Physician Career Advancement & Tips for organizational success!

Amer Aldeen, MD, FACEP – Is the Chief Medical Officer for US Acute Care Solutions, the largest physician-owned acute care practice in the US (and probably the world!). He comes to offer us his experience as a physician leader in corporate healthcare America. Career advancement and ongoing professional development are key as we mature into our jobs. This episode is full of tips of wisdom and I do know you will enjoy it very much. 

• A Great physician means that you take excellent care of patients, but it also means that you possess many of the skills and abilities to be a great leader/administrator. One pitfall is that you cannot assume that being a great administrator comes automatically just because you are a great physician—it takes different training, practice, and time. You have the tools and the intellect, but there are different rules and different success metrics. Up to now, you have dedicated yourself to clinical success—working hard to excel in your undergraduate studies, medical school, residency, post-residency, etc. Now you are in a position where it is not just about how well you do individually, it’s about how well the entire team moves forward. Are you the type of person who can only make yourself perform better or can make others around you perform better, too?

Here are some quick and easy tips to get you started—doing these will cost no money at all:

• Put your CV on your computer desktop and update it frequently with every new accomplishment and milestone. 
• Be an expert in something (for the clinical generalists). What clinical scenario do you see in your daily practice that interests you the most? Be the go-to person for specific issues. You cannot know everything—but be good at most things and fabulous at a few. You don’t have to do a fellowship to be an expert in a few clinical entities.
• The word “committee” has the word “commit” in it—commit to attending, commit to working, commit to following up, commit to volunteering to do tasks. People are relying on your commitment to be there, give your input, but also listen to others’ input and complete tasks.
• If they do not remember your name, they will not remember you. Make sure they learn it but be nice about it (they are not likely familiar with your native language), and you could emphasize the proper pronunciation of your name. 
• When you disagree with an idea or plan of action, ask questions. Learn more about it; think of it as a chief complaint: get a thorough history, do not judge right away. Be patient. Work and develop your emotional intelligence (EQ).
• Where there is no money, there is no mission”: Make sure you factor in finances to all your plans for improvement. Consider low hanging fruit first—what can you improve for free? Please do it. What can you improve with a little bit of money? Do that next. What can you improve with a lot of money? Think about that, plan for it, and wait for your opportunity.
• Do not just identify problems, solve them. Identifying problems is relatively easy. Being an intelligent problem identifier is a colossal waste of talent. Instead, be an intelligent problem solver. It takes more effort, but that’s how people become extraordinary. Do you want to be known as someone who identifies problems or someone who fixes them? Mediocre managers identify problems. True leaders fix them.
  
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  Alonso Osorio, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, FAAFP.
  [email protected] 
  813-465-9157