The Missing Curriculum in Medical School

Recently, I sat across from a soft-spoken surgeon at breakfast. He had just come off a stretch of overnight call, and while the weariness showed in his face, his words were sharp. 

“I know how to fix things with surgery,” he said. “That’s what I’ve trained my whole life to do. But nobody trained me for the hardest part of my job, which is management and leadership. You know…the messy stuff. I really need help.” 

That wasn’t the first time I had a conversation like that. It’s not uncommon for physicians to find dealing with people as people, not patients, to be the messiest part of their job.  

The Changing Reality of Physician Leadership 

Since founding Good Leadership, I’ve worked with hundreds of leaders, physicians included, who are wrestling with how to lead when the rules keep changing. 

In healthcare, those changes are especially complex: 

• The shifting sands of independent practices intermixed with system-based care 

• The growing influence of business and finance in healthcare leadership 

• The mounting pressure to do more with less 

And seemingly out of nowhere, physicians are being asked to lead teams, shape strategy, and sit on boards with little to no preparation. 

We Built What They Asked For 

The Physician Leadership Accelerator wasn’t born in a boardroom. It came from listening to surgeons, family doctors, and anesthesiologists… each had a version of the same story. They weren’t looking for another certificate or a heavy academic program. They wanted something real, relevant, and pragmatic.  

So, we built a cohort-based experience tailored to their world: 

• One-on-one coaching that fits into busy clinical lives 

• Peer learning across specialties 

• Candid conversations about business, leadership, and influence 

• Two destination retreats designed to reset and refocus 

This isn’t about transforming physicians into administrators. It’s about helping them show up as better leaders in the roles they already have and the ones they’ll grow into next. 

A Different Kind of Growth 

I’m grateful for the founding voices who helped shape this program who understand that leadership isn’t separate from medicine. It’s part of it. A special thanks to the steering team: 

• John Pryor, MD, MHCDS, President and Chairman, Proliance Surgeons 

• Mark Sannes, MD, Chief Medical Officer, HealthPartners 

• Troy Simonson, Founder and CEO, True North Health Partners 

• Rachel Uzlik, CPHQ, Founder and CEO, Aetos Health 

• Shannon Foster, MD FACS, Speaker, Educator, Consultant, SMF Consulting Services 

• Ed Hellman, MD MBA, Former President, OrthoIndy 

• Mark Mariani, MD MBA, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, Retail Health, MultiCare Health System 

• Yarrow McConnell, MD, Lead, Breast Program, MultiCare Cancer Institute, Multicare Health System 

• Retu Saxena, MD, Cardiologist and Researcher, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation 

• Robert Winfield, MD FACS, Head of Surgery, University of Kansas Medical Center 

So if you’re a physician and you’ve ever thought, I wasn’t trained for this part, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to figure it out alone either. 

Because sometimes, the most meaningful growth doesn’t come from another textbook. 
It comes from showing up in a room full of people who are wrestling with the same messiness. 

To learn more about the Physician Leadership Accelerator, click here.