Why emergency physicians make great leaders outside the ER

 Twitter |  Facebook |  digg it |   StumbleUpon |   LinkedIn | 

By Wesley A. Curry, MD

A crucible is defined as a vessel made of material which does not melt easily, and is used for high temperature chemical reactions.  It's an easy analogy to make the case that the ER has served as a crucible to forge many emergency physicians into outstanding leaders and managers outside the emergency department.

The numbers of emergency physicians in top healthcare positions in hospital administration, medical group management, medical insurance companies-even politics, continues to expand.

In a recent article published by ACEP on physician leadership, an excellent case was made for future areas of emergency physician involvement in hospital and healthcare system leadership. It inspired me to think about why I believe many emergency physicians have the potential to become great leaders.

Warren Bennis, our modern guru of leadership has stated; "Leaders do the right thing, and managers do things right". The best leaders in any field have a strong sense of what, when, and how to do the right thing, often with  less than perfect information and limited resources -- and under time constraints.  These attributes sound a lot like a highly proficient and compassionate emergency physician who cares for many sick or injured patients daily, while providing quality medical care.

I know firsthand what it's like to go from "pit doc" to an executive office.  I was transformed by my clinical practice, which I still maintain today. The many "lessons learned" from this experience continue to influence my leadership style. I am now the CEO of one of the largest physician partnerships in the country. As a younger physician, I never imagined I would now influence and lead a large number of healthcare providers who treat millions of patients each year in seven states.

Not every emergency physician is destined to be a leader, especially outside the emergency room. But I expect the trend of healthcare leaders and managers being recruited from the ranks of emergency physicians in practice today, will only accelerate in the future. The crucible that is the ER will continue to produce new healthcare leaders able to use their skills to inspire others to "do the right thing" for our patients as well as our healthcare providers. More emergency physicians in leadership positions outside the ER will only improve healthcare long term for everyone.  

I look forward to your comments.