The recent vote of no confidence in two hospital bosses got me thinking about my many years of interaction and collaboration with managers in the hospital system.  

As a previous head of department, and having been involved in policymaking at both state and federal spheres, I have worked with a large number of individuals in management roles.

The range in motivations, training and skill has been very wide. In my view, much wider than the spectrum of clinicians.

As an emergency physician, I have generally felt that we should be natural allies with career managers.

We are responsible for managing multiple patients simultaneously, for the smooth running of an entire department, for supervising a large number of junior doctors, for juggling multiple competing demands.