“They never teach us this in medical school!”
One of my surgeon clients said this to me a couple weeks ago, and it wasn’t the first time I had heard it. (He and I were reviewing Joel Trammell’s “The CEO Tight Rope,” which gives sage advice about creating a top-notch recruiting function.)
In addition to the lack of technical leadership training, the dearth of Adaptive Development is especially problematic when one considers that the cognitive and emotional energies of a hospital system’s physicians, nurses, and executives are its most valuable resource.
The Keckley Report echoes my client’s sentiment: “Gaps in medical school training play a key role in the physician discontent tsunami. While medical school’ (sic) primary emphasis is appropriately on clinical acumen in diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics, preparedness for operating a medical practice and navigating the complexities in the U.S. system of health get nominal attention.”
Adapting to realities of practicing medicine in a complicated, fragmented, and expensive system of health is not taught in medical school, so it is left to young doctors to fend for themselves and doctors in medical school to experience anecdotally . . . resources should also be invested to prepare students to operate effectively as leaders and managers.” [i]
Fern EPC agrees.
Up your game! Attend to the Adaptive Development of your physicians, physician leaders, and executives while supporting them to better understand the business of leading in healthcare.
[i] The Keckley Report, “Can Medical Schools be Part of the Discontent Solution?”, June 10, 2024.
