Successfully Transitioning the Program Director Role: A Practical Guide for Passing and Receiving the Baton

The mean tenure of an internal medicine program director is 5.4 years. As such, transitions in leadership happen frequently. The program director role is complex with many responsibilities. This complexity creates a difficult start for an incoming program director, and a challenging handoff for departing program directors. An effective transition can be achieved with thoughtful planning and implementation, and sets up the successor, the program, and the residents for success. The presenters (three program directors who recently stepped out of the program director role) will share guiding principles, practical logistical suggestions, considerations for overlapping time between outgoing and incoming program directors, and other lessons learned from transitions using illustrative cases for discussion. Rising program directors will also be invited to share their perspectives.