What Medical Training Doesn’t Teach

In this Short Answer, we asked Executive Director of Global Leadership and Learning Gina Cronin how Cleveland Clinic fills the gaps in nonclinical knowledge necessary for physician leaders to succeed. Here’s what she had to say:

I often hear from physicians that their exposure to the business and finance side of healthcare during medical school and residency is dismal to nonexistent. We have this incredibly intelligent team of physicians who do amazing things, but have never been given the basis for understanding topics like business strategy.

A big part of our physician learning and development program focuses on these gaps, not just in the technical aspects of business like finance, but also in the relationship-centered aspects like emotional intelligence. We use experiential learning maps to show explicitly how every day clinical decisions like choosing a code in the electronic health record relates to our ability to buy new medical equipment as an enterprise, to our debt and income ratios and the like. We also offer all of our staff certification in emotional intelligence through Case Western Reserve University. They’re recognized as a global leader in this space.

Physicians and other healthcare leaders from all over the world are craving the kind of industry-specific knowledge that will enable them to lead the future of healthcare and meet the challenges of a tumultuous environment. We offer several external programs to clinicians and non-clinicians alike based on the success of our internal programs and led by Cleveland Clinic physician leaders that help bridge the gap between clinical expertise and business leadership.