Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1518055
12 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Stepping outside one's 'silo' key to growth, 1 surgeon says By Paige Haeffele B ecker's connected with Jason Ko, MD, vice chair of clinical operations for the department of surgery at Northwestern Center for Hand Surgery in Chicago, to learn how he keeps his career as a physician fulfilling — despite any concerns he may have with the industry. Note: This response has been edited lightly for length and clarity. Question: Physicians are leaving the field for a number of reasons. Why are you staying? Dr. Jason Ko: First off, I love what I do. I am the son of a surgeon, and I always knew that becoming a surgeon was my calling. At Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, I am in an ideal environment to stay committed to the tripartite mission of clinical excellence, research and education. As a plastic and reconstructive surgeon that does 100% reconstructive surgery, I come to work every day energized and excited for the impact my team and I can make in people's lives, and I feel well-supported by my colleagues, bosses and executive leadership. I have also been fortunate to play a leading role in groundbreaking clinical research focusing on advanced amputee care, bioprosthetics, and the reduction of nerve pain/phantom limb pain, which has been adopted all over the world and has been immensely satisfying for me professionally. From an education standpoint, I am also the program director for the plastic surgery residency, and it has been fun and invigorating to teach residents and medical students throughout my career — the two-way exchange of ideas that I engage in on a daily basis is important for someone like me who is always trying to learn and improve. With that said, the U.S. healthcare landscape is ever- changing — and surgery is a physically demanding career — so I am mindful of my own career path and longevity. This is why I chose to get my MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management in 2019 so that I could gain more real-world knowledge and learn new skills that will help me as a leader as my career continues to grow and evolve. Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to take on more administrative and leadership roles within our health system, which have added new dimensions to my career beyond just being a surgeon. Northwestern Medicine is great at supporting physician leaders within the health system — our current CEO is a great example — and it has been exciting for me to step outside of my "silo" as a surgeon and learn more about the complexities of delivering high-quality healthcare while focusing on improving efficiency and the optimizing the clinical experience for our patients. All of these factors contribute to why I'm excited to come to work every day and don't foresee that changing anytime soon. n surgeons are always competing to be at the top. Not all of them, but the majority. at's ingrained. And if it wasn't, the surgeons would be more in charge than they are today. Right now, hospital companies, insurance companies, attorneys, you name it, they run medicine. At least 60% of orthopedic surgeons and maybe even higher, the neurosurgeons are now working for somebody either a hospital or a company like United Healthcare. So doctors are looking to simplify their life. e more modern people all want what the older guys have, but they want it yesterday. It's just a totally different philosophy. So how can you get physicians on the same page? So we started with surgery centers years ago. e way you do it, you give them a commonality. e commonality is if myself and my main competitors in the marketplace all own part of the surgery center instead of being jealous of how much work they are doing, I'm thrilled because they're feeding the surgery center, which I own a big part of. Q: Would you say having some knowledge in business is essential for early-career spine surgeons? SH: Without a doubt. I went to medical school at Harvard and I kept saying, "Why don't we send our guys six to eight weeks to Harvard Business School?" at was 50 years ago. I was 50 years too soon. We need to know business, and the smart physicians will take the time and get an MBA and work in the business/medical realm. I was criticized years ago for trying to marry the best of business with the best of medicine. But you gotta play the game, and you got to be involved. You have to look at what's next. And every industry does that. Medicine has not done it, and we've been hamstrung. So now when you bring business knowledge into the medical realm, tie it in with logic, and the number one criterion, we've always stressed this is not how much money the doctor makes. It's not how famous the guy is. It's not how much the insurance makes or doesn't make. It's not the attorney, it's the patient. e only one that people should focus on is the patient. Next to the patient should be the doctor, and all the rest is ancillary. n "I come to work every day energized and excited for the impact my team and I can make in people's lives, and I feel well- supported by my colleagues, bosses and executive leadership." — Dr. Jason Ko