National War College Alumni Association

LTG Hertling, who served as the Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, the Seventh Army and over three years in combat, says America’s physicians—some of our smartest and most capable professionals—must improve leadership skills in order to enhance interaction with patients and expand participation in the ongoing healthcare policy debate. He adds that leadership training for physicians is required to positively impact what is known as the Triple Aim: improved patient care, access to medical treatment and reduced healthcare costs.

“Often, physicians don’t get included in critical decision-making conversations—they don’t even get a seat at the table—because healthcare executives don’t see them as leaders,” says Hertling. “America’s doctors have been trained to provide the best medical care in the world, but they haven’t been adequately trained to engage as leaders. Better physician leaders contribute to better medical outcomes, higher performing healthcare teams in hospitals and improved healthcare policymaking. The great thing is, physicians want to learn how to lead.” 

Hertling’s Physician Leadership Development Program detailed in his new book, “Growing Physician Leaders” (RosettaBooks, May 17, 2016) takes what he’s learned about leadership in over 37 years of military service and applies those lessons to another culture: healthcare. He’s taught those concepts in the highly successful program he’s deployed for physicians and healthcare professionals at Florida Hospital, one of the largest admitting hospitals in America, and those lessons are beginning to transform that organization.