Across healthcare systems, physician shortages are forcing leaders to rethink how they build and sustain their care teams. During this year's Annual Leadership Conference hosted by the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL), Medicus facilitated a targeted discussion with two respected chief medical officers on optimizing clinical workforces.
Dr. O'Neil Pyke, Chief Medical Officer of Jackson Health System, and Dr. Mark Gendreau, Senior Vice President, Market Chief Medical Officer of Beth Israel Lahey Health, shared actionable strategies they are using to confront physician shortages head-on. Their insights revealed three key strategies for healthcare leaders seeking to navigate staffing challenges and reach clinical workforce stabilization.
1. Care Team Structures Are Evolving to Address Physician Shortages
Physician shortages are impacting every part of the care continuum, from academic medical centers to community hospitals and rural systems. Demand continues to rise, and with a significant portion of the workforce nearing retirement, the United States could face a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036.
At Beth Israel Lahey Health and Jackson Health System, both executives are rethinking how they leverage advanced practice providers (APPs) to meet demand and maintain access to care. Rather than relying solely on physician-centered staffing models, they are adapting team structures to reflect a more balanced, collaborative approach.
During the session, Dr. Mark Gendreau and Dr. O’Neil Pyke outlined how their organizations are leveraging APPs more strategically to meet patient demand, including:
- Aligning APP competencies with the needs of specific specialties.
- Defining APP roles clearly within interdisciplinary teams, supported by service-line-specific frameworks.
- Developing strong APP leaders who can mentor peers and guide best practices.
- Updating compensation models to match responsibilities and support broader organizational goals.
A growing reliance on APPs is a practical response to ongoing physician shortages. As Dr. Gendreau noted, expanding APPs' role is not just about innovation, but about necessity. Health systems are adapting how they utilize every member of the care team to ensure access, continuity, and stability in healthcare operations.
2. Retention and Culture Drive Workforce Stability
While fair and transparent compensation remains important, Dr. Mark Gendreau and Dr. O’Neil Pyke emphasized that organizational culture plays an even greater role in clinician engagement and long-term retention.
Throughout the session, each executive stressed that addressing burnout, improving work-life balance, and building authentic, supportive leadership structures are critical to sustaining clinical teams.
Dr. Gendreau described initiatives underway at Beth Israel Lahey Health to alleviate administrative burdens, such as streamlining documentation processes and rethinking call schedules to improve physician well-being. At Jackson Health, Dr. Pyke linked culture directly to retention, highlighting that clinicians are more likely to stay when they feel supported in meaningful ways. He pointed out that culture is not shaped by messaging alone, but through action.
Steps both executives are taking to strengthen culture and improve retention include:
- Redesigning workflows to reduce administrative burden.
- Offering flexible scheduling to support work-life balance.
- Developing medical directors and nurse managers to reinforce cultural expectations at the team level.
- Working with leadership at all levels to build cultural alignment and trust.
- Prioritizing retention alongside recruitment in long-term workforce planning.
Dr. Gendreau offered a simple mantra for healthcare leaders to keep front of mind: “Retention, Development, Recruitment.” For both executives, culture is a central factor in building and retaining a stable clinical workforce.
3. Practical Innovation Can Strengthen Clinical Teams
As provider shortages grow, healthcare leaders are turning to practical innovation to support more effective care delivery. Dr. Pyke and Dr. Gendreau shared examples from their health systems, including efforts to expand specialty access through telehealth, improve patient engagement with virtual outreach, and explore how artificial intelligence might eventually reduce administrative burdens and support provider well-being.
Steps both executives are taking to improve care delivery through innovation include:
- Coordinating weekend call coverage through a regionalized model in vascular surgery.
- Piloting telehealth with locum tenens endocrinologists to address backlog and improve access.
- Planning to hire a full-time tele-endocrinologist to ensure specialty access.
- Using telemedicine to reduce no-show rates and improve continuity of care.
Dr. Pyke described innovation as most effective when it is practical, scalable, and tied to supporting care teams. For both he and Dr. Gendreau, even small, targeted changes can improve access, reduce strain, and help stabilize the clinical workforce.
Closing Reflections on Workforce Optimization
Throughout the session, Dr. Gendreau and Dr. Pyke shared how leveraging APPs, investing in culture, and applying practical innovation can all affect workforce optimization. Together, their insights highlighted strategies that can support long-term stability, improve access, and reduce strain on clinicians.
As physician shortages continue to evolve, these takeaways offer a starting point for health system leaders working to evolve how they support and sustain those on the front lines of care.
Interested in leveraging the Medicus Transition Program to optimize your workforce? Complete the short form below to connect with a member of the Medicus team.
