SoundPractice American Association for Physician Leadership®

Healthcare is fundamentally a scientific pursuit, from clinical skills to cutting-edge diagnostic testing. Medicine is also an art, and art plays a vital role in the success of patient care. Once such element of art is where healthcare is delivered. Physical structures can affect a patient’s experiences and outcomes. On this topic, SoundPractice host Mike Sacopulos interviews Sharon Woodworth.
Sharon Woodworth, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, EDAC, ACHA, is the healthcare sector leader of HED, a national integrated architecture and engineering firm with more than 400 employees and elite clients such as USC, the VA Medical Center, and the U.S. State Department. Her sector specializes in designing innovative healthcare centers for efficient patient care.
Woodworth’s career path that led to architecture is an inspiring one, and she is known for driving change in operations and care through design. Hear her thoughts on design of outpatient facilities, designing to retain healthcare providers, how design can support “lean” operational models for staff, and trends for the future.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

The word Catholic is often capitalized and used in reference to the religious denomination. It may also be an adjective meaning comprehensive or universal. On this episode of SoundPractice we will be discussing the term in both of its definitions.
The Catholic Church and Its Hospitals: A Marriage Made in Heaven? is a new book extensively researched and written by Patricia Gabow, MD, MACP, former CEO of Denver General Hospital. The Foreword of the book is by Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP.
Hear about the role of the bishops and the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) in policy making for the Catholic health system. We also discuss surprising statistics about the extent, reach, and influence of Catholic Healthcare in terms of the number of beds and hospitals. From small hospitals built by nuns and nurses to now having four out of the ten largest healthcare systems in the United States being Catholic systems.
There is another side to the story. Patients may not understand that certain reproductive care or end-of-life care are not available to them in a Catholic health system. Physicians who work in these systems may not understand the reach and influence of the ERDs. We will be exploring this issue in depth. In Gabow’s book, she provides a section on considerations for the Catholic health system’s return to mission fidelity.
Join us for this insightful and thought-provoking discussion on the Catholic Church and its hospitals.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

At first blush the ideas of servants and leaders seem distinct, even mutually exclusive. How could an individual be a servant and a leader simultaneously? Perhaps the initial reaction to the juxtaposition of servant and leader is the issue. When approached from the correct perspective, the contradiction fades and connections come into focus.
David M. Zechman, BSE, MPA, president of The Zechman Group, LLC, is a former hospital system president and CEO and is currently an executive coach and author of Driven by Compassion – 8 Values for Successful Servant Leaders.
Zechman has spent considerable time on servants, leaders, and healthcare. He helps us to uncover leadership opportunities.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

In this episode of AAPL's SoundPractice podcast, Mike Sacopulos interviews William MacDonald, the founder of My Financial Coach. MacDonald has an extensive background in executive compensation and benefit consulting and has founded several leading organizations in this field.
Sacopulos and MacDonald discuss the areas covered by certified financial planners when working with clients, including retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, and investment management. They also discuss the innovative solutions and strategies offered by My Financial Coach's subject matter experts and the ways in which clients are using the company's technology platform.
The conversation then turns to the challenges faced by physicians in managing their personal finances, including student loan debt, managing cash flow, and planning for retirement. MacDonald continues the discussion with the importance of building employee benefits for both physicians and all employees and shares some successful strategies he has seen in this area.
Sacopulos and MacDonald also discuss the alliance between AAPL and My Financial Coach, and MacDonald shares his motivation for creating the company. He emphasizes the importance of providing personalized financial coaching to clients and helping them achieve their financial goals.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

Malika Grayson, PhD, is a contributor to the best-selling book, Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Leaders in STEM. Each contributor to the book has shared a personal career journey – including the barriers and challenges faced along the way.
In this episode, Mike Sacopulos interviews Grayson about her career and her leadership. She is the founder of STEMinist Empowered LLC, an organization which focuses on empowering Women of Color who pursue advanced degrees through application consultancy and graduate program mentorship. A global speaker and bestselling author, Grayson has given dozens of workshops and keynotes and is the recipient of many honors including SWE Advocating Women in Engineering and Zellman Warhaft Commitment to Diversity Award.
She also authored the best-selling book Hooded: A Black Girl's Guide to the Ph.D. Grayson’s keynotes and workshops are based on her experiences in academia and industry.
Sacopulos and Grayson cover what makes a good mentor and networking for mentoring, canceling imposter syndrome, and Navigating the Impossible, and Success through Resilience – ABCs to STEM Success.
Grayson’s passion for increasing the number of women through the STEM pipeline motivated her to create ASPIRE STEM, which provides financial assistance to young women from high school and secondary school who aspire to pursue STEM on the university level.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

Peter C. Yesawich, PhD, and Stowe Shoemaker, PhD, are authors of the book, Hospitable Healthcare: Just What the Patient Ordered!, which explores how healthcare providers can learn from the hospitality industry to improve the patient experience.
Shoemaker is Dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and holds the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Dean’s Chair at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
Yesawich, is Chair of Hospitable Healthcare Partners, LLC, and formerly Chief Growth Officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® bringing a wealth of expertise in both industries to the discussion.
Host Mike Sacopulos discusses with Yesawich and Shoemaker how many consumers feel that their experiences with healthcare providers fall short of their experiences with hospitality providers. They question whether healthcare providers could adopt principles of hospitality to enhance the patient experience.
Through original survey data, examples, and interviews with hospitality and healthcare service practitioners, the authors argue that their model can address four trends impacting healthcare:
• Patient-directed selection of providers
• Pricing transparency
• Direct-to-consumer marketing
• Patient satisfaction as a factor in reimbursement
By adopting these principles, healthcare providers can improve the patient experience and outcomes.
Overall, Hospitable Healthcare offers valuable insights for healthcare providers looking to enhance the patient experience.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org