Newly Published by the American Association for Physician Leadership: The Chief Medical Officer’s Essential Guidebook

WASHINGTON, DC — July 11, 2023 — The American Association for Physician Leadership has published a new book, The Chief Medical Officer’s Essential Guidebook, edited by Mark D. Olszyk, MD, MBA, CPE. Olszyk is the chief medical officer at Carroll Hospital in Maryland. 

The chief medical officer (CMO) is a senior executive responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction to an organization’s medical and clinical affairs. It is often on the career trajectory for physician leaders. The book teaches current CMOs to achieve excellence in the position, charts the course for those aspiring to be CMOs, and advises the executives and peers who work with them.

“Being a CMO is the best job in medicine. I think of myself as a minister plenipotentiary,” Olszyk says in the book’s preface. “I have the latitude — and the duty — to visit every ward, every office, every point of care, and meet with every discipline in the house of medicine.”

“Beyond the clinical world, a CMO needs to understand finances, budgets, strategic planning, regulatory readiness, ethics, law, and project management, and maintain familiarity with nursing and allied health professions.”

The book is a compilation of Olszyk’s experiences and advice as well as first person accounts from other CMO’s from across the country. It is divided into five sections: The Plan, The Anatomy of the CMO, Relationships, Systemic Thinking, and Values.

“Healthcare is not only a complex industry, it is also at an interesting inflection point as the industry continues to transform under its host of internal and external influences,” said AAPL president and CEO Peter Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL (Hon). “Those who are, or aspire to become, CMOs have opportunities to positively influence the industry and improve patient care outcomes.”

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

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