“Great opportunity to develop and foster leadership skills by realizing your strengths and weaknesses to benefit your practice and patients. I didn’t realize that by not addressing my daily angst I was in turn condoning their existence. This has lead to a healthier more efficient work environment!

“Healthcare is becoming increasingly complex, with changes happening at an exponential rate. In order for healthcare organizations to survive and for healthcare providers to thrive, we need strong physician leaders at all levels of our organizations. Yes – we also need exceptionally skilled and dedicated business, finance, IT and other leaders, but ultimately it is the patient-centered clinical perspective physician leaders provide that will guide organizations of all sizes and structures through the ever-evolving environment. Strong physicians leaders are best positioned to direct decisions to make their organizations ideal places to both deliver and receive healthcare. 

Unfortunately, the skills that make us good clinicians often make us poor leaders – quickly narrowing a conversation down to a limited differential diagnosis and then single-handedly prescribing a solution. I don’t remember spending any time in medical school or residency learning medical leadership basics, such as communication and meeting facilitation skills, teamwork and team leadership skills, understanding financial reports, stress management and burnout prevention skills.  

Since residency, I have attended many leadership classes and programs and read many articles and books that aimed to teach me and other physicians how to lead – how to look like a leader, talk like a leader, and run a meeting like a leader. But the Physician Leadership Academy sponsored by the Nebraska Medical Association is one of the very few opportunities I have had to help me become a leader. Through this adventure I learned so much about myself – my strengths, my tendencies, my worries, my fears, my misperceptions, and how I am seen by those I work with. Armed with that understanding and through the blessing of working with Pam and my fellow course participants over many months, I have been able to become more of the person those in my stewardship deserve as their leader. Like all true adventures, it has not been easy, but it has definitely been worth it. 

Now more than ever, we need more and more physicians who not only act like leaders, but who truly are leaders. Our organizations need it. Our healthcare teams, our patients, and our communities deserve nothing less”

“In response to a changing demographic, we have been growing.  With growth comes opportunity. How we manage this opportunity is dependent on planning as a team.  We sought out Pam’s expertise to help us dream and vision our future.  Her energy and enthusiasm made for a great discussion.  We felt energized at the end of the session and look forward to applying her ideas and suggestions to our ongoing dreaming of the future.  We are grateful to Pam for her willingness to work with us as we continue to dream big!”