On Thursday I spoke to a group of very smart and very engaging PhD and post-doctoral fellows at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, one of America’s pre-eminent medical schools and research institutes.
There are four Nobel Laureates there, and a legacy and commitment to excellence that attracts some of the best and the brightest in the world. UT Southwestern is a community of exceptional physicians, scientists and future research executives from China, Pakistan, India, the United States and other nations. They join together to educate our future physicians and to discover some of the great secrets of medical science.
I lectured for an hour on career brand management and spent another two hours in a seminar setting answering some very perceptive questions. It was an amazing experience. I learned so much from listening to them talk about their career aspirations. As they talked about what they wanted to accomplish with their lives, they tipped their hand about those values that matter to them.
I began to realize that the global economic disaster from which we continue to recover may have set the table for a game changing shift in business and ethical standards for this generation of medical scientists, some of whom will move on to run bio or medical technology companies, to write or broadcast about the importance of medical science, or lead labs that produce important discoveries that result in better care and lower costs.
As they told me about their plans, I was reminded again that in healthcare profitability without values is a hollow accomplishment.
I am hoping that these challenging economic times push us to renew our bond with the important principles of the healthcare industry — serving people who are sick with quality of care in an environment that places patient safety above our own convenience, with a dedication to service, and a commitment to those who are less fortunate.
John G. Self is Chairman and Senior Client Advisor of JohnMarch Partners. He is a Co-Founder of the Firm.
A former investigative reporter and crime writer with more than 30-years of healthcare leadership experience in public relations, national marketing, business development and as Chief Executive Officer of hospitals and consulting firms, Mr. Self is highly regarded for his keen insight into operations, business culture and for his ability to consistently select the right leaders.
You can contact Mr. Self at 214.220.1234 or JGSelf@johnmarch.com. He is an active member of Linked In and a frequent editorial contributor.
Or, you can follow him on Twitter at Self_JohnMarch.
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