By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd

***

***

Medicine today is vastly different than a generation ago, and all health care professionals need new skills to be successful and reduce the emerging risks outlined in this textbook, as well as the “unknown-unknowns” elsewhere. Traditionally, the physician was viewed as the “captain of the ship”. Today, their role may be more akin to a ship’s navigator, using clinical, teaching skills and knowledge to chart the patient’s course through a confusing morass of insurance requirements, fees, choices, rules and regulations to achieve the best attainable clinical outcomes.

This new leadership paradigm includes many classic business school principles, now modified to fit the decade long PP-ACA, the era of health reform, and modern technical connectivity and EMRs.

LEADERSHIP: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2023/04/14/what-is-a-leadership-and-can-it-be-defined/

Thus, the physician must be a subtle guide on the side; not bombastic sage on the stage. These, newer health 3.0 leadership philosophies might include:

•Negotiation – working to optimize appropriate treatment plans; ie., quality of life versus quantity of life,
•Team play – working in concert with other allied healthcare professionals to coordinate care delivery ,ithin a clinically appropriate and cost-effective framework;
•Working within the limits of competence – avoiding the pitfalls of the medical generalist versus the specialist that may restrict access to treatment, medications, physicians and facilities by clearly acknowledging when a higher degree of service is needed on behalf of the patient – all while embracing holistic primary care;
•Respecting different cultures and values – inherent in the support of the medical Principle of Autonomy is the acceptance of values that may differ from one’s own. As the US becomes more culturally hetero geneous, medical providers are called upon to work within, and respect, the socio-cultural and/or spiritual framework of patients, students and their families;
•Seeking clarity on what constitutes marginal care – within a system of finite resources; providers are called upon to openly communicate with patients regarding access to marginal medical information and/or treatments.
•Supporting evidence-based practice – healthcare providers, should utilize outcomes data to reduce variation in treatments to achieve higher efficiencies and improved care delivery thru evidence based medicine [EBM];
•Fostering transparency and openness in communications – healthcare professionals should be willing, and prepared, to discuss all aspects of care, especially when discussing end-of-life issues or when problems arise;
•Exercising decision-making flexibility – treatment algorithms, templates and clinical pathways are useful tools when used within their scope; but providers must have the authority to adjust the plan if circumstances warrant.

HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2025/05/01/healthcare-leadership-on-the-brink-executives-eyeing-the-exits/

Assessment

Becoming skilled in the art of listening and interpreting — In her ground-breaking book, Narrative Ethics: Honoring the Stories of Illness, Rita Charon, MD PhD, a professor at Columbia University, writes of the extraordinary value of using the patient’s personal story in the treatment plan. She notes that, “medicine practiced with narrative competence will more ably recognize patients and diseases; convey knowledge and regard, join humbly with colleagues, and accompany patients and their families through ordeals of illness.” In many ways, attention to narrative returns medicine full circle to the compassionate and caring foundations of the patient-physician relationship.

These thoughts represent only a handful of examples to illustrate the myriad of new skills that tomorrows’ healthcare professionals must master in order to meet their timeless professional obligations of compassionate care and contemporary treatment effectiveness; all within the context modern risk management principles.

BRAND MANAGEMENT: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2025/07/07/brand-management-7-approaches-for-doctors-and-financial-advisors/

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors@outlook.com -OR- http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

Like and Subscribe

***

***

Filed under: Ask a Doctor, Career Development, Health Law & Policy, Managed Care, Management, Marcinko Associates, mental health, Op-Editorials, Practice Management | Tagged: AI, Columbia University, david marcinko, EBM, EHRs, EMRs, health, healthcare, leadership skills, Management, medicine, mental health, physicians, PP-ACA, Rita Charon MD, Technology | Leave a comment »