A Look Behind the Scenes

Candidate Reference Comments

References are always checked before a candidate is presented. We speak to four to six references for 30- to 60-minutes on each candidate, and present their comments with each candidate report.

James DeLanse, M.D.
Reference Comments

We spoke to four physicians about Dr. DeLanse, including his faculty advisor at The Cleveland Clinic and several former colleagues. They described him as being very cool under pressure. He has an analytical mindset, and although he can be opinionated, he is generally kind of quiet. Patients like him because he is straightforward and takes the time to listen.

Among the comments we heard were:

“At The Cleveland Clinic, he did everything, including transplants. We would have been happy to make a place for him here, but he didn’t want to go into academia.”

“If something is eating at him, you won’t know it – he doesn’t volunteer these things. You will have to dig at times to ensure that he is satisfied and not disgruntled with a hospital policy or the OR staff.”

“His skills are more than adequate for the thoracic procedures that a community hospital the size of yours would require; in fact, The Cleveland Clinic would have been happy to give him a position after he completed his fellowship there, but he wanted to go into private practice.”

“He’s thoughtful, not abrasive. He can be opinionated, however.”

“The only time I ever saw him get hot was when people took advantage of him.”

“He is very efficient in the O.R. He was fun to operate with.”

“Under fire, he’s one of the calmest persons you’ll ever work with. Everything he does is well thought out – he has a strong analytical side. He’s not really emotional, which is very good in the operating room.”

“To make sure he succeeds, you’ll have to work with him on sales and marketing. He needs to be more self-promoting. Encourage him to give talks that the community can come to – – more P.R. stuff. Once the patients come to him, they’ll love him.”

“Where he is now, he has to be in four hospitals at once. He can’t be in four places at once – he would prefer one place.”

“The bureaucracy and mindless stupidity of the administration in the group where he now works is grating on him. I left the group for that reason, too.”