November 19, 2024
Growing together: How Sound creates a culture of leadership
By Mihir Patel, MD, CPE | CEO for Hospital Medicine | Sound Physicians
Dr. Mihir Patel presenting at the 2024 Medical Director Summit (MDS).
Great patient care starts with great clinician leadership. Identifying and developing effective leaders is a cornerstone of Sound’s mission to bring better to the bedside. I am often asked about how Sound builds the next generation of clinical leaders. The expertise and thoughtfulness that our leaders bring to our patients, teams, and, most importantly, our hospital partners is not something that just happens. It is, by design, built into the ways we educate, train, and support our clinical leadership.
Fostering leadership potential
While not every clinician aspires to be a leader, it’s crucial to provide avenues for those who do. Excellent leaders rise to the occasion when opportunities are open and available to them. My fellow specialty leaders and I are responsible for ensuring those paths exist for all clinicians working in our teams. Creating an internal pool of leadership potential is one of the best ways to maintain a steady recruitment of clinicians who understand how to run a practice effectively.
Emerging Leaders
Dr. Charles Charman, medical director and overseer of the Emerging Leaders program, presents at the 2024 EmLe cohort session at MDS.
For the past 12 years, Sound‘s Emerging Leaders program has offered clinicians of all specialties the chance to develop their leadership skills and explore future leadership opportunities. Open for physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) to apply, those selected join a cohort of around 75 like-minded achievers interested in learning how to use their natural skills to become medical directors and run a successful practice.
The EmLe curriculum is updated to stay ahead of healthcare leadership trends. Built with the help of specialty leaders, the program emphasizes competencies such as leading meetings, improving program performance, networking with leadership, and more. Of the cohort members who fulfilled all the 2023 program requirements, 11 clinicians officially moved into a leadership role within 48 months of the program. As for the clinicians‘ personal development, 80 percent of participants rated their experience in the program as high or very high, and 90 percent felt their leadership skills had improved.
Associate medical directors
Since every Sound program is uniquely designed to best suit their hospital partner’s needs, one medical director may not be enough to manage the practice, day–to-day. Enter the associate medical director. This unique leadership role provides another layer of leadership to support the medical director and even act as chief in their absence. It’s also an excellent training ground for clinicians who may be medical directors someday.
Associate medical directors keenly observe key program deliverables to ensure they’re identified, met, reported, and — if needed — improved through necessary action. They’re expected to integrate themselves into the hospital through patient experience committees, partner group meetings, and strategic planning. The role especially benefits programs with a larger number of clinicians or programs looking to better their key performance indicator scores as a result of partnering with Sound.
So, I’m a Sound medical director. Now what?
Medical Director Dr. Matthew Lockwood (second from right) with members of his team at Samaritan Healthcare.
Supporting clinicians after their ascension to leadership positions is crucial. Leadership is a journey, and throwing clinicians to the wolves once they’ve proved their acumen halts any and all future progress — for the leader, their team, and their hospital partner. Investing in our medical directors through continued training and collaborative opportunities creates a culture of learning and growth that prevents our mission of bringing better to the bedside from growing stagnant.
Sound’s People Development team is a critical fixture of our medical director training. Dedicated to supporting medical directors in their leadership and team management, they support talent reviews, facilitate engagement surveys, offer certified coaching, and create personal development tools. Most importantly, they work with specialty leaders like me to create structured training curriculums for medical directors throughout their careers with us.
Medical director boot camp
Whether a clinician is promoted to medical director or hired as one, every Sound medical director will take part in our medical director boot camp. This event, which is offered nationally, brings a cohort of medical directors together for in-person training that reinforces the owner’s mentality we want each of our medical directors to have when leading their local practice. The medical director provides support and leadership for the clinical team to deliver the highest level of patient care while managing program sustainability and growth. One of the greatest strengths is that it’s led by faculty leaders who’ve been in the shoes of medical directors and can relate and teach the experience first-hand. Key areas of focus include:
Dr. Tamara Beard (left) and Dr. Daniel Martinez Barrera cook a pancake breakfast to show appreciation during Nurse’s Week.
- Tactical training
- Knowing how to manage and lead teams and external stakeholders.
- Tools for implementing and improving program management.
- How to run a practice
- Understanding of financial success drivers.
- Essential recruitment and retention for your team.
- Clinical performance
- Tracking clinical performance indicators.
- Implementing programs to improve patient experience and best practices.
Though boot camp is a one-time event, the key focus areas are reinforced with quarterly meetings covering recent trends in program management and financial operation. It almost serves as a mini-MBA program for clinical leaders and provides broader access to best practices nationwide.
National Leadership Zoom (NLZ) and the Medical Director Summit (MDS)
Medical directors watching Sound’s CEO Jeff Alter and Medical Group President Dr. John Birkmeyer present during the MDS 2024 plenary session.
With a clinical population as large as ours, one of our greatest assets is our national footprint. Bringing our leaders together for interactive leadership development is paramount to maintaining clinical practice excellence across our partnerships. The National Leadership Zoom (NLZ) connects clinical leaders virtually, and the Medical Director Summit (MDS) is our once-yearly conference that brings everyone together.
Together, these collaborative forums encourage sharing of ideas, solutions, and success stories. Our clinical leaders may be at various stages in their leadership journey, but through NLZ and MDS, our medical directors are empowered by the national resources Sound affords, taking all they learn back to their local partner programs.
Reaping what you sow
Dr. Patel and Regional Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dave Gonzales present an award at MDS 2024.
Tending to our clinical leadership with intention and strategy yields benefits at every level of Sound’s practice. In a recent survey, our clinicians rated their medical directors’ effectiveness 4.2/5, showcasing their improved confidence and satisfaction in their leaders. Medical directors report a strong sense of purpose in their role and feel empowered by Sound’s leaders. Our teams’ ability to recruit and retain clinicians reflects these results. Effective leaders keep the teams together and clinicians find different opportunities for engagement in growth and fulfilling their career potential.
Our leaders’ goal is to go above and beyond for our hospital partners. We guide the team with clinical data needed to improve patient care and hold the practice management mindset that emphasizes a program’s financial viability as much as its clinical effectiveness. The medical director is the linchpin of a program’s success, and through this commitment, we maintain a strong foundation of leadership excellence that fosters both sustainable growth and outstanding patient outcomes.
Medical directors and clinical leaders celebrating bringing better to the bedside at the 2024 Medical Director Summit.