Reprinted from the fall 2018 issue of The Ohio Family Physician.
By Hiten Patel, MD
Growing up as a teenager in the suburbs of Ohio, I never considered myself much of a leader. In fact, as a teenager, I could not envision myself being a leader in the foreseeable future.
Even as I matured and progressed through college, I still felt like I had no innate leadership skills. During my senior year of undergraduate school, I was actively involved in many student organizations. In particular, I remember a time when there was an intense discussion taking place at one of our board meetings about the direction of the organization. When asked to provide my opinion, I chose to withhold it in order to maintain solidarity in the group.
And to this day, I reflect back on that moment and often wished I had spoken up. This was the first time I experienced a true leadership lesson – to speak up (especially when asked). It is widely thought that leaders are born not created. However, through experience, I have discovered that leadership skills can be learned. As physicians, specifically family physicians, we serve as leaders in our medical teams, institutions, communities, and healthcare systems.
Therefore, having dedicated leadership training is essential. Recently, I had the opportunity to gain additional leadership skills and was selected to participate in the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation’s Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute in Leawood, KS, from August 4-5.
The Emerging Leader Institute, which was held following the AAFP’s National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students, is a year-long leadership program sponsored by the AAFP Foundation. Each year, the AAFP Foundation selects 30 medical students and family medicine residents who are deemed emerging leaders to participate in the program. Participants receive scholarships to attend, which include two days of networking, interactive leadership sessions, and project planning.
Throughout the year, participants complete a year-long project in one of three tracks: Policy & Public Health, Personal & Practice Leadership, or Philanthropic & Mission Driven Leadership. Participants are also paired with family physician mentors, who help guide their projects. For my project, I chose to study the use of patient portals and if it improves cancer screening rates.
Prior to the meeting, all participants completed a StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment, which characterized each of our strengths. Throughout the weekend, we wore our strengths on our name badges, so that we could appropriately communicate with and work with each other.
During the first half of the weekend, we broke out into the three aforementioned tracks. I was in the Policy & Public Health track and was able to have stimulating conversations on Public Health 2.0, how to advocate to legislators, how to be a leader in the community, and how to run board meetings. Each session was run by an experienced family physician leader.
The most valuable component of the Emerging Leader Institute was the networking opportunities. All the family medicine residents and medical students that attended the institute were all exceptional leaders. Their project ideas ranged from establishing transgender clinics to improving awareness of human trafficking; and it was a great opportunity to hear different ideas and presentations from representatives from all across the country.
In particular, I had a motivating discussion with Kevin Wang, MD, FAAFP. I told Dr. Wang about my passion for obstetrics and delivering babies, but did not feasibly see how I could deliver babies in the setting I wished to practice. He told me about his story; how obstetrics slowly grew on him, and how he eventually pursued an obstetrics fellowship.
Today, he practices full-spectrum family medicine. He guided me to seek out mentors within my own family medicine and obstetrics department, and to express my passion for obstetrics to them. He also inspired me to consider an obstetrics fellowship. Overall, this entire experience not only reinvigorated my passion for family medicine and full spectrum practice, but also the desire to be a better leader.