“All physicians are leaders,” said American Association of Physician Leaders CEO, Dr. Peter Angood. But leadership requires effort and training. The guest on this episode of Sound Practice is Dr. Karen Nichols, author of the recently released, “11 Skills Every Doctor Needs To Be and Effective Leader,” Dr. Nichols proves useful categories of skills and strategies to build these skills. Insightful and comprehensive, Dr. Nichols helps physicians expand their executive abilities.
https://www.amazon.com/Physician-Leadership-Skills-Doctor-Effective/dp/1119817544
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org
 

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Dr. Karen Nichols on Physician Leadership Skills

What does commanding troops in combat have to do with leading a hospital? More than you might think. In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos sits down with Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, U.S. Army (Ret) — former commander of U.S. Army Forces in Europe, CNN military analyst — to explore the surprising parallels between military and medical leadership. Soldiers and physicians share more in common than most realize. Both are defined by their profession first, and both operate in life-and-death environments where leadership is not optional.

Hertling shares how he came to spend nearly a decade at AdventHealth developing physician leadership programs, what his doctoral research revealed about inter-professional training, and why getting doctors, nurses, and administrators in the same room may be the single most important thing hospitals can do. Inter-professional leadership training produces measurably better outcomes than siloed programs.

He also discusses his newly released memoir, If I Don't Return: A Father's Wartime Journal, drawn from a handwritten journal he kept during Operation Desert Storm.

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org.


From Battlefield to Bedside: Physician Leadership Lessons from Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling

Mark Hertling, DBA

Professional Capabilities

Influence

Accountability

Motivations and Thinking Style

Comfort with Visibility

What does it mean to truly flourish at work — and why are physician leaders especially vulnerable to losing that?

In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos sits down with MaryCay Durrant, a nationally recognized expert on human fulfillment whose 30-year career has taken her inside transformation efforts at Deloitte, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, Hyatt, and — increasingly — the world of healthcare and physician leadership. MaryCay brings a perspective that is part organizational science, part nature wisdom, and entirely focused on helping leaders rediscover what fuels them. Her approach helps human beings flourish at work. 

The conversation moves from the personal — MaryCay's father was a pediatrician and president of the American College of Physician Executives — to the deeply practical, as she walks through her WORK model, a framework for combating burnout through small, consistent adjustments rather than wholesale system overhaul.  As she describes in two compelling case studies, meaningful change happens through small communities of practice — not top-down mandates.

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org.


How Physician Leaders Can Rediscover Their Human Spirit with MaryCay Durrant

MaryCay Durrant

Self-Management

Resilience

Self-Awareness

Humility

Pamela Sullivan, MD, MBA, CPE, is the author of the new book, Career Prescription Guide: A Physician's Guide for Career Transformation or Advancement. She is a national medical director, High-Risk Programs at P3 Health Partners and founder of National Healthcare Solutions LLC. Dr. Pamela Sullivan brings a career as varied as it is distinguished — from physical therapist to emergency medicine physician, urgent care pioneer, and now national leader in value-based care. In this episode, Dr. Sullivan shares her unconventional path through medicine, her hard-won perspective on patient-centered leadership, and her vision for what healthcare can and should be. 

Episode Highlights:

- Why Value-Based Care Works: When you do the right things for the patient, the financial outcomes follow. 
- What Emergency Medicine Taught Her About People: Years in a trauma center shaped Dr. Sullivan's view of compassion and human dignity. She reflects on shedding early biases, treating every patient — from hospital CEOs to the unhoused — with equal respect. 
- The Public's Eroding Trust in Healthcare: Dr. Sullivan speaks candidly about experiencing healthcare inequities firsthand. She advocates strongly for universal access to healthcare and its core components, and acknowledges the complex, multi-layered challenges. 
- Reasons for Hope: Dr. Sullivan highlights home-based care models as a meaningful step forward. 
- Advice for Early-Career Physicians: Medicine is just one piece of what new physicians need to master. Dr. Sullivan urges young physicians to give themselves grace, invest in mentors, treat every member of the care team with dignity, and immerse themselves in their organization's culture.

Packed with wisdom for early-career physicians and insights into compassion-centered leadership, this episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about creating a better healthcare future.

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org.


Driving Value-Based Care by Putting Patients First with Dr. Pamela Sullivan

Pamela C. Sullivan, MD, MBA, CPE, FACP, FCUCM, PT

Finance

Economics

Problem Solving

Action Orientation

Join host Mike Sacopulos for a compelling conversation with Michael S. Hein, MD, MS, MHCM, PCC, senior vice president and executive coach, MEDI Leadership, about his new book, Shifting Towards Unorthodoxy. Drawing on nearly four decades in healthcare — from competitive swimming coach to general internist, CMO, CEO, and now executive leadership coach — Hein tackles a question that haunted him throughout his career: Why is healthcare leadership so difficult?

In this episode, he introduces the crucial distinction between complicated and complex systems, explores how industrial-age mindsets contribute to burnout and suffering, and shares practical insights from coaching hundreds of healthcare leaders across the country.

- How mental models and beliefs shape thinking, which determines actions and results

- The difference between being a "hero leader" versus a "gardener leader"

- Why shifting mindsets is uncomfortable — and connects to our deepest beliefs about reality

- What healthcare executives and competitive athletes have in common

Shifting Towards Unorthodoxy by Michael S. Hein, MD, — an invitation to think differently about healthcare leadership and an introduction to navigating complexity in organizational life.

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org.


Why Healthcare Leadership Is So Hard — And What to Do About It

Michael S. Hein, MD, MS, MHCM, PCC

Strategy and Innovation

Environmental Influences

Join host Mike Sacopulos for an eye-opening conversation with Hugo Huang about the financial realities of adopting generative AI in healthcare organizations. Drawing from his Harvard Business Review article "What CEOs Need to Know About the Costs of Adopting Gen AI," Hugo explains why many companies are pulling back from AI implementation due to unexpected cost pressures — and what leaders can do to avoid these pitfalls. From understanding the difference between predictive and generative AI to navigating infrastructure bottlenecks and the emerging "diamond-shaped" organizational structure, this episode provides practical guidance for healthcare executives navigating the complex landscape of AI adoption.

Hugo Huang, MBA, is an expert in cloud computing and business models who works with Canonical, a leading provider of infrastructure technology for Google's cloud business. He discusses building your AI cost dashboard, top metrics CEOs should track for AI spending visibility, understanding consumption patterns to estimate future costs, and getting started safely on AI.

"What CEOs Need to Know About the Costs of Adopting Gen AI" by Hugo Huang, published in Harvard Business Review and featured for members of the American Association for Physician Leadership. https://www.physicianleaders.org/articles/what-ceos-need-to-know-about-the-costs-of-adopting-genai

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org.

The Hidden Costs of Generative AI: What Healthcare Leaders Need to Know

Hugo Huang

Operations and Policy

Technology Integration

Critical Appraisal Skills

In this deeply moving episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos sits down with Louis M. Profeta, MD, a clinical instructor of emergency medicine at Indiana University and Marian University Schools of Medicine, bestselling author, and speaker.

Profeta shares his unconventional path to medicine — from a catastrophic neck injury that ended his Olympic dreams to choosing his college based on a basketball game. He candidly admits he initially pursued medicine for financial security, but along the way discovered a profound calling in emergency medicine, which he describes as "the most spiritual and enlightening environment in healthcare."

The conversation explores the unique position of the ER as society's great equalizer, where everyone from premature babies to Fortune 500 CEOs receive care under one roof. Profeta discusses how emergency departments serve as early warning systems for societal crises — from the fentanyl epidemic to homelessness — often sounding alarms years before mainstream attention arrives.

The episode's most powerful message centers on Profeta's philosophy captured in his article "These Four Words That May Offend You May Also Just Save You" — the understanding that being a physician is what you do, not who you are. He advocates prioritizing family and personal life over professional identity as the key to career longevity and genuine patient care.

Profeta offers a refreshingly honest and deeply human perspective on what it means to sustain a career in medicine while maintaining your soul.

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org


The ER as America's Mirror: 37 Years on the Front Lines with Dr. Louis Profeta

Louis M. Profeta, MD

Quality and Risk

Healthcare Process