The Physician Leader's Playbook

Physician leadership represents a critical intersection of clinical expertise and organizational management that is increasingly vital in today's complex healthcare landscape.

Jennifer Frank is a family physician, health care leader, wife and mother who has been practicing family medicine for over 20 years. She was a physician leader in multiple organizations with multiple roles over a fifteen year period of time which included medical directorship of Army medical clinics and academic/residency clinics, as well as primary care leadership at ThedaCare, a nationally known healthcare organization committed to Lean Improvement methodology, and she served as chief medical officer before returning to full-time clinical practice. As an academic family physician, her research interests included female sexual dysfunction, conscientious objection in medical training, and group visits for prenatal care delivery. She has written a number of articles and book chapters on a variety of family medicine topics ranging from syphilis to teething. Additionally, she blogged for about a decade for Physicians Practice with her articles frequently appearing in Medical Economics. She also blogged on work-life balance for Medscape. Her passions include the use of narrative medicine for both patient and clinician and she has had a number of medical essays published in journals including Journal of the American Medical Association and Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Preface. Acknowledgements. Chapter 1 - From Rejection to Election: An Unexpected Physician Leadership Journey. Part 1 - The Physician Leader in the Health System. Chapter 2 - Physician Leaders Are Non-Negotiable. Chapter 3 - Physician First: Leader Always. Chapter 4 - Bringing Clinical Clarity to Executive Strategy. Part 2 - Working with Colleagues and Team Members. Chapter 5 - The Power Couple: Mastering Dyadic Leadership with Non-Physician Partners. Chapter 6 - Your Worst Leaders Can Be Your Best Teachers. Chapter 7 - Guiding with Grace: Mentorship as a Pillar of Purposeful Leadership in Healthcare. Chapter 8 - Conversations With Colleagues: How to Say What No One Wants To. Chapter 9 - Communication, Candor, and COVID-19. Part 3 - Leadership Basics. Chapter 10 - The Simpler the Solution Seems, the Less You Understand. Chapter 11 - Leadership in Action: Navigating Decisions and Driving Change. Chapter 12 - Engaging Teams With Impactful Meeting Leadership. Chapter 13 - The Power of Procedure: Leading Change Through Structure. Chapter 14 - Papercuts and Pebbles: Tiny Obstacles With Real Impact. Part 4 - Managing Yourself. Chapter 15 - Building on the Gaps: A Physician Leader's Growth Path. Chapter 16 - Leadership Literacy - Going Back to School. Chapter 17 - Managing Yourself: The Inner Work of Leadership. Chapter 18 - Centering the Mission: Patients Are the North Star. Chapter 19 - Women in Leadership. Chapter 20 - Why I Quit. Final Thoughts. Reading List. Index.