Chief of Surg, Chief of Medicine, etc.

[RexKD]

I've seen the positions Chief of Surgery and Chief of Medicine many times but I have rarely seen a chief of the other specialities.

What other "Chief of..." would most hospitals have? Chief of Neurosurgery? Chief of Radiology?

And is the position of a Chief primarily an administrative one (ie, to oversee the other surgeons) or would it be more honorary (ie, very few administrative duties but very prestigious so hospitals use it to attract excellent doctors)?

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[docB]

In my system we have ER directors who function like the chiefs of the other sppecialties. It's not just ceremonial. The chiefs are responsible for setting policy for their areas. For example the chief of surgery would dictate how OR scheduling works and who has priority. And the cheif of surgery in my hospitals can be from any of the surgical specialties (eg. uro, gyne, optho, ENT in addition to gen surg) and makes policy that affects them all. Most hospitals also have some sort of medical exec committee that the chiefs are on and they battle it out over interdepartmental issues. Chiefs may also be called upon to resolve issues that arise in real time. I have been forced to call a department chief at 2 am to resolve a disagreement between two docs from his department. Not fun for anyone involved but it's part of the job. We frequently call the ER directors for guidance on issues that crop up in the ER.