Every year, SCP Health (SCP) hosts an annual Medical Leadership Conference (MLC), inviting medical directors from around the country to come together, connect, and learn more about being a medical leader. After two years of virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLC22, held in Orlando, FL, was a welcome chance to meet with everyone in person.
Connecting clinical and operational leaders
MLC22 was a milestone for SCP, bringing three separate but connected groups together for the first time – the senior leadership team, medical directors, and staffing operations. The opportunity to connect with one another gave members of each audience a better understanding of how their roles fit together to deliver exceptional patient outcomes.
The senior leadership team enjoyed the chance to interact with the clinicians who are on the front lines delivering care and gained valuable insight into current health care trends. Members of the staffing operations group took advantage of the face-to-face opportunity to renew relationships and discuss best practices for staffing in today’s environment, while medical directors were pleased to put faces to names, discuss the challenges and successes they are seeing in the field, and meet the people supporting and enabling their practice behind the scenes.
Building connections and showing appreciation
MLC22 offered opportunities to network, build relationships, and show appreciation for everyone who attended the conference.
On the first night, the welcome reception featured a “Helping Hands” activity, where the stage was set for a week of teamwork, asking groups to work together to build prosthetic hands that are later delivered to amputees living in developing countries. The teamwork theme carried on into the evening’s sports-themed outdoor reception, complete with the opportunity for attendees to make their own team pennant!
An early morning Family Appreciation breakfast showed gratitude for the support and sacrifice clinician families make every day, and Dr. Beverly Gladney’s annual “Pink Party” breakfast was a true celebration, recognizing women’s contributions and impact in medicine.
Inspirational speakers
Throughout the conference, several keynote speakers brought new perspectives, ideas, and techniques to the forefront.
SCP Health’s Chief Executive Officer Rich D’Amaro highlighted the path forward, exploring the health care market and continued investment in people, culture, and innovation. During his presentation, Enterprise Chief Medical Officer Randy Pilgrim, MD, FACEP, FAAFP, discussed the opportunities and imperatives for health care transformation while identifying strategies to aid in revitalizing our health care system. David Schillinger, MD, Chief Medical Officer, focused on learning from experiences, focusing on the mission, and creating a culture of change.
Alison Levine taught that “backing up is not the same as backing down,” and illustrated how important leadership principles learned in her extreme adventure experiences can also apply in today’s extreme health care environment. Jenice Baker, MD, relayed her extensive study of disparities in health care and explored the historical context for subconscious bias in addition to giving tips on how to promote more inclusive practices for providing unbiased care.
Laughter and affirmation filled the room while Jay Kaplan, MD, shared experiences related to burnout and balance while challenging everyone to find what he calls “gratitude and legacy moments” each day. Stefanie Johnson spoke about better performance and diversity, calling us to amplify, optify, unify, identify, and edify – her five key competencies for inclusion as an organization.
Finally, Josef Thundihiyl, MD, educated our audience on the legalization of cannabis in some states and how it has presented new questions around long-term effects, while also giving useful tips for assessing and treating patients who may have drug dependencies.
Educational breakouts
Each day at MLC offered the opportunity to attend engaging breakout sessions designed to cover relevant and trending clinical topics. In addition to guest speakers, SCP Health’s clinical and operational leadership shared presentations covering a multitude of areas, including:
- Clinician wellness
- Achieving hospital metrics
- NP/PA educational future
- Patient flow in the emergency department
- Building success as a new medical director
- NP/PA advocacy and scope of practice
- CMS changes, coding, and documentation
- Cybersecurity at home
- Conflict resolution
- Digital health for hospitalists
- Best practices to engage clinicians
- Value-based care
- Patient experience toolbox
Recognizing excellence
SCP Health is proud to count a number of exceptional Medical Directors, Lead Nurse Practitioners, and Lead Physician Assistants among its ranks. Each year at MLC, we recognize a deserving few whose superb skills, attributes, and performance have made a distinct difference.
Dr. Pilgrim and Dr. Schililnger joined SCP’s Group Medical Officers in presenting the 2022 Excellence in Leadership Awards, recognizing twelve outstanding individuals for their dedication and commitment to medical leadership.
A representation of commitment and devotion
Overall, the 2022 Medical Leadership Conference was an unqualified success. In the words of SCP Health Chief Executive Officer Rich D’Amaro, “The entire week was an unbelievable opportunity to reconnect with our terrific medical directors. From the conversations, the energy, the lectures, and all the amazing events, I can say it was the best event we ever had. It’s an excellent representation of the commitment and devotion that our clinicians and our management teams have for what they do every day – serving patients.”
