I will never forget the time as a first-year medical student that the dean of my medical school called me into his office, looked me in the eye, and said, “Neal, you’re crazy.”
During that time, the medical school curriculum was being revamped from the ground up. The leaders of the “curriculum committee” included school of medicine professors, clinical faculty, and the dean. But, there were no medical students.
I could not fathom how a committee that decides the educational fate of medical students had no actual medical students on it. So, I approached the dean and asked to be on the committee. I would be a med student just like everyone else, but I offered to set up a comprehensive feedback and scoring system that would assess med student preferences, satisfaction, and learning benefit from the new curriculum. And that’s when the dean said, “Neal, you’re crazy. No medical student has ever done anything like this before. It’s hard enough to just be a med student. How about you just stick to that?”
But, I persisted, and eventually the dean relented. And, it turned out to be a resounding success. Because of my efforts, the medical student body created a student council designed to interact with the faculty specifically for feedback, improvements, and new initiatives for the MS1–MS4 curriculum.
The most important lesson I learned from this experience is that with their educational experience on the line, my peers looked to me as their leader. That feeling became one of the most humbling and memorable experiences I had throughout my medical training — more so than even some of the most impactful patient interactions I had.
As I went through my clinical rotations as a medical student, I became a part of many teams composed of other medical students, interns, senior residents, fellows, and attending physicians. I participated in “code blue” and other critical situations that required clear communication, delineation of roles and responsibilities, and professional leadership. I noticed how it came naturally to some, and for others it went abysmally. Some of my radiology colleagues now even joke that they look forward to reading studies alone in a dark room in order to avoid being in situations in which their voice in a more public forum may be needed.
What was also very apparent throughout my medical training was that as trainees, we were never actually taught any leadership skills. Yet somehow, we were just sort of expected to know how to run a code blue as the senior ICU resident while a patient’s life was on the line. Or provide meaningful feedback to a junior resident after a month-long rotation.
The importance of leadership training has only become more magnified as health systems have become increasingly complex and the era of the solo practice physician dwindles.
Now, more than ever, physicians need leaders who understand clinical medicine, business principles, medical legalities of physician contracts, and, most importantly, have the best interest of the physician-patient relationship in mind. Physicians nowadays must navigate increasingly challenging situations — whether that be with institutions, administrative leadership, or, most importantly, among each other.
So what can we do about it?
While there isn’t any real “one size fits all” type of answer to the challenge of how to become a physician leader, there are several avenues that physicians at any stage of their career can pursue in order to develop leadership skills. These can range from formal programs such as Healthcare Executive MBA Master’s in Healthcare Administration degrees to short course or online leadership seminars in areas such as Medical Executive Committee (MEC) fundamentals. Many institutions also provide CME budgets or similar funding sources to support such endeavors for physicians.
Yes, finding the time and resources to learn something new at any stage of career for a physician can be a daunting task. On the other hand, having the knowledge and tools to make an effective presentation in five minutes to your CFO might just make that 7 a.m. MEC meeting a little more worth it.
At the end of the day, it’s up to us as physicians to decide how to lead our profession forward. The resources to advocate for ourselves and our craft are out there. It’s up to us to find them. And use them.
What were you taught about leadership? Share in the comments.
Dr. Neal Kaushal is a gastroenterologist in Oklahoma City, OK. He serves as executive director of general GI and endoscopy at OU Health (hospital of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center). He also has a specialty in business operations and is passionate about the intersection of business and medicine to support patient access to care. He enjoys playing ball and going on walks with his three Dobermans, Rani, Riya, and Rishi. Dr. Kaushal is a 2024–2025 Doximity Op-Med Fellow.
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