Teresa Martín-Carreras, MD, diagnostic radiology resident and imaging informatics fellow, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, contributed this post.
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI) Leadership Summit, a meeting where radiologists in all stages of their career joined business school experts to study the inner-workings of a successful health care enterprise. Organizational success has many facets, including fostering resilience amongst team members, shaping your professional brand, adequately navigating management transitions and understanding cost and reimbursement models.
My Summit experience began with a discussion about resilience. As a radiology leader, you can build a resilient team that can overcome leadership or financial issues within your organization. To build resilience, it is crucial to bring your team together, set your vision for success and learn how to deal with setbacks. The process starts with introspection, particularly of past challenges. As Scott Taylor, MBA, PhD, said, “Resilience grows through challenges and setbacks.” Is there something you realize now about your problem-solving process that you didn’t appreciate previously? How can you process and deal with failure in the future, both individually and as a member of your team? Identify your team’s commonalities, and leverage them to move forward and work towards a stronger and more purposeful relationship.
On the second day of the Summit, we had a comprehensive discussion regarding the critical role that personal branding plays in career success. Take a step back, and ask yourself – are you taking intentional action that reflects your core values? Do your relationships help enhance the messages you’re communicating? Build relationships with your colleagues and seek out mentors. The opportunities that arise from this support system will ultimately contribute to the success of your department or practice, and propel you towards the next step in your career.
Finally, we also tackled reimbursement models and organizational financial wellness. It’s no secret that many physicians lack sufficient knowledge about the intersection of health care and business theory. Financial fluency, including an understanding of cost and reimbursement, can make the difference between a healthy, functioning organization, and one which faces challenging times. Business concepts were solidified through participation in several case study group activities which explored how to deal with difficult times and management transitions in academic and private practice settings. Additional topics discussed included: opportunities and pitfalls of transparency in times of transition, how to evaluate offer letters and how to critically appraise profit and loss statements.
As I reflect on the many lessons learned at the 2019 RLI Leadership Summit, I encourage you to be the future of radiology that you want to see. Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, use your platform to get engaged, and learn the functions of your department or practice. This will not only help advance your career, but it will also contribute to the success of the organization, and ultimately lead to better patient care.
- Interested in digging deeper into these topics? Registration for the 2020 RLI Leadership Summit is now available.
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