Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OE2-2-4
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Research
Will the presenter be a:
Other
Presenter Other
Research Associate
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
no
Title
"Head of the Class": Equity policies, practices and discourses related to Department Head appointments at a Canadian medical school
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Academic medicine leaders play a crucial role in medical education, research and practice. A Department Head (DH), for example, is "head of the class"-both figurehead and decision-maker. People in this role regularly influence the medical education continuum, thereby impacting future researchers, medical educators, and clinicians. DHs are crucial change-makers and have a visible (and expected) role in supporting new policies and initiatives within their Departments and Faculty. Who these leaders are therefore matters. However, diversity amongst DHs remains a key challenge for medical schools. We require a better understanding of barriers and enablers to equitable leadership appointments, particularly here in Canada.
Methods
We conducted a critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine underlying assumptions shaping EDI policies and DH appointments in one Atlantic Canadian medical school from 2005-2020. We conducted 1. document analysis of equity policies and HR documents, and 2. interviews with successful DHs and hiring committee chairs, looking for implicit values and assumptions relating to equity and academic medicine leadership.
Results
We identified several discourses relating to equity and DH appointments, framing equity as: 1. documentation; 2. redressing injustice; 3. relinquishing privilege; 4. legal obligation; 5. moral commitment; and 6. aspiration. Normative assumptions related to "good leadership" appeared to remain abstract and unchallenged, while the accomplishment of equity was often equated with the existence of equity policies themselves. Legal obligations were often presented as hopes and intentions, with formal accountability and evaluation of equity remaining largely invisible.
Conclusion
Underlying ideas about "good leadership" in academic medicine were largely unquestioned, with equity often perceived as starting and ending with formal recruitment policies. Deeper engagement with normative characteristics of leadership, and barriers beyond recruitment policies, offers rich potential for more effectively achieving equity in academic medicine leadership.
Keyword 1
leadership
Keyword 2
equity
Keyword 3
critical discourse analysis
Level of Training
General
Abstract Themes
Other
Additional Theme (First choice)
Leadership
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Paula Cameron
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
