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The Role of Physician Leadership in 21st Century Healthcare Administration Described by Richard L. Paula, MD, CPE

Richard L. Paula, MD, CPEI am the Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa, Florida. My office engages with technology deployed for patient care—primarily the electronic medical record (EMR), but also hardware devices, biomedical devices such as ventilators and anesthesia machines. It is the responsibility of the CMIO to ensure that clinical workflows are conducive to great patient care, and our mission is to use technology to make it easier to care for patients.

If you had asked me early in my career if I was interested in becoming a full-time healthcare system executive, I would have said you were crazy. I genuinely enjoyed caring for patients, as well as teaching residents and medical students. I transitioned to a physician executive over a period of five years. It was a move borne out of a desire to improve patient flow in our emergency department. I was heavily involved in using data-driven process improvement to care for patients better and faster, which led to a department-specific EMR and then to a hospital-wide EMR.

When I started as CMIO, I attempted to work clinically and fulfill my executive role simultaneously. It did not work. The demands of my administrative role meant I had to work long hours, which then diminished my ability to work clinically. As I worked less clinically, I decided to dedicate my career to being a highly effective physician executive. I pursued professional development as a physician executive and obtained further education and training, just as I did in my path to becoming a board-certified Emergency Physician years earlier.

Why Physician Leadership Is Important

Physicians who transition from clinical care to leadership roles in healthcare administration have the benefit of direct patient care. Life and death decisions bring a great moral weight that you carry with you permanently. Physician executives must make decisions that benefit our patients and caregivers as well as the bottom line of the organization. For instance, when I am working with the chief medical officer, my role is to focus on the technology and assist her with that, but I am always thinking, “Is this going to improve patient care and make patients healthier?” When I talk to medical staff, I explain to them why certain decisions were made and why we are occasionally required compromise.

Once I became committed to my full-time physician executive role, I was determined to demonstrate my dedication to my new career path. This involved extra training and education in hospital finance, negotiation, HR training, accounting, and budgeting. I earned a CPE (certified physician executive) designation and was excited to see that the American Board of Physician Specialties® (ABPS) had developed the American Board of Administrative Medicine (ABAM) to offer board certification to physicians with proven expertise in nonclinical medicine. Board certification with the ABAM is a perfect fit for physicians seeking professional development and validation of their efforts.

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Medical organizations throughout North America understand that our rigorous certification standards prove that ABPS Diplomates are capable of delivering the best patient care possible.

Far too often, medicine is led by less than 5% of non-practicing physicians taking away and replacing the voice of the 95% of physicians practicing and placing patient safety and care first on the front lines every day. The American Board of Physician Specialties has raised the standards in physician board certification not only in the quality of their boards of certification, but in hearing and allowing for the voice of those active physicians caring directly for patients. Having been a part of the ABPS over the last 28 years has allowed me to grow as a woman leader in a field often wrought with challenges. It helped me and others raise the bar of the standards of care in my specialty, Emergency Medicine, through their Board Certification in Emergency Medicine (BCEM). ABPS also helped raise the standards of care for 21st century medicine through their certifications in other specialties, particularly in Integrative Medicine & Disaster Medicine. Having physician voices heard matters to medicine and is essential in the betterment of patient safety and care.

Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Emergency Medicine
On October 18, 2007, President George W. Bush released Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21), calling on our nation, among other initiatives, to “collectively support and facilitate the establishment of a discipline of disaster health”. It is a great testament to the wisdom and foresight of the American Board of Physician Specialties that it immediately set to work and created, within the short span of only one year, an educational blueprint and set of certification examinations, both written and oral, for a new subspecialty of disaster medicine—and it is why I chose to be part this vital initiative and this wonderful organization. This is but one of the many innovative programs initiated by the American Board of Physician Specialties over the years, and why I am proud to support its work on behalf of our nation’s public health.

Art Cooper, MD
Disaster Medicine
When the American Board of Physician Specialties offered to host the American Board of Integrative Medicine, ABPS became a landmark organization working to move medicine into the twenty first century. Certifying physicians who have completed rigorous academic training in Integrative Medicine ensures that the field of Integrative Medicine will continue to develop academically, clinically, and professionally. The leadership of ABPS continues to impress me - they are diligent in constantly innovating to provide certifications for physicians who want to advance their careers and their areas of expertise. I am honored to be a part of this organization.

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD
Integrative Medicine
There are many ways board certification advances a physician career. ABPS Board examination verifies your accuracy, precision, and reflects your mastery of your residency training verifying your expertise. ABPS Board certification demonstrates your level of expertise beyond your practice experience, primary education degrees, and training which are necessary for insurance reimbursement and practice privilege requirements. Attaining your ABPS Board Certification will clarify your purpose, secure your practice growth, and expand into leadership positions. Board certification can serve as an indication of a physician’s commitment to medicine, beyond the minimal standards and competency of training, their measurement to quality of care, and attaining an award for excellence.

Chris Kunis MD
Internal Medicine
When I think historically, advancement in medicine and patient safety and care has been driven by the diversity of people and scientific thought. That’s what I found at the ABPS and more. For over 60 years that is just who we are. I found a physician certifying body that provides a choice and voice to all physicians ensuring that patients are always placed first.

Jerry Allison, MD
Emergency Medicine
When I decided to pursue a full time role as a physician executive it was important to me to obtain additional professional training, education and work experience. Board certification through the ABPS in Administrative Medicine is validation of my efforts and a demonstration of dedication to professional development. We need more physicians to become full time health care executives, knowing there is a board certification option in Administrative Medicine encourages physicians to take the leap from full time clinical practice to healthcare organizational leadership.

Richard Paula, MD
Administrative Medicine
The American Board of Physician Specialties has provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of internal medicine through board certification. As a hospitalist, board certification is an expected credential, and hospitals recognize the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) as one of the three standard credentialling bodies for Internal Medicine. Additionally, the ABPS has helped me develop leadership skills as a Board member and Committee Chairperson. ABPS has also helped me sharpen critical thinking skills as a test question developer and reviewer. The Allopathic (MD) and Osteopathic (DO) physicians in the ABPS are lifelong learners and frequently pursue multiple board certifications. I enjoy the camaraderie of my peers in ABPS.

Loren Jay Chassels, DO
Internal Medicine
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