Michael Dowling's childhood home in Knockaderry, Ireland, was a thatched-roof cottage made of mud and stone. It lacked electricity, indoor plumbing and running water. To obtain peat to heat it, he traveled an hour with his father in a borrowed donkey cart to a bog. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role that physicians play in healthcare, with medical schools reporting as high as 50 percent increases in applicants. Along with application surges, medical schools are refining how they select applicants, with some schools no longer requiring formal test scores and others conducting virtual interviews going forward.

Below are 10 hospitals and health systems that posted job listings seeking COOs over the last few weeks.

Loretto Hospital in Chicago will resume its vaccination program after the city paused it in March amid reports of ineligible people receiving vaccines from the 122-bed safety-net facility, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine may return April 23 after a pause prompted by concerns about blood clots in a small number of vaccinated patients, according to an April 18 article by The Wall Street Journal.

Burnout in staff has been consistently found to be a disruptive force in healthcare. Healthcare leaders can learn from studies and what other hospitals are doing so they can alleviate burnout in themselves and their employees.

In March 2020 when COVID-19 swept the globe, Pfizer Chair and CEO Albert Bourla, PhD, challenged his team to develop a vaccine faster than has ever been done before. By November, Pfizer became the first company to develop a successful vaccine candidate, Dr. Bourla wrote in a Harvard Business Review report.

HHS seeks to reverse a rule prohibiting family planning clinics that are federally funded through the Title X program from providing abortion referrals, according to NPR and CNN.

Managers used to be chosen largely based on their ability to manage and evaluate the performance of employees to meet company goals. Research suggests that is changing because of the pandemic, according to an April 15 report published by Harvard Business Review.

Longer life spans, the aging baby-boomer population and the increase in patients with chronic health conditions are expected to contribute to the quick growth of five healthcare positions, according to an April 14 report by The New York Times.

Randolph Health CEO Angela Orth is extending her employment with the Asheboro, N.C.-based system while a merger with American Healthcare Systems is finalized, according to the Triad Business Journal. 

Vaccine hesitancy and burnout are among the major issues plaguing healthcare leaders today. Healthcare managers can learn from researchers and experts on how to mitigate these common dilemmas. 

Novant Health and NASCAR star Bubba Wallace's racing team are joining in a campaign to promote health equity and address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, the Charlotte, N.C.-based health system said April 14.

The interim CEO of Eleanor Slater Hospital, a state-run psychiatric hospital in Cranston, R.I., has been removed after a no-confidence vote by nurses and amid an investigation into the facility by the state's attorney general, The Providence Journal reported April 13. 

Complimentary Report Provides Retrospective and Prospective Insights Into the Use of Automation in Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management. 

Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an April 13 White House briefing that the FDA recommended a pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, so they can investigate how six women developed a rare blood clotting disorder that resulted in one death, according to an April 13 report published by CNBC.

Researchers from the Seattle-based University of Washington studied 230 people to identify the best methods for alleviating burnout, according to an April 12 article published in Harvard Business Review.

Ten healthcare organizations were ranked for scoring high in social responsibility by the Drucker Institute, according to a ranking published in The Wall Street Journal.

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is the biggest logistical challenge the healthcare industry faces today, and many leaders have had to learn hard lessons on the go. Healthcare leaders have developed many strategies to deal with challenges that appeared during the first several months of the vaccine rollout, from health inequities to confusion about vaccine eligibility, to vaccine hesitancy. 

As hospital leaders try to encourage their staff and the community to get the COVID-19 vaccine, they are sometimes met with resistance. From research outlining the most common reasons to experts sharing their insights, here are six resources for healthcare leaders on vaccine hesitancy.