Jeff Goldsmith, a highly regarded strategist, wrote an article entitled Physicians and Executives: Different Species Who Must Work Together in H&HN Daily. He said, in part,

The two groups undergo vastly different training and come from very different viewpoints. Understanding the chasm and building trust are critical for working together.

This article is an excellent one and deserves much review and discussion and debate. I am persuaded that my friend Dr. Ken Cohn, raises some very good points regarding Jeff’s article in his blog. Ken states –

I agree with his points that in general we physicians are:

· -- competitive and empirical

· -- caring about the people and families we care for

And further --

I do not believe that physicians are a different species. Both administrators and physicians generally have chosen healthcare careers to make a difference in patients’ lives. The collaborative reality is that we can overcome differences in training, outlook, and beliefs by focusing on the why and listening actively about ways that differences in the how can lead to improved patient care outcomes.

I think Ken makes good points. But I also see Jeff’s point of view. Perhaps some of this is semantics and perhaps some of this is quite substantive. But I do think the dialogue is necessary.

Consider also another point Jeff made was –

I have believed for years that health care management programs have underprepared their graduates for the complexities of even understanding, let alone managing, medical professionals.

An excellent point Jeff.

More to come on this. I would encourage readers to review both of these articles in depth.

For the Goldsmith article, see -

http://www.hhnmag.com/display/HHN-news-article.dhtml?dcrPath=/templatedata/HF_Common/NewsArticle/data/HHN/Daily/2015/February/physician-alignment-building-trust-CEO-goldsmith&utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HHN&eid=280791991&bid=1014466

For Ken Cohn’s material, see –

http://healthcarecollaboration.com/collaborative-reality/