HCB News: In what ways has the ACC supported your career development?
CB: It really started (with the) MGMA (Medical Group Management Association), which was our professional society for the business side of medicine. They had a subsection for cardiovascular disease. I was a president of that back in the '90s. As imaging was really starting to take hold, and as sub-specialization was evolving, there was another entity called the Cardiovascular Leadership Alliance, the CLA. Right along with that was MedAxiom. These last 2 organizations is where I learned everything from operational efficiencies, measuring quality outcomes, and dyad leadership, a management style of understanding and maximizing the different skill sets of a physician lead and administrative lead who come together to learn from each other. Powerful! That was before ACC had really opened its doors for non-physicians. This powerful background was important when ACC opened its doors to the CV team, it was able to capitalize on non-clinical competencies. When ACC aligned with the MedAxiom family, it was really just that perfect synergy of clinical and non-clinical competencies to lead our CV teams They're responsible for my career development: the networking, the mentorship, the sponsorship of my colleagues throughout the early 2000s.

When ACC started the CV summit back in 2008-2009, it was really the first focus on non-clinical competencies for our physicians. It was my favorite meeting of all time because physicians just saw things very differently. It wasn't like their clinical meetings, and we learned so much from each other. At that point, I'd already been a hospital CEO, so now it was time for my career development on the physician side of things, designing and transforming care delivery for CV patients in a team approach with dyad leadership. Physician led, professionally managed.
HCB News: What trends do you expect to shape cardiology over the next few years?
CB: I think leadership. Physicians have got to be at the executive table and be allowed to lead. In addition, as cardiovascular care becomes more and more subspecialized, I think our sub-specialty clinics, which should be physician-led using guideline directed medical therapy and APP-run – to ensure compliance, (is) another type of a dyad leadership shaping the cardiology workforce. COVID taught us a lot, and at the same time it didn't really teach us anything. We changed very quickly, but we went right back to our comfort zone. And so truly transforming what we need to do – changing HOW we deliver care, truly being able to transform, is so very, very critical.

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