBA. Which is right? I believe it depends on your level of experience, your skill sets, your knowledge base, your social network, and your ultimate career goals and ambitions. Those factors are going to be unique for each person.

You can read the HBR perspective by Ed Batista here. Let me quote some interesting comments that might stick out to you:

I knew that some people in my field had negative impressions of MBAs, and I needed a chance to prove myself as an individual before being stereotyped... there are many fields and organizations in which MBAs are viewed with skepticism and even disdain 

While some firms seek out graduates from elite schools, others avoid them out of a concern that they will be difficult to work with and disruptive to the established culture.

What do you think? Does this perspective by Ed Batista sway you one way or the other?

Get certified in Healthcare Quality CPHQ

These days, everyone seems to be talking about Quality Improvement in health care. The Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) certification incorporates the body of knowledge in the healthcare quality profession, which includes:

• strategic and operational roles in management and leadership
• information management, including design and data collection, measurement and analytics, and communication
• performance/quality measurement and improvement, including planning, implementation and evaluation, and training
• strategic and operational tasks in patient safety

The CPHQ is the only certification in the profession of healthcare quality. The program is fully accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies of the National Organization for Competency Assurance in Washington, D.C.

Learn more about CPHQ and the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ)
http://www.nahq.org