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Transforming Leaders Program Helps Graduate Become a More Effective, Mindful Advocate and Leader
The AAN’s Transforming Leaders Program was created specifically for innovative leaders with aspirations to transform their practice community and field of neurology. And that’s exactly what Geetanjali S. Rathore, MD, FAAN, has done.
Since graduating from the program in 2022, the associate professor of the Department of Neuroscience and Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and medical director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Neuromuscular Program at the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, NE, has amassed an impressive number of successes that are making a real impact both at her institution and in her state.
“I acquired a lot of very pertinent skills during the Transforming Leaders Program that helped me become a more effective and mindful leader and advocate,” said Rathore. “To name a few: understanding different leadership personalities, recognizing my own leadership style, and, with the help of personal coaching sessions, building upon my strong traits.”
Rathore is quick to point out that these skills have been particularly useful in her co-chairing UNMC’s Department of Pediatrics Antiracism Committee and leading the UNMC’s WE STRIVE (Women Engaged: Support, Training, and Resources to Improve Vitality and Excellence), an interdisciplinary association of women and allies whose mission is to create a culture that advances the vitality and excellence of women at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine that includes equitable rights, benefits, opportunities, and outcomes.
“Working with the extremely talented group on our Transforming Leaders Program group project was an invaluable experience from which I gained so many new ideas, diverse techniques, methodology, and styles. I also became more confident about giving critical feedback and confronting issues for the overall benefit of the project/group. I also understood the value of having the big picture and building towards it.”
Since graduating, Rathmore has had the opportunity to participate in AAN’s Annual Meeting event planning, be part of work groups for curriculum building, serve on child neurology grant review committees and Maintenance of Certification planning groups for the Child Neurology Society, and many more meaningful roles where she has been able to provide leadership in the field of neurology. More recently, she was elected the treasurer of the Association of Indian Neurologists in America and the chair of the organization’s Education Committee. “These provide an outstanding opportunity to engage global neurologists and impact neurological care here and in India,” she said.
“[Through the Transforming Leaders Program] I learned how to communicate my vision/goal to the other stakeholders in a much more engaging way while still focusing on the ‘why,’” Rathore explained. “As the medical director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Neuromuscular Program, I have been able to bring more than 12 subspecialties to dedicate their time to this clinic, and have been able to establish the gene therapy program for SMA and other neuromuscular disorders at the organization. Through these services, we have been able to provide comprehensive and state-of-the-art care to children with neuromuscular disorders in the state of Nebraska.”
And then there are the unbreakable, lasting relationships that are a cornerstone of any AAN Leadership Program experience. “The lifelong connections I made with my Transforming Leaders Program participants, mentors, AAN staff, and the engagement opportunities with other AAN members throughout the world is something that I am most grateful for,” said Rathore. "The inclusive selection process and engaging nature of the program has been commendable. I surely had a significant transformation into an effective advocate for my colleagues, my patients, and, also, myself.”
Indeed, she has. This past spring Rathore was honored with the American Academy of Neurology’s Kenneth M. Viste Jr., MD, Patient Advocate of the Year Award in recognition of the tireless advocacy efforts she has championed to improve health care in the state of Nebraska and within her own hospital, making her not only the first pediatric neurologist, but also the only neurologist from state of Nebraska to receive the prestigious award. The multi-month Transforming Leaders Program was created for mid-career, innovative leaders with aspirations to transform their practice community and field of neurology and equip them with the advanced knowledge and skills to have greater impact and influence. Learn more at AAN.com/TLP
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