By Katie Given, MD, PhD, MBA, FAAD
It wasn’t that long ago that I was in your shoes, relatively fresh out of training. I wanted to establish a personal brand. Brand is what you are known for — your reputation, your expertise, word of mouth in your community, your network and your personal style. It is something that you can actively position, promote, evolve and protect with your patients, peers and staff.
Here are ten top-of-mind professional development recommendations that will grow your brand:
1. Know Your Location
While there are general strategies for practice environments, there are nuances related to the type of organization in which you work.
In academia, brand development is often driven by the mantra “publish or perish” within one of the three well-known tracks: research, clinical services or administration. In a care delivery system or private practice model you want to stand out and grow in your marketplace. I place patients at the center of everything I do and go the extra mile for them. I view the physician-patient relationship as my unique opportunity in a patient’s complex healthcare experience.
2. Engage
Engagement takes time, energy and presence. As dermatologists, we are busy, so it’s tempting to think we don’t have time to be involved. Yet we need to show up for staff meetings, be an active listener and make our voices heard. We need to serve our communities and often through our interface we have key insights to contribute. We may take a periodic administrative assignment over and above full-time clinical work or actively participate in state medical associations and specialty societies, such as the AAD, ASDS and ACMS.
3. Advocate
We are in a position to prioritize patient care quality, access and satisfaction, while balancing the business needs of the organization. We should be advocating for fundamental values. We can do this on many different levels locally within our own practices and communities. We can show up in person at county and state medical association meetings and nationally on Capitol Hill. We can participate financially through program donations to patient foundations, physician advocacy groups and leaders that promote our values.
4. Differentiate your brand
As a physician, it’s important to define and build your reputation. The most important practice elements to differentiate your personal portfolio are the patient community you serve through your specialty, quality of evidence-based care delivery, clinical outcomes and your curated referral network. These inputs require data, analytics, benchmarking, and staying up to date as a life-long learner.
A particularly effective way to differentiate your brand is to become known for something others don’t do. As an example, I am board eligible in clinical informatics. When evaluating decisions which require data, knowing which questions to ask and how to frame them based on experience is added value to my peers and physician organization. Moreover, I’m trained in organizational effectiveness and often encounter incomplete problem statement formulations where I lean-in to refocus for better outcomes. Ask yourself what unique experience you bring to your environment and feature it.
5. Practice professional courtesy and reciprocity
This can take the form of hand-written notes of appreciation for referrals. Whatever it is, always give others credit when they contribute. Another way to practice professional courtesy is to sponsor and mentor those around you. Play your role in building up our specialty, including the next generation of dermatologists. What I mean by reciprocity is contributing value to others where a long term relationship matters, without an expectation of immediate return. This is different than a transactional mindset where we seek to optimize a one-time event like the price paid for a new car. Over time, you may enjoy a favor returned, earned often years before, and your reputation grows.
6. Establish opinion leadership
Professional expertise, personal responsibility and accountability are your sine qua non. It is important to pay attention to comparative insights for improvement from previous institutions as well as association, society and conference learnings. Network and foster an enviable relationship environment for learning and leading.
7. Support your organization’s growth, strategy and goals
If your practice isn’t growing, others are coming into your market and acquiring market share as the community grows. Set shared goals and be a team player.
8. Communicate
Establish a regular cadence with your patients, staff, physician peers, care teams and business leadership. Don’t leave people guessing what you want and need, as well as how much you value them. I use a straight-forward style. I say what I mean and mean what I say.
9. Practice leadership
People know leadership when they see it, so put your best attributes to work for the benefit of your community.
10. Mitigate risks
Manage the tendency to be overly busy all the time. Focus your time around priorities. Be deliberate and intentional in how you use your professional time. A balanced life can be swept away by everyone else’s expectations of your professional responsibility. It’s important for me to set measurable personal goals and periodically check in on progress. Are you fulfilled and simultaneously making the impact you intend? To assess my effectiveness and mitigate risk I use SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. I strive to keep myself personally accountable.
Time always seems to be the scarce resource. When I feel motivated to enhance my professional development or build my brand I return to these ten building block tips. My toolbox includes effectiveness (doing the right things) and efficiency (doing things right). When I’m at my best, my brand is sure to grow. Do what works for you. It’s an honor to be a physician and in the company of fellow dermatologists.
