As physicians we step into leadership roles early on. During residency training, many programs appoint junior and senior residents as leaders of the resident teams. As Attendings in academic medical centers, private practice, group practice, or hospital employment, physicians lead multi-disciplinary teams in the overall care of patients.

When family meetings are convened to discuss goals of care or end of life, physicians conduct and guide these conversations. If conflict arises among specialists or disciplines, physicians steer discussions to navigate resolve conflict. To be a physician is to be a leader. These examples haven’t even tapped into the well of “leadership roles” in which our professional lives often evolve.

Despite the importance of physician leadership, most physician training is based on a 1:1 approach to patient care. We learn to respond to individual patient presentations, symptoms, and needs with a differential and plan of care that is specific to that patient. This is critically important but can be a tunnel-vision mentality for physicians who practice in a healthcare system that calls out for physician skills applicable to leading with an empowered voice within a complex system.

Few programs exist to bring physicians to our highest potential as leaders. When physicians do find training programs, many offer theoretical frameworks, management competencies, or describe styles of leadership. We need programs that build on our years of training and allow us to tap into existing strengths to become an authentic and powerful leader. The Leading Naturally Retreat for Physicians is a Forest Therapy based program for personal restoration, leadership development and systems thinking designed especially for physicians of all specialties. The program takes place from September 17 – 20, 2023 and the early bird deadline is July 7.

Leading Naturally is a leadership program that empowers physicians to find their own voice, acquire systems skills, and cultivate an individual ‘way of the leader’ through partnership and immersion in nature. This program empowers people with the tools, methods, and inner resources – the ‘how’– to achieve their own authentic, embodied, and empowering leadership style.

Leading Naturally is designed specifically for physicians to find your voice, acquire systems skills, and cultivate an individual ‘way of the leader’ drawing on the beauty and the lessons of nature in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Deepen your personal leadership style, connect with like-minded colleagues, and clarify your voice in this 3.5-day retreat in Banff National Park.

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If you’d like to learn more about this program, please visit: www.forestfix.ca/banff-retreat. 

Thank you to our guest blogger Dr. Susan Abookire.

Dr. Abookire is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, and a senior executive with 20 years’ experience leading healthcare organizations. As a former aviation engineer with a passion for excellence in systems design, she has been teaching and designing healthcare delivery systems that work for both patients and providers. Also a Certified Forest Therapy guide, our programs weave Forest Bathing/Therapy into curricula and programs to promote wellbeing and provide the foundation for teaching systems, teamwork, and leadership. Visit Dr. Abookire’s website.