Caring Greatly™ Podcast

The podcast for leaders who bring humanity to the work of healthcare

The Caring Greatly™ podcast is a destination where healthcare leaders find stories and resources designed to help them to grow, lead, innovate, and rejuvenate. In an interview format, thought leaders from across healthcare disciplines share insights and inspiration about leading and thriving as the industry transforms. Podcast themes span human-centered leadership, technology and innovation, and points in between.
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Fundamental Changes to Work Structure as an Antidote to Burnout – Lisa Bukovac, DO

September 14, 2022
Episode 70
Duration: 21:16
In this episode, Dr. Bukovac talks about the factors in obstetrics that lead to physician burnout - especially the way that clinical practice is structured in a way that creates conflicts of time, attention and clinical expertise. Dr. Bukovac advocates for a fundamental restructuring of obstetrics training and operations that encourages physicians to specialize in office care, hospital care, or surgery. She believes this will not only lead to better clinical outcomes, but also a more manageable and sustainable practice model for clinicians. Dr. Bukovac shares her own journey from burnout to a practice that sustains her passion for medicine and allows her to balance work with her other life pursuits. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Vocera, now part of Stryker.
Lisa Bukovac

Managing the Polarity of Changing the System Versus Personal Resilience – Cynda Rushton

September 1, 2022
Episode 69
Duration: 29:04
In this episode, Dr. Rushton talks about the current divide between advocates of system change to improve clinician wellbeing, and those promoting personal resilience and training. We look at the challenges of managing polarities as leaders embrace a both/and approach to team member wellbeing. Dr. Rushton shares the specifics of a personal resilience training that equips nurses at John Hopkins to stand firm in their ethics and values, and to act as advocates for system improvement without sacrificing their personal wellbeing. Finally, Dr. Rushton paints a picture of leadership in which clinicians gain empowerment to manage their own wellbeing while acting as advocates for both their patients and their profession.
Cynda Hylton Rushton

Linking Leader and Team Member Wellbeing – Rosanne Raso

August 4, 2022
Episode 68
Duration: 22:07
In this episode, Dr. Raso talks about her latest research looking at authentic leadership, healthy work environment, team-member wellbeing, and nurse retention. In it, she uncovered a remarkable resilience of nurse leaders to continue leading with authenticity and humanity, even as the work environment for nurses diminished. She discusses the need to support nurse leaders with the same process and practice improvement, as well as providing wellbeing support to frontline nurses. Dr. Raso lays out a hope-filled vision for a future in which the structures of support for nurses and nurse leaders emerge from the challenges of the pandemic stronger and more human-centered than ever. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Vocera, now part of Stryker.
Rosanne Raso

Trust as the Foundation for Safety and Wellbeing – Mike Woodruff, MD

July 19, 2022
Episode 67
Duration: 26:07
In this episode, Dr. Woodruff talks about the central role that trust plays in supporting team member safety and well-being. While trust is not an unusual concept in leadership, Dr. Woodruff takes an expansive view, connecting it to every process that an individual interacts with within a system. He believes that any process that isn't explicitly designed to build trust - by showing respect and integrity - has the potential to erode trust, and that those small, daily interactions carry more collective weight than a single, positive, in-person encounter. He and his team use two questions to filter the trust factor on organizational processes: Does it support the mission? And, is it kind? The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Vocera, now part of Stryker.
Mike Woodruff

2022 Healthcare Workforce Rescue Package – Heather Farley, MD, and Tina Shah, MD

April 22, 2022
Episode 66
Duration: 48:38
Drs. Farley and Shah spearheaded a collaboration with leaders from the AMA, AHA, CEO Coalition, Dr. Lorna Breen Foundation, IHI, and National Academy of Medicine (NAM) to create the 2022 Healthcare Workforce Rescue Package. The package was devised to help leaders zero in on the most impactful team member well-being efforts to undertake at the current stage of the pandemic. In this episode, we delve into each of the five practices outlined in the Rescue Package and look ahead to how these create a foundation for a transformed culture of well-being for all healthcare team members.
Dr. Farley

Leading the Evolving Healthcare Workforce – Rose O. Sherman

March 30, 2022
Episode 65
Duration: 23:16
In this episode, Dr. Sherman discusses the transformative changes that are happening in the healthcare workforce, led by three critical trends: COVID-related turnover and travel; mental health challenges, and PTSD, and the shifting demographics of the workplace. She also talks about how these trends are causing dramatic shifts in the structure of healthcare work and challenging leaders to find the flexibility and creativity to rethink how healthcare is delivered. Finally, Dr. Sherman looks ahead to a future in which team member wellbeing is the center of a vibrant healthcare workforce.
Rose O. Sherman

Evidence-Based Care Transformation for Clinical Resilience – Chris DeRienzo, MD

January 27, 2022
Episode 64
Duration: 24:01
In this episode, Dr. DeRienzo discusses his new orientation to the “why” behind care transformation. Like most quality improvement leaders, his focus has long been on the triple aim of improved care quality, reduced cost, and improved experience. But the work Dr. DeRienzo is focused on now is creating energy and opportunity for a greater focus on health equity, necessary variability, and humanity. Care transformation, then, becomes less about productivity and standardization as a primary aim, and more about allowing clinicians to practice at the top of their humanity and their license in a way that is fulfilling and meaningful – which is also very likely to boost productivity and practice resilience over the long run.
Chris DeRienzo

The Evidence for Team Member Safety and Wellbeing – Kedar Mate, MD

December 16, 2021
Episode 63
Duration: 26:16
In this episode, Dr. Mate talks about research IHI recently completed into a broadened definition of team member safety and wellbeing put forth by the CEO Coalition, a group of US-based healthcare CEOs who see team member safety and wellbeing as an essential component of healthcare efficacy and sustainability. The CEO Coalition’s Heart of Safety Declaration of Principles expands the definition of safety to include protecting psychological and emotional wellbeing, promoting health justice by declaring equity and anti-racism core components of safety, and ensuring physical safety, which includes a zero-harm program to eliminate workplace violence, both physical and verbal. Dr. Mate shares what he and his team learned through the research process and how improvement science is critical to advancing safety and wellbeing. He also shares a long-term vision for healthcare in which the traditional locations and relationships of care expand, requiring a renewed focus on adaptive leadership competencies.
Kedar Mate

Tapping Into the Wisdom and Purpose of Retired Physicians – Mike Rizzo, MD

December 1, 2021
Episode 62
Duration: 24:13
In this episode, Dr. Rizzo talks about the impetus behind creating the Encore Physicians Program, and the benefit it brings to retired physicians, community health centers, and the patients they serve. He looks at the synergy and learning opportunities provided by linking both primary care and specialty physicians to the patients who seek care at community health centers, as well as the role of an intermediary such as Encore Physicians in creating connections between clinics and retired physicians. Finally, Dr. Rizzo shares his perspective on things to consider for leaders looking to set up similar programs in other parts of the country.
Mike Rizzo

The Power of Connection to Drive Wellbeing – Kathryn Cziraky, MD

October 25, 2021
Episode 61
Duration: 24:14
In this episode, Dr. Cziraky talks about her personal and practice transformation through a shift from transactional to relationship-based care, both with her team members and her patients. She also talks about how a drive toward efficiency had left her feeling depleted and disconnected from her work. In early 2020, Dr. Cziraky was introduced to the work of the Institute for Healthcare Excellence through the National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare, which helped her embrace positive emotions and a more relational model of work and care, which complemented and completed her drive for sustainable and effective care practice. Dr. Cziraky shares the impact of this transition on her work, her life, and her team’s ability to weather the challenges of COVID-19.
Kathryn Cziraky