Minnows Meet the Sharks: Celebrating Our Physician Leadership Development Program Graduates

To engage our UMass Memorial Health caregivers on the journey to become an integrated health care system, we need to keep them informed of our progress. UMass Memorial Medical Group Physician Leadership Development Program (PLDP) participated in our annual Shark Tank event earlier this month. In this piece, read how this program is supporting our physician leaders of the future.

Earlier this month, 18 physicians from UMass Memorial Medical Group’s Physician Leadership Development Program (PLDP) took their inaugural dip into the waters during our annual Shark Tank event. The Shark Tank program is the long-anticipated culmination of a nine-month leadership course in which budding physician leaders, or “minnows,” partner with one another to develop a business plan for an agreed-upon project. They then make their best pitch for funding and support to our internal team of “sharks,” led by Eric Dickson, MD, President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health, along with members of the system’s senior leadership team.

Ahead of their presentations, Dr. Dickson connected the day’s festivities back to their learnings over the past several months. He shared, “The job of leaders is to take an organization or a piece of an organization from where it is today to some better place. There are always going to be more ideas, more proposals than we’ll have resources to be able to fund. So, you’re going to make a pitch to get some resources to help you take whatever you’re focused on from where it is to some better place.” ?

Through the PLDP, promising physician leaders from across the health care system are identified and invited to participate in eight intensive monthly sessions in which they learn about critical aspects of a leader’s role. The teachings cover everything from how to navigate difficult conversations and managing department finances, to developing business plans and seeking approval, among other important topics. Following completion of this formative program, several PLDP graduates have successfully gone on to leadership roles within our organization.

“The Physician Leadership Development Program is one way our Medical Group is investing in our physicians,” said Andrew Karson, MD, Interim President of the Medical Group. “A medical school education teaches us how to care for patients, but as many of us venture into leadership positions at various points in our careers, we realize these vital skills were not taught in the clinical classroom. The PLDP helps ensure our future physician leaders are well-prepared as they begin to advance within our organization.”

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Sandra Augusto, MD, MPH,?Family Medicine and Community Health, Barre Family Health Center

Benjamin Brill, DO,?Orthopedics, Longview Orthopaedic Center

James Carroll, MD,?Surgery, Medical Center, University Campus

Ratnesh Chopra, MD,?Rheumatology, Medical Center, Memorial Campus

Lisa Gussak, MD,?Family Medicine and Community Health, Medical Center, University Campus

Stephen Gutting, MD,?Neurological Surgery, Medical Center, University Campus

Nils Henninger, MD, PhD,?Neurology, Medical Center, University Campus

Stephen Hilborn, MD,?Surgery, Harrington

Mark Maxfield, MD,?Surgery, Medical Center, Memorial Campus

Gregory Mitchon, MD, PharmD,?Anesthesiology, Medical Center, University Campus

Bhavin Patel, DO,?Hospital Medicine, Medical Center, University Campus

Caridad Ponce Martinez, MD,?Psychiatry, Medical Center, University Campus

Prince Philip, MD,?Hospital Medicine, Medical Center, University Campus

Wendy Timpson, MD,?Pediatrics, Neonatology, Medical Center, Memorial Campus

Meghna Trivedi, MD,?Hospital Medicine, Medical Center, University Campus

Behroze Vachha, MD, PhD,?Radiology, Medical Center, University Campus

Andrew Willment, MD,?Hopkinton Internal Medicine and Pediatrics

Erika Zimmons, DO,?Medicine, Geriatrics, Medical Center, Memorial Campus

Special thanks to Lynne Lombardi, Colin McCarthy, and Vanessa Karagosian, from the HR’s organization and people development team, along with Sharon Johnson, PhD, IE Program Director and Professor, Operations and Industrial Engineering, from the WPI Business School, for their outstanding efforts in coordinating this exceptional development program.