Author: David Schillinger, MD, FACEP, Chief Medical Officer
What do you call a 3-day event with 400 medical directors, lead NPPA’s and corporate medical officers? The SCP Medical Leadership Conference (MLC).
With a theme focused on the Power of You, we explored the application of our corporate themes, “grow, excel, and lead” to our core practices. Many of us are trained in our clinical practices, but rarely have we received any formal leadership training. Leaders formulate the plan to build a culture of excellence. The conference provided the opportunity to improve on the skills needed to:
- Grow your programs
- Excel in a patient-centric healthcare model and culture
- Lead and facilitate change at your organization
Participants had opportunities to hear from an excellent speaker roster on a wide range of subjects relevant in the world of hospital-based medicine. Key amongst these was the kickoff presentation by Rich D’Amaro, the CEO of SCP. While an overview of the company was presented, a macro view into healthcare and the foreseeable future was both informative and eye-opening. The unique perspective of a seasoned healthcare executive adds a new dimension to our universe as clinicians that we rarely visit.
Throughout the week, our participants heard presentations on a diverse array of issues facing us today. These are situations we must be prepared to deal with in a well-defined, preplanned approach:
- Opioid addiction and a strategy for healthcare providers to participate in a solution.
- Mass casualty incidents and planning – lessons from the Orlando nightclub shooting.
- Suicidal patients in our society and how to better assess those at risk when they come to the hospital.
- Practicing and steering clear in the “#metoo” era
- Government healthcare policy
- Managed care and other payor depressing issues
Separate breakout tracks were provided specifically to EM, HM, lead NPPAs and new leadership orientation. Informal breakout sessions allowed participants to discuss relevant issues in like-size programs and share solutions. Similar sessions allowed groups to meet with the Group Medical Officers for their programs. This time gave directors and lead NPPA’s, not often in geographic proximity, the opportunity to brainstorm solutions.
Perhaps most valuable of all was the opportunity to network with other like-minded, hardworking healthcare providers, and exchange email addresses and phone numbers. This comes from a basic understanding – we will solve many more problems working together than we can as individuals. This is one of the many values a larger organization brings to the table.
By the end of the 3-day period, a total of 49 educational sessions along with 25 small-group discussions led by SCP Clinical Leaders were offered, with an opportunity for participants to attend up to 17 hours of classes for CME credits.
In addition, we recognized 12 esteemed colleagues with Excellence in Leadership Awards, for their commitment and dedication to our core values and their ability to lead their team and navigate through rough water. A number of other providers were recognized with Top Performance awards. These reflected those departments that met or exceeded performance metrics throughout the year.
When summed up in terms of logistics, the details become overwhelming. Air travel, hotels, and meals (right down to determining how many bananas during breaks!) for over 400 attendees, presentation room layouts, coordination of breakout sessions, room acoustics, recording the sessions, designing and writing a conference website and specific mobile app, and on and on…requires an amazing team of dedicated people focused on delivering a memorable conference. We have that team!
Conference surveys certainly reflect the outstanding work done by the team and the speakers. And, while the comments are overwhelmingly positive, constructive ideas are carefully considered to make next year’s conference equally successful.
