Ted James, MD
Ted James, MD
Medical Director | Harvard Healthcare System
Keynote | Monday, April 24 | 1 – 2 p.m. ET
Dr. Ted James is an internationally recognized speaker and executive coach who is passionate about transforming healthcare through innovation and leadership development. Drawing on over 20 years of experience as a physician leader, educator, and healthcare management consultant, he inspires individuals to become engaged change agents who have a positive impact on organizational culture. He believes that the only way to succeed in healthcare is to promote new ways of meeting patients’ needs and create clinical teams that thrive.
As a medical director and lecturer within the Harvard healthcare system, Dr. James has extensive experience with efforts to advance healthcare. He leads international programs focused on digital health, clinician engagement, and patient experience. He enjoys collaborating with healthcare executives and industry experts from around the world, as well as sharing his knowledge through organizations such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Academy of Medicine.
He is an author who writes about the trends shaping the future of medicine and strategies for transforming the healthcare ecosystem. Dr. James has received numerous awards for his contributions to teaching, leadership, and quality. One of his greatest professional satisfactions comes from partnering with others to reimagine healthcare in ways that improve organizational performance and the wellbeing of patients, care teams, and communities.
Revitalizing Your Health Care Teams Through Action-Based Leadership
The clinical workforce is exhausted and straining to hold on after more than a year of trauma from the pandemic and other ongoing workplace stressors. Due to the current environment, approximately one out of every five clinicians is considering leaving the field. However, healthcare leaders can be proactive in supporting clinical teams and ensuring their long-term sustainability.
As the pandemic’s effects begin to materialize, we are seeing more and more that the healthcare industry is suffering from collective trauma. You can help healthcare teams heal from trauma and start to view adversity as an opportunity for personal and organizational growth with these three approaches to helping your team rebound.
Reflect – Too often, we fall into the pattern of reacting to crisis after crisis without pausing to contemplate our experiences. Reflecting on negative experiences can lead to increased self-awareness, the discovery of new possibilities, better interpersonal relationships, a greater appreciation for life, and inner growth. Experts agree that sharing stories of trauma can be empowering and leads to the formation of peer-support relationships.
Celebrate Wins – While acknowledging loss is appropriate and part of the healing process, we must be careful not to focus solely on the negative. Seeing progress, no matter how small, can energize and encourage people to keep going. So, seek out wins and share them widely.
Visioning – Many organizations are experiencing a lack of communication, with people still waiting to hear a vision and detailed plan for moving past the pandemic. You can be proactive in sharing the specific approaches for how the organization plans to move forward, including each team member’s role in this strategy.
While it may feel like we are still in the thick of it, as leaders, it is important to provide healing and hope for our healthcare heroes.