The three corner stones of the university hospital are well-known: excellent care, research and training. It is no coincidence that it's in these three areas that prof. dr. Paul Herijgers has gained a lot of experience throughout his career. In 1998 he started as cardiac surgeon on the cardiac surgery department of UZ Leuven. In 2011 he became department chair of cardiovascular sciences, where he not only conducted research himself but also coordinated it. In 2016 he become the dean of the faculty for medicine and immersed himself in the training of doctors.
It is clear that his career prepared him will for the job of CEO. Professor Herijgers: “It is an advantage to thoroughly know these three domains, not only to be ware of the sensitivities, but also of the possibilities. It makes it easier to implement policies that can improve the interaction between care, training and research.”
Three priorities
Professor Herijgers will develop a comprehensive policy plan for the coming years together with the management committee in the autumn. But he already wants to share which three emphases will create the framework for that policy plan.
Give decision-making power on the right level: this is how professor Herijgers wants UZ Leuven to be more flexible as an organisation in the future. “We are a big organisation with a lot of rules, and of course there needs to be a clear framework. But we should not lapse into bureaucracy. Not every decision needs to be made on management level. This will give people who are willing to take responsibility more job satisfaction. The ideal is a decision-making level as close to the work floor as possible. And other issues are better considered at management level. It's up to us to find out what can be decided where in the future.”
A second essential aspect of his policy will be supporting employees in their career. Intensive employee development vmonitors the talents of people and checks how they find job satisfaction. “We have the privilege to be allowed to work with almost 10,000 employees. Some are at the start of their career and are gaining their first work experience. They should be able to look back at us later as an inspiring employer and a reliable partner. It is an incredible opportunity to be able to help people grow in their jobs.”
© UZ Leuven
As a third priority professor Herijgers stressed the importance of network links, both ona regional and a supraregional level. “The locoreginal network Plexus is ready to take a next step. We want to provide excellent care in our region, preferably as close as possible to the patient's home. UZ Leuven can't do this on its own. In addition, half of our patients will continue to be supraregional. There too, we need to network more actively and work more closely with other hospitals for certain medical specialisations. This is important to be able to continue to innovate and to give the best possible training.”
From cardiac surgeon to manager
In his new job, professor Herijgers will no longer do surgical procedures. "Cardiac surgery required intensive patient follow-up and a 100% focus on your patients. As CEO there are so many other tasks that interfere with this. And of course we have fantastic cardiac surgeons: I'm not indispensable there." He will continue to be involved in in the skills centre body donation, although he will scale back his teaching capacity to be able to focus fully on his job as CEO.
Are there similarities between the job of a cardiac surgeon and a CEO? “Of course, it is something completely different to deal with an individual patient or an organisation of 10,000 people. But I also see similarities: both jobs require persistence and focus. As a cardiac surgeon you also have to be creative to quickly find a solution. I'm very aware of the immediate effect of a decision: as a surgeon you're immediately confronted with the consequences of something that goed wrong. That underlying idea is important: we always think of the welfare of the patient. We think and act carefully, but targeted, supported by science and with well-trained people.”
Inspirational leadership
Professor Herijgers wants to inspire by giving the good example and by communicating transparently. "Practice what you preach is my motto. As manager you need to set the right example, also in human relationships. My ambition is to encourage people and show them the possibilities rather than the problems. I plan to look ahead with an empathetic eye. To motivate people and as a result make our university hospital future-proof. As CEO you can't focus on every little individual thing, but it's better to keep an eye on the bigger picture. I promise I will work hard.”
We always think of the patient's wellbeing
prof. dr. Paul Herijgers
What motivated professor Herijgers to apply for the position of CEO? “I consider it a privilege to be allowed to lead an organisation such as UZ Leuven We have a fantastic leading hospital, with extremely motivated people: that's a nugget of gold in your hands. I've always enjoyed working in team. On the one hand that team is the management committee but on the other also the 10,000 UZ Leuven employees. And in the wider sense also KU Leuven. We trekken allemaal aan hetzelfde zeel. Our mission is important, for vulnerable patients, who entrust us with their health and sometimes their lives, as well as for the whole of society. It's an honour to be able to sculpt that nugget of gold and make it future-ready.”