Stanford Report, February 20, 2002
By ROSANNE SPECTOR
Walking into the School of Medicine strategic planning retreat held Feb. 8-10, Philip Pizzo, MD, the school's dean, felt plenty of trepidation.He had gathered a group of 72 independent-minded people – department chairs, senior faculty members, administrators and student activists – with the hope that the group would emerge from the Carmel conference center inspired to work toward a common vision for the school's future.
He could wind up looking like an effective leader or an umpire breaking up a brawl.
"Academics are rarely neutral about any-thing. And with cultures so different among groups here, I thought an attempt at discussion might turn out to be a fractious debate," said Pizzo, who had prepared for the event by staging numerous pre-retreat discussions airing the community's major concerns.
To his relief, participants hailed the weekend a rousing success.
"There was an extraordinary amount of unity around what makes Stanford School of Medicine unique and what we should do to make the most of our advantages – to be more than the sum of our parts," said David O'Brien, institutional planning director, who is managing the planning effort.
"It came down to translational medicine. That's an obscure term to many people, but what it means is taking the best of what a great university and vibrant research community can offer and putting it to work to advance medicine and medical care," O'Brien said.
Pizzo started the strategic planning process last summer, a few months after he began serving as dean. Soon after, he established nine strategic planning work groups, composed of faculty, staff and student representatives, to clarify the school's mission and propose initiatives to fulfill that mission.
At the retreat, the participants discussed proposals made by the work groups. To help the medical school's leaders prioritize a tentative action plan, participants rated each proposal in terms of importance to the school's mission.
Many participants cited the event's final moments as particularly uplifting. Before going home, each took a turn sharing his or her thoughts about the weekend, speaking into a microphone that snaked its way through the group.
"At that point the camaraderie came through," said graduate student participant Grace Park. "Everyone seemed to be on the same wave for the most part. It was a crux because it would determine the spirit of the initiative beyond the retreat. I think everyone felt very strongly about Pizzo's energy and leadership," she said.
At the conclusion, Pizzo emphasized that the planning effort is still at its beginning. He asked those at the retreat to stay engaged and to encourage others to become involved by learning about the proposed initiatives and sharing their thoughts with the school's leadership.
Information about the plan is available from David O'Brien and will soon be available on the Web.
Retreat participants speak out
Karen Christopherson, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow, neuroscience
Insight gained: I didn't realize that Stanford had such an emphasis on training physician scientists – that medical students are so strongly encouraged to get research experience.
High point: Seeing the response to initiatives relating to postdocs. The people at the retreat ranked improving postdocs' compensation package very highly in terms of benefit to the university. That was very heartening.
Major planning challenge: Appealing to people from so many diverse areas.
William Mobley, MD, PhD
Department chair, neurology and neurological science
Insight gained: A strong spirit of cooperation pervades this place. I had already believed this but the retreat confirmed it.
High point: The limerick contest during dinner on Saturday night. Everyone was laughing and talking together and having a fun time. We were able to bond around the fact that we're all working together for Stanford.
Major planning challenge: Keeping the momentum going.
Grace Park
Graduate Student, molecular pharmacology
Insight gained: I had no idea how expansive the clinical faculty is and that the majority conduct research as well.
High points: The presentation of graduate student initiatives and playing euchre with Senior Associate Dean James Nelson and other students.
Major planning challenge: People need to become aware of the issues that affect others throughout the medical center, not just the issues relating to their own microcosm.
David O'Brien
Director, Strategic Planning
Insight gained: There is an extraordinary amount of optimism about the future of the medical school.
High point: Paul Berg described at dinner the vision the medical school's leaders had 40 years ago when they moved the school from San Francisco to Stanford. Their vision was to bring scientists and clinicians together. His talk made me realize that bringing disciplines together is not only our future, it's our legacy.
Major planning challenge: Getting the money to put the plan in motion.
Al Taira
Medical student
Insight gained: It's clear that Dean Pizzo is a great leader. His clarity of thought is remarkable, as is his ability to articulate his vision. He's capable of developing consensus around his vision and incorporating other people's suggestions along the way.
High point: When students spoke up it was remarkable how much attention people paid.
Major planning challenge: Getting more people excited about the plan and involved in developing it. There is so much that hasn't been decided yet.
Lorry Frankel, MD
Associate professor, pediatrics
Insight gained: How much workload is carried by Medical Center Line [non-tenure line] faculty or staff physicians. This has implications for appointment and promotion in academic ranks.
High point: It was a great opportunity for diverse parts of the school to get together and discuss issues in detail.
Major planning challenge: The ability of the university to recognize that faculty may not be able to excel in all aspects of academics as the clinical pressures mount and force them to build and sustain outstanding clinical programs needed to ensure the viability of the two hospitals.
Nobel laureate Paul Berg, Cahill Professor of Cancer Research
and Biochemistry, emeritus, looked to the past when considering the medical
center's future. His full remarks from
the retreat are available here.