Administration and leadership of the Health Professions Partnership Initiative: a medical school administrator's perspective.

The importance of requiring the principal investigator for a Health Professions Partnership Initiative (HPPI) to be from the top of the administrative chain and thereby have the responsibility of implementing, operating, and finding ways to sustain the HPPI is described. Further, it follows that initiatives such as HPPI require committed partners that also are from the top leadership from the affiliated health schools, school districts and community organizations. While the dean or vice president must be actively involved if the HPPI is to be successful, it is not realistic to expect that he or she has time to manage the day-to-day activities. Those should be delegated to a highly qualified and well-respected member of the administration. That person must have ready access to the principal investigator and be provided appropriate office space and staffing. The author describes strategies used to meet challenges that arose that impeded successful implementation of the HPPI and how those problems were met and solved.