A new VPMA was embarrassed and distressed at a meeting when he wasn permitted to vote on the issues being discussed. His question- “Don VPMAs always get to vote?
No. This question can be far more loaded politically than it appears at first. Voting rights and privileges are established by the organization and may well be different for medical staff and hospital committees. In general, medical staff committees often limit voting to active members of the medical staff, which new VPMAs usually aren’t. Hospital committees usually allow all participants to vote. Medical Executives should check the rules before making any public statements. Attempts to vote on medical staff committees by new administrators can be interpreted as ‘power grabbing’ tactics and can create significant political unrest- especially in organizations that are already troubled.
