AAPL Summit: Second-Day Surprise and Big Plans for Future

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Peter Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, the president and CEO of the American Association for Physician Leadership, said he isn’t often caught by surprise – but he was on Saturday.

On the second day of AAPL’s Spring Summit, outgoing board chair J. Gregory Jolissaint, MD, MS, CPE, FAAPL, and former chair Alan P. Marco, MD, MMM, CPE, FAAPL, managed to do so, presenting Angood with an honorary fellowship from the association.

Dr. Peter Angood, AAPL president and CEO, is presented with an honorary fellowship by Dr. J. Gregory Jolissaint, left, and Dr. Alan P. Marco, right. | AAPL

Dr. Peter Angood, AAPL president and CEO, is presented with an honorary fellowship by Dr. J. Gregory Jolissaint, left, and Dr. Alan P. Marco, right. | AAPL

“I’m not often caught by surprise, but it’s a privilege to be part of this organization,” Angood said as he shooed away a tear. “It is a passion of mine in so, so many ways, and to be bestowed [with this honor] as well is just a true privilege, so thank you so much.”

For Angood, the honor was an acknowledgment of his contributions since a search committee brought him in as CEO in 2011 for what was then known as the American College of Physician Executives.

“In the ensuing seven years [and] with this innovative and forward-thinking leader at the helm,” Jolissaint said in his lead up to the announcement, “AAPL has become a much more relevant organization with state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure, a highly valued educational institution that provides second-to-none leadership training at every level of a clinician’s career, an international and interdisciplinary association with a focus for the future, and an association with live meetings that engage both new and seasoned health care leaders as well as everyone in between.”

The unexpected honor was the only unscripted event – which Jolissaint jokingly declared to be his “final act of defiance” as board chair – during the Summit’s midday convocation, a program that recognizes incoming and outgoing board members, honors recent recipients of the Certified Physician Executive credential and new fellows, and announces winners of the association’s Schenke and Leape Ahead awards.

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The gathering, in the ballroom of the JW Marriott Washington, D.C., was also an opportunity for Angood to expound on the state of the association.

He touted the faculty and the more than 100 courses the association offers, and that since its inception AAPL has had about 230 different courses and 135 faculty members – “a testament to the impact that we’re able to create over time,” he said with a nod the association’s various academies, its CPE program and its five university partners.

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Angood said the counseling sessions made available through the career development program are “pivotally important” in how physicians portray themselves on the internet and LinkedIn as well as during job interviews.

“Sometimes that takes mentorship, sometimes that takes coaching and we do a variety of that as well,” he said. “The psychometric tools that we continue to expand upon are very pivotal also. That spectrum becomes an important part of career planning, which is not ad hoc anymore; it really needs to be proactively thought through, and we’re trying to make sure we can help you do that.”

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AAPL’s recent acquisition of Greenbranch Publishing is an opportunity to “create more influence and thought leadership in the industry,” Angood said, adding that the acquisition “really allows us to expand how we provide the information resources that you need. You’ll see us shift over the next three to six months into more of an aggressive digital-type platform. Yes, we all love the PLJ [Physician Leadership Journal], but we also love (the Greenbranch) set of publications, and we’ll mix those two together and give it a much deeper set of activity for you.”

Online work and direct collaboration with clinical discipline societies such as the American College of Physicians, the American Hospital Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, and the American Society of Health System Pharmacists Collaboration allows AAPL to expand its footprint in the health care industry.

“And the overall intent and purpose of this is really to create that significant change in health care,” Angood said, “and, yes, to continue to support that all physicians are leaders at some level. But how do we promote leadership as a whole? And the end result is to create that change in health care.

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“Fiscally, we remain a healthy organization. We have invested heavily in ourselves over the last couple of years. We’ve done that, however, from investing from our own funds. We have no debts, we have grown terrifically, we’ve used our reserves judicially, and our reserves are appropriately placed in the markets, and we’re watching the markets with a strong investment advisory group to make sure that we stay fiscally sound – and we are strong in that regard.”

Angood concluded by proclaiming the state of the organization is “strong” and headed in a direction appropriate for “where health care is at.”

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“We have the opportunity to continue expanding internationally,” Angood said. “We’ve got several projects that are active and we continue to get solicitations from others. We’ve got representatives from the National Health Service in the UK here this weekend. We’ve talked with other countries in the European sector, the Middle East as well as Africa and India. So, we’ll gradually move along in that direction. We have some important collaborations, strategic partnerships in there as well, and those will help us continue to expand our footprint.”

Andy Smith is a staff writer for the American Association for Physician Leadership.