Day 2 of the AAPL Annual Leadership Conference in Scottsdale began with a question: can an organization separate the people who lead it from the quality of the care it delivers?
The short answer, according to the morning's fireside chat, is no.
AAPL Interim CEO, Claude Brunson, MD, MSCHS, CPE, FAAPL, FASA, sat down with Stephanie Mercado, CEO of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), for a conversation about two disciplines that are quickly becoming one.
Dr. Brunson, an anesthesiologist and professor emeritus of anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, brings decades of experience in physician advocacy and organized medicine. Ms. Mercado leads the organization that sets the standard for the healthcare quality profession.
With pressure mounting on cost, workforce, and patient outcomes, the two leaders made the case that physician leaders and quality professionals can no longer work in separate lanes.
The morning began, as always, with breakfast and conversation, including sponsor roundtables and the Community of Practice sessions including an "Interprofessional Community of Practice," where physicians and colleagues from across the care team compared notes on shared leadership and an "Entrepreneur Community of Practice" concentrating on concepts for entrepreneurship and innovation in healthcare projects.
From there, deep-dive learning began. Physicians preparing for Healthcare Administration, Leadership, and Management (HALM) board certification settled in for the HALM Prep Course, with Daniel A. Handel, MD, MBA, MPH; Maggie DiConstanzo, JD; Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAPL, FAAFP, CPE; and Jennifer L. Wiler, MD, MBA. Meanwhile, members of the Vanguard met to discuss topical and current issues. The Vanguard is an invitation-only, day-long symposium for senior physician leaders.
Friday also had several workshops for those not attending HALM or Vanguard that dove deeper into leadership topics like:
- "Systems Thinking for Physician Leaders: Leading Teams in Complex Systems." This session introduced a practical, systems-based approach to leading change, grounded in real-world physician-led case studies published in the AAPL newly published book, Systems Thinking for Physician Leaders.
- "SOARing Towards Your Future — a Coaching Framework." Led by Elizabeth Warner, MD, FACP, CPE, FAAPL, this workshop had participants consider their internal strengths and external opportunities to envision aspirational future(s) which align with their highest values.
- "Leadership and Teamwork Simulation: Climbing Everest." This team simulation used the set-up of a Mount Everest expedition to help participants learn key lessons in team building, decision-making, communication, and leadership. Participants played one of five roles on a team of hikers attempting to summit the mountain.
- "The Physician Athlete: What Elite Sport Can Teach Elite Leaders." What can elite athletes teach physician leaders about focus, resilience, and peak performance under pressure? In this dynamic two-hour workshop, sports psychology expert Naakesh Dewan, MD, CPE, DLFAPA, and motor learning expert, Mark Guadagnoli, PhD, brought together their work with world-class tennis and golf athletes to explore the mental skills that separate good performance from great performance.
Lunch came with a side of health policy. A panel of policy and advocacy experts, "Navigating the Policy Maze," moderated by Bryan Becker, MD, MMM, FACP, CPE, FAAPL, with panelists Manuel Bonilla; Rebecca Colon, DO, MBA; Stephanie Mercado; and Michael Tutty, PhD, MHA, FACMPE, walked attendees through the issues most likely to land on their desks in the year ahead: payment reform, prior authorization, scope of practice, and workforce regulation. Their advice: anticipate the change rather than react to it.
Then it was on to some tried-and-true wellness. Some attendees hit the links for golf, others took to the courts for pickleball, and those in search of calm settled in for a sound bath — a guided meditation using singing bowls and gongs.
Chief medical officers gathered for an invitation-only CMO Networking Event, and the evening closed with sponsor dinners.
And, depending on how the round went, it was either a night of celebrating birdies or forgetting bogeys.
