Building a community of hematology department heads to foster peer support and managerial innovation Free

Introduction Healthcare systems in many countries are facing a profound and persistent crisis, fueled by chronic underinvestment, workforce shortages, and escalating workloads for healthcare professionals. In this challenging environment, strong leadership and management skills at the departmental level have become more critical than ever. Yet department heads are often left to navigate these mounting pressures alone, leading many to experience significant exhaustion. A recent nationwide survey of 2,390 University hospital faculty members in France underscores the severity of the situation: 40% reported severe burnout, and 14% disclosed suicidal thoughts (Dres et al., JAMA Netw Open, 2023).

We hypothesized that establishing a structured community of hematology department heads could help address these challenges by fostering mutual support, peer-to-peer learning, and targeted training in leadership and management.

Methods In 2023, we launched a national Community of hematology department heads, bringing together leaders from both academic and community hospitals in France (Houot & Gyan, HemaSphere, 2024).

This initiative was built around two main goals:

- Individual, to support each department head in fulfilling their role more effectively;

- Collective, to promote systemic transformation of hospital practices from the ground up, starting at the departmental level.

Participants were selected based on their willingness to collaborate, share experiences, and support each other. Each member was asked to contribute through structured feedback sessions and co-development workshops.

The Community meets annually for a two-day seminar and hosts an informal gathering during the French Society of Hematology annual meeting. Between these in-person events, the Community stays active through monthly teleconferences and a dedicated social media platform.

Results As of July 2025, the Community of hematology department heads includes 51 members: 31 from University hospitals, 16 from Community hospitals, and 4 from Comprehensive Cancer Centers. It is composed of 33 men (65%) and 18 women (35%), with a median age of 53 years (range, 38-68). The median tenure as department head is 4.5 years (range, 1-20).

Since its launch, the Community has held three annual seminars, with 14 participants in 2023, 36 in 2024, and 45 in 2025. These events provided a space for both formal and informal discussions on leadership challenges, team management, onboarding, staff motivation, and well-being. The seminars featured three main types of sessions: i) sharing and discussion forums for exchanging ideas, challenges, and experiences in management; ii) keynote talks by inspiring speakers from both within and outside healthcare; and iii) social moments aimed at strengthening interpersonal bonds and trust. Each seminar was facilitated by external experts in organizational transformation, enriching the discussions on leadership, group dynamics, and innovation. These gatherings proved essential in fostering collective intelligence, peer support, and a shared sense of purpose among department heads. Each of these seminars resulted in a report published as an article (available via PubMed) to share this experience (Houot et al., Bull Cancer, 2023 & 2024).

Beyond the seminars, the Community remains engaged through regular teleconferences, online discussions, working groups, and informal meetings. A total of 11 teleconferences have been held, covering 42 different topics.

The success of this initiative inspired a similar project among French oncologists, who launched their own Community of department heads in 2024, demonstrating that this approach is transposable across other disciplines.

Conclusion In a time of multifaceted healthcare crises, this peer community offers a powerful model of support and resilience for hematology department heads. Through shared experiences, collaborative problem-solving, and collective exploration of leadership practices, the Community fosters individual support for hematology department heads while driving broader organizational change.

Looking ahead, we aim to transform our departments into labs for managerial innovation, where new organizational models can be developed that are better suited to the challenges of modern healthcare and more responsive to the needs of patients and caregivers.

We hope that our initiative will inspire department heads from other countries and specialties to broaden and disseminate the benefits of this approach.