AAPL Annual Leadership Conference Day Two: What You Are Made Of

“ ’Cause when push comes to shove,

you taste what you're made of.”

Stand by Rascall Flats, lyrics by Blair Daly / Dan Earnest Orton

Roughly midway through the AAPL Leadership Conference in Nashville, it was time for physician leaders to see what they are made of.

The day started off with a keynote address, Investing and Creating Change as a CEO in Healthcare, which was delivered by Peter WT Pisters, MD, MHCM. Pisters has served as president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas since December 2017.

During the day, there was yet another full course load of breakout sessions:

• UW Health’s Physician Leadership Development Program

• What To Do When It’s Not Working: Strategies for Dysfunctional Teams and Groups

• Building a Purpose Driven Team through Authentic Leadership

• Scaling for Business Success

• How To Win at Peer-to-Peer Conversations

• Wellness-Centered Leadership: Developing Physician Leaders to Support a Culture of Well-Being

• Unlocking Medical Revenue Cycle Management Strategies for Maximum Revenue, sponsored by Medusind

• Strategies for Clinical Leaders to Impact Total Cost of Care Management, sponsored by Lumeris

• The Culture of Call Pay: How Physician Leaders Can Build Trust and Value, sponsored by Maxworth Consulting

• Amygdala Management for Physician Leaders: Create New Neural Pathways to React Differently to Stress, sponsored by Footlamp Consulting

• Curb “Quick Quitting” with Culture-Fit Interviews, sponsored by Jackson Physician Search

• University Partner Presentation: Are You a Physician Seeking an MBA or Graduate Management Degree?

• AI Rx – Transforming Healthcare with Generative AI

• How Investing in a Physician Leadership Academy Designed by Physicians Pays You

• Payvider Council: Strategic, Innovative Solutions to Improve the Value of Care

• Physician Coaching “Path Lights” for Organizational Change

• Good Communication Between Healthcare Executives & Medical Education Professionals

• Building a Team: How Physician Leadership Can Profoundly Impact Recruitment and Retention

• Development and ROI of an On-Site Physician & APP Leadership Development Program: 5 Year Experience

At the end of the day, attendees heard the third keynote of the Leadership Conference, The Value Case for Professional Accountability, given by William O. Cooper, MD, MPH, a practicing physician, researcher, teacher, and administrator.

Cooper has led Vanderbilt University School of Medicine programs, including the Vanderbilt Health Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy (CPPA), the Master of Public Health Program and the Pediatrics Office for Faculty Development and he also oversees Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s professionalism programs for physicians, advanced practice professionals, and nursing professionals, and provides leadership and direction for the Vanderbilt Health Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy. He is an internationally recognized expert in medication safety in children and has published over 150 scholarly articles to date.

Cooper’s presentation focused on the healthcare and fundamental practicalities of maintaining professionalism and noted that patients under the care of disrespectful physicians were more likely to incur the following conditions.

• 20-30% more likely to have a surgical site infection

• 20-40% more likely to develop sepsis

• 24-30% more likely to die if trauma care is required

In addition, he noted that physicians who model disrespect account for 50-70% of an organization’s malpractice claims experience and cost.

And he challenged the attendees...

“As a leader, what will you do in the next three weeks to move the needle on professionalism at your organization?” Cooper asked the attendees to consider this as he closed his remarks.

The day ended with a social event at the Water's Edge where attendees could network and unwind while listening to the music of the local Nashville trio, Brassfield.