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For better or worse, the practice of medicine, and in this case the practice of surgery has become a business. In medical school and during GME surgical training programs there is an emphasis on scientific, clinical, ethical and psycho-motor skill sets. But the curriculum is deficient in essential business skills, i.e., leadership, finance, health care policy, human resources (HR), organizational Mx, big data and outcomes, marketing, strategy, accounting, negotiations and contracts, economics (micro and macro), operations, governance, conflict resolution, recruitment and retention, communication, advocacy (local, state, federal and global), team building, corporate and social responsibility, sustainability and med-mal.

In surgery, a trainee’s and early career academic surgeons’ professional goals are to become a master surgeon, a well-recognized teacher and a funded investigator. With these accomplishments opportunities for leadership in the division, department, school and university levels will come along. Surgeons need to be smart, confident and courageous in their practices. But clinical, teaching and research accomplishments will not make you a successful business leader. You need to also obtain essential business skills.

Doctors need to be led at the university and in the hospitals by MD/MBA doctors. Surgeons need to be led by my MD/MBA master surgeons. But to be the boss, you need to understand the BOS!

Philip Glick, MD
Email: glicklab@buffalo.edu