By Ramon Cestero, MD and Robert Hromas, MD

Medical Leadership Training

AT UT HEALTH SAN ANTONIO

By Ramon Cestero, MD and Robert Hromas, MD

Medicine is football, not golf. It takes detailed planning for complex teams to care for the most acutely ill patients. Leading these teams requires more than just the ability to treat patients. Health professionals leading teams need to combine clinical expertise with knowledge of the human, financial and organizational systems that enable healthcare delivery. Today’s healthcare leader must also have the capacity to foster collaboration, cooperation and adaptation in a rapidly changing environment.

Academic healthcare providers face unique challenges in leadership positions, as they are often placed in team management roles without the benefit of training in finance, regulatory reporting, human resources, management principles, communication skills, information technology and cybersecurity. Today’s health leaders require significant management skills and leadership vision in addition to clinical acumen.

As one of the largest health care groups in South Texas, UT Health San Antonio (UTHSA) employs over 5,000 health care providers in all disciplines, but prior to 2018, we did not offer any formal business and management educational programs for their leaders. In response to this perceived need, a comprehensive leadership program was designed to focus on leadership training and professional development tailored to healthcare professionals.

Through a collaborative agreement between the UT Health San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine and the Center for Professional Excellence at the UT San Antonio Carlos Alvarez College of Business, two business and management leadership programs were created: the Executive Development Program for Emerging Health Leaders (EDP) and the UTSA Executive Master of Business Administration for Healthcare Leaders (EMBA). Designed for junior and mid-career physician, scientist and nurse leaders, the EDP is a comprehensive, 12-month interdisciplinary program which combines current leadership skills assessment and career planning for development, business principles and executive coaching to provide an introduction to leadership and management topics. For physicians, scientists and nurses in senior leadership positions, we created the EMBA, extending the standard UTSA Executive MBA into the healthcare industry with dedicated health-related courses and topics. Executive Development Program for Emerging Health Leaders (EDP)

Designed for junior and mid-career academic healthcare faculty already serving in leadership positions, the EDP provides comprehensive management education and professional development to professionals as they manage their initial leadership positions. Through participation in the EDP, participants can strengthen their organizational capabilities, enhance communication skills, develop an understanding of their leadership strengths and weaknesses and gain an appreciation for the role of budgeting, data analytics and personnel management play in health care. The program provides a forum for health professionals to take the next step in their leadership journey through knowledge, experiences and relationships that will positively affect how they perform their job, work with colleagues and team members, and care for their patients.

The EDP seeks to advance participants’ knowledge, skills and abilities across four core areas: Communication, Influence, Professional Development and the Fundamentals of Administration. Specific focus areas include leadership, negotiations and conflict management, the art and science of persuasion, leading change, effective communication, building successful teams, individual leadership strength assessments, analytics and decision-making, talent management and human resources, operations management, and financial management.

Over the year, participants experience monthly three-hour (now virtual) teaching modules, and then have pre- and post-session assignments. Award-winning faculty from within UTSA College of Business and local subject matter experts lead each module, providing real-world business expertise not typically found in leadership programs at academic medical centers. Using skills acquired during the course, participants work on a small case study project that identifies a critical problem they are currently experiencing that touches on one or more topics covered in the EDP program. During the final course session, students then pitch their case study in smaller groups and a select subset of case studies to be reviewed in the larger class, where EDP students share their perspectives and discuss potential solutions to the problems.

Since the EDP program inception, over 60 UTHSA faculty have graduated, and the vast majority have found it to have been helpful in

their leadership roles. According to post-course surveys, 100% of the students felt the EDP prepared them for current and future leadership challenges, 97% stated the EDP met their expectations and was worth the time investment, and 94% felt the EDP has prepared them to take on a more significant leadership role or more managerial responsibilities.

UTSA Executive Master of Business Administration for Healthcare Leaders (EMBA)

Designed for senior faculty in significant management roles, such as division chiefs or department chairs, the Executive Master of Business Administration for Healthcare Leaders provides an intensive education in management and business administration, allowing academic medical professionals to successfully navigate critical challenges, create value-based solutions and excel as leaders in the health care industry. Taught by UTSA College of Business faculty, the EMBA extends the standard UTSA Executive MBA curriculum into the healthcare industry, with the goal of complementing specialized health care expertise with general business knowledge and leadership skills. A special emphasis is placed on health data analytics and cybersecurity, both areas of expertise at UTSA.

This complete Master of Business Administration Degree consists of five semesters (21 months) and includes 15 required courses (43 credit hours) covering areas of leadership, accounting, business analytics, organizational behavior, marketing, communication, negotiation, financial management, healthcare policy, innovation, entrepreneurship and corporate governance. As part of the program, students participate in an international field experience to gain exposure to the growing role of globalization in health care. Participants are also provided an executive coach in order to support them in developing a career vision, developing specific goals that align with personal professional trajectory and enhance the skills required to bring the vision to life.

Since inception in 2018, over 15 faculty in senior leadership positions have matriculated from the EMBA program.

We recognize that health care is currently facing novel and complex issues that require astute and innovative solutions. Such solutions will require new ways to approach old problems, and novel training to identify those new approaches. Healthcare providers know these issues firsthand and are in the best position to solve them. To do that, healthcare providers need to become leaders as well as caregivers, yet leadership training is often missing from traditional medical education at any level. In conjunction with the UTSA Carlos Alvarez College of Business, the UT Health San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine has created educational programs specifically designed for the growth and development of our healthcare leaders in academic medicine. For more information, contact Ramon Cestero, MD at: cesteror@uthscsa.edu.

Ramon Cestero, MD is professor of surgery at the UT Health San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Long School of Medicine and is the director of UTHSA Executive Leadership Programs.

Robert Hromas, MD is Dean of the UT Health San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Long School of Medicine and is a member of the Bexar County Medical Society.