Leading With a Clinical Lens - ACHE Congress

In every field, there are times when the question "Who is running this place?" becomes commonplace. Who are our leaders, and what are their backgrounds? In the healthcare industry, many avenues lead to the C-suite. One challenge in healthcare is having leaders who truly know what is going on at the patient-care level. A parallel challenge is the concern that too many decisions in healthcare are driven solely by finances. In most healthcare organizations, the majority of the C-suite does not have clinical backgrounds. Many of these leaders have little in-depth exposure to patient care. What might (should) they do to enhance their understanding of healthcare's core business—caring for patients? A key issue non-clinical leaders often face is credibility. How often have clinicians remarked, "Administration doesn't even know what we are doing here." How can nonclinical leaders raise their awareness, competency, understanding and credibility from a clinical knowledge standpoint (short of going back to school to earn a clinical credential)? Moreover, even clinicians who move into leadership roles are often accused of being out of touch. Physician leaders are often called "suits," and other clinician leaders can get embroiled in the day-to-day aspects of administrative management and lose touch with the field. Finally, as health systems get larger, the tendency to have leaders in remote, non-clinical settings becomes more commonplace. This session will provide specific suggestions on how nonclinical leaders can enhance their knowledge of patient care on the front lines. Recommendations will also be provided on how clinical leaders can maintain their ability to remain in touch with front-line work.

Join Lily Jung Henson, MD, FAAN, FACHE CEO - Piedmont Augusta Hub, and

Brett Lee, PhD, FACHE - President - Texas Health Hospital Frisco

and me as we present some unique ideas to re-invigorate and engage your workforce.