A New Book from American Association for Physician Leadership

WASHINGTON, DC (March 1, 2022) -- The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) announces the publication of Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Physician Leaders.

Editor and author Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA, profiles 33 exceptional women physicians who have defied the odds. They share their personal and compelling stories — including obstacles and challenges faced in balancing work, family, and personal life — as their career paths take them from clinical medicine to leadership within government, academia, hospitals, provider groups, managed care, pharma, consulting, and entrepreneurial venture.

The stories (which are actually “case studies”) illustrate the trailblazing and creativity of a group of professional women who understand how to use processes and procedures to manage the complexities of large organizations and how to exercise leadership to motivate and lead others through change and uncertainty.

“This new book from AAPL is especially unique because it follows women physicians over three decades,” says Peter Angood, MD, president and CEO of AAPL. “These women come from all walks of life, have faced and overcome challenges, and have demonstrated great creativity in their career choices. The book shows a collective pride in what women physician leaders have accomplished, validation of choosing a non-traditional career path, and fulfillment in having chosen medicine as a rewarding career that makes a difference,” Angood says.

Women physicians now comprise 50% or more of most U.S. medical school classes. Yet relatively few fill the most senior management positions within the healthcare system. At a time when most agree that the U.S. healthcare delivery system needs fundamental change, this book makes the case for talented women physician executives, articulate in the language of healthcare policy and business, to be among those leading the way.

From the Foreword by Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, MD, FACP, FAMWA, President-elect, American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)

“From these women, we can all learn that that if there is not a path, we can create one. If the path is not well trodden, we must walk it and make it passable for the next generation. If the path is narrow, we must walk with others as we widen it. None of us is on this journey alone. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, beside those who are with us, and for those who come after us.”

Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Physician Leaders

About Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA

Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA, is a board-certified Family Practitioner with more than three decades of clinical and management experience. Dr. Shlian has been able to balance work life with writing, producing several nonfiction articles, chapters, and books on medical management issues. She also writes fiction. All her works of fiction have won literary awards, including the Florida Book Award’s Gold Medal.

About the American Association for Physician Leadership

The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) is focused on the personal transformation of all physicians, and through them the organizations they serve. With the goal of improving patient outcomes, workforce wellness, and a refinement of all healthcare delivery, AAPL has remained the only association solely focused on providing professional development, leadership education, and management training exclusively for physicians. Since its founding in 1975, AAPL has educated 250,000+ physicians across 40 countries—including CEOs, chief medical officers and physicians at all levels of healthcare. www.physicianleaders.org