Physician LEADS announces inaugural class

Physician LEADS West Virginia holds its first session this weekend in Morgantown in what will become an annual program to assist in the growth of physicians as leaders. West Virginia State Medical Association, the state’s largest education and advocacy association for physicians, is coordinating the program and is one of its sponsors. 

Physician LEADS is an acronym for Physician Leadership, Enhancement, Advancement and Development Series. 

“We train physicians in the practice of medicine,” said Morgantown pediatrician Dr. Lisa Costello, WVSMA president, “but we don’t necessarily provide them with the skills they need to become leaders.”

Costello said WVSMA officials have been aware of the need for such a program for years, but just began in the last 24 months the complicated steps to make the program a reality. The program is unique. It is in-person at different locations throughout the state.

For four weekends throughout the year, the 18-member inaugural class of 2023, which includes physicians practicing various specialties and one medical student, will gather at health care facilities across the state to interact with and learn from instructors with expertise in the health care and business worlds. At the end of the program, participants will have a better understanding of their personal leadership styles and about how forces outside the formal practice of medicine can affect leadership decisions.

“As physicians advance in their careers, they’re often conflicted by the discrepancy between their medical training and the realities of medical practice,” said Program Director Dr. Shafic Sraj, a Morgantown orthopedic surgeon. “Physicians are trained to make health care decisions from the narrow point of view prescribed in a textbook without much consideration of what happens in the background. Outside the direct patient care world, we are often called upon to make decisions that involve other perspectives, yet we are not always prepared for that. We’re addressing these issues during our meetings.”

The curriculum for the event was designed by a committee of health care leaders from across the state. Program Committee members include Catherine Chua, Lisa Costello, Mary Edwards, Pam Farris, Douglas Knutson, Darshana Shah and Shafic Sraj.

Sponsors are Charleston Area Medical Center, part of Vandalia Health; Davis Health System, The Health Plan, Leadership West Virginia, Marshall Health, Mon Health, part of Vandalia Health; Morgan Stanley; Mountain Health Network, West Virginia Medical Foundation and West Virginia State Medical Association.

The inaugural class members, coming from with diverse backgrounds, practice environments, locations, career stages, and specialties, include Garrett Butler, MD; Shannon Carpenter, MD; Carolyn Curtis, MD; C. Luke Damron, MD; Nirva Dube, MD; Larissa Fordyce-Richards, MD; Bonnie Forman, MD; Jade Gallimore, DO; Scott R. Gibbs, MD; Rob Hayes, MD; Larry Hutchinson, MD; Ayesha Khan, MD candidate; Jesus Lemus, MD, MBA; Dana Lycans, MD; Vivek Neginhal, MD; Audra Pritt, MD; Peter D. Ray, MD, MSc; and Jaschar Shakuri-Rad, DO.