Michael Le: Clinic for High Risk Patients

Dr. Le is an alumnus of the Institute for Physician Leadership at the Center for the Health Professions at UCSF. He was nominated by his medical director, also a fellow at the Center, and chose to participate in the program to learn about working more effectively in a team and with other doctors.

Dr. Le explains that his challenges at work are twofold: “At work I am constantly putting out fires. I have to be as effective as possible in resolving disputes and conflicts. I need to be able to analyze a situation and respond quickly and effectively. And that means I need balance in my personal life to maintain the energy necessary to continue working at a high level without causing burnout, as this job can be overwhelming sometimes.”

An important component of the Institute for Physician Leadership is the implementation of a project at participants’ home organizations. Dr. Le decided to establish a clinic for high risk patients in Long Beach, addressing their medical as well as social and family needs for a more comprehensive approach to their well being: “We have certain patients who return to the ER or the hospital frequently, suffering set back after set back. Those patients have a very poor quality of life. It is also very expensive for the hospital and medical group to provide these services.”

“We used a computer generated risk stratification tool to identify the top 20% of high risk senior patients. Offering access to a clinic for these patients with doctors, case management nurses and social workers, as well as outreach to their families and support networks would show where the weaknesses are that lead to their repeated hospitalizations.”

Despite the enormity of the undertaking, a new physical office for the clinic has been set up and a nurse and social worker have been hired. Dr. Le had planned on being the lead physician of the clinic, but while participating in the Institute for Physician Leadership, his direct supervisor left the organization. Dr. Le found himself perfectly positioned to take on those additional responsibilities and was promoted. At the time of the interview, he was searching for another lead physician for the clinic, so that it may soon open its doors to improve the quality of patients’ lives.

Asked about any particularly valuable insights during the program, Dr. Le describes how useful knowledge of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has been: “I realized that people really do think in different ways and use different communication techniques. The MBTI is not only a tool to assess people one interacts with, but makes me more effective in getting my message across and building rapport. While we all have our communication preferences, we have to be able to utilize all the different communication methods to be most effective and persuasive. Sometimes we just have to get out of our comfort zone to be effective.” Dr. Le enjoyed learning from fellow physician leaders and innovative thinkers, and describes his experience at the Center as "truly rewarding and enriching."