Summer Reading for Medical Group Leaders

The Atrius Health medical practices are members of the Group Practice Improvement Network (GPIN), an organization that brings together medical groups to share best practices. Recently, the group crowd-sourced its semi-annual list of recommended reading. From scholarly articles to bestsellers, members share these reads to foster better leadership and improve patient care.

If you’re looking for the perfect beach read to keep you on top of the happenings in healthcare, check out a few popular recommendations from the list:

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, by Jim Collins: Jim Collins returns ten years after his bestseller Good to Great to examine why some companies thrive in uncertainty and chaos while others do not. This book, suggested by Betsy Clough of UW Health, is the product of nine years of research, incorporating engaging stories to share the building blocks to creating great organizations in tumultuous times.

It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques for the Best Damn Ship in the Navy, by D. Michael Abrashoff: This book submitted by Kathy Englert of Allegheny Clinic tells the story of Captain D. Michael Abrashoff and his command of the legendary USS Benfold. Abrashoff shares his insights from transforming the worst-performing ship in the Pacific Fleet into the best ship in the entire Navy. This is a great read for anyone interested on top-down approaches to management in today’s business climate.

Management on the Mend, by John Toussaint, MD: Suggested by Heather Mullen of Martin’s Point Health Care, this book is the culmination of Dr. Toussaint’s many years of research into dozens of healthcare organizations around the world. Dr. Toussaint drew upon these experiences to build a model for lean transformations, which he explains step by step through people in 11 organizations carrying out this work. This must-read integrates several stories to show us how lean healthcare can be implemented and why it is essential.

Managing the Unexpected: Sustained Performance in a Complex World, by Karl E. Weick: Also submitted by Betsy Clough, this is the third edition of the Weick’s groundbreaking ideas explored in his previous books. This updated look at Managing the Unexpected reflects the unique challenges posed towards organizations in recent years such as bank failures, intelligence failures, quality failures, and other organizational misfortunes to share why can better sustain high performance when confronted with unanticipated change.

The Wisest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology’s Most Powerful Insights, by Thomas Gilovich & Lee Ross: This book, shared by Lou Wu, MD of Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation investigates the factors that make a person “wise in the context of other team members. The book shares insights as to how you can better comprehend why people behave the way they do, and how to use that knowledge in understanding and influencing the people in your life.

Is there a book or article you’ve found useful as a healthcare professional? Suggest it to us via Twitter: @AtriusNews.