Outbox
Diverse and Dynamic LeadersStrong health care leaders are needed to prioritize health care issues and policies.
Challenges in health care are many and well-documented: runaway costs, restricted access, inconsistent quality and health disparities. Opportunities are there, too, for emergent local, national and global leaders to collaborate and ultimately influence policies and practices that will provide solutions to these problems and strengthen our health care infrastructure. To effect change, health care leaders must prioritize policy issues, develop effective collaborations, and increase diversity within our own ranks.
Prioritizing policy issues related to improving health care quality and access and enhancing health promotion and disease prevention can reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities. Focusing on health promotion and disease prevention is less costly and more humane than providing expensive medical treatments after someone becomes ill. But many government health promotion and disease prevention policies lack coordination and ignore consideration of minorities and the disadvantaged. Strong health care leaders are needed to prioritize such issues.
Developing effective collaborations locally and globally is vital to improving health care. Leadership is a team sport. Cooperative teams that share a vision have an opportunity to leverage programs, research and other learning experiences for a greater goal. To collaborate effectively, leaders and organizations must focus on identifying areas of agreement and common ground, particularly on controversial issues, to move policy forward.
Increasing diversity in our leadership is imperative. Health care leaders should represent the variety of backgrounds and experiences of all communities to more effectively advocate for, and communicate with, the populations with the greatest needs. We must develop leaders who have the understanding, vision and capability to pursue desperately needed solutions.
My own experience, being stigmatized and discriminated against, led me to establish the Satcher Health Leadership Institute. The SHLI aims to make diversity and inclusion a priority by encouraging emergent leaders who represent diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, geographic region, nationality, disability and professional discipline. We believe leaders are developed over time with commitment, hard work, access to successful leadership models and a support system that encourages critical thinking and personal growth.
Improving health care quality and access and enhancing health promotion and disease prevention are challenges that will require much work by dynamic leaders who care enough, know enough and are willing to do enough. And diverse leaders are needed to address policy issues that affect disparate treatment and to bring their unique experiences and perspectives to better serve those who need it most.
David Satcher, M.D., is director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. He was U.S. surgeon general under President Clinton and is the recipient of the 2009 TRUST Award from the Health Research & Educational Trust.
You can contact our guest author at dejones@msm.edu.
This article 1st appeared in the July 2009 issue of HHN Magazine.
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