Doctors Going Over to the Dark Side

Over the years, I’ve watched primary care doctors leave their practices and become hospital administrators.  The reasons are obvious:  The paycheck and benefits are way better than being in clinical practice.

Do these practitioners-turned-administrators bring any benefits to the hospital? More than anything, the benefit is those of us in regular practice still remember they were once doctors and we give them more respect than we give the usual administrator.

Is this increased respect warranted?  I don’t know. It feels like these doctors go into their new fields with the intention of “being different and better” at running the hospital.  

Soon, however,  they just follow the party line.