In Germany, the position of a chief physician manages a clinic within a hospital. The only person superior is the medical director of the hospital. Below are the senior physician in charge of the clinic, the specialist physicians and assistant physicians. Each clinic is individually organised and staffed according to its needs. The chief physician is paid on a non-tariff basis.
In order to find these chief positions, the personnel consulting of Sinceritas will help you. We have a specially developed algorithmic search that also detects the "hidden candidates". This allows you to locate the candidates who are not easy to find. We attach great importance to a detailed consultation and briefing at the beginning of the search. This makes it easier for you to specify your ideas. In this way, you already benefit from sharpening your profile.
There are still very rigid hierarchies in a German hospital. After getting the licence to practise medicine and the specialist title, a medical doctor can work as an (assistant) physician. From there, the next position is senior physician, then senior medical officer, and finally chief physician.
In this position, administrative tasks have now increased to almost 70% of the work. Patient care is increasingly the responsibility of senior physicians and specialists.
On an international level, a senior position has therefore been occupied by several people for some time. In Germany, there was an innovation in this regard in 2021. In Hamburg, three (female) senior physicians proposed to the hospital management that they share the position of head of gynaecology. They were convincing and now share three equivalent posts as chief physicians.
This is all the more important because only 13% of female physicians are in the position of chief physician. Yet, the majority of medical students are now female. The three female physicians in Hamburg justified their proposal by saying that they could divide up the administrative areas and have more time to work on patients.
So far, this is an exception, but it opens the way to less rigid hierarchies. In any case, responsibility for the entire clinic is bundled in this position. Departments have to be expanded, they have to work economically and they have to do justice to the latest research approaches.
So in order to be able to fill this position, skills must be trained to lead a team and to think economically. In addition to professional expertise, which of course has to be excellent. The pharmaceutical industry is also highly interested in meeting chief physicians. We are happy to support you in finding the right leaders for your clinic or medical care centre. Our staff members are medically trained and constantly undergo further training. We would be happy to advise you!
If you are looking for a new job, please contact Inga's team directly via [email protected] or check our job board for a suitable position.