Partnering with physicians
Partnering with physicians
Physicians co-founded HCA Healthcare with the intention of creating an environment where healthcare focuses on the patient. This approach continues today in partnership with our more than 44,000 active and affiliated physicians.
HCA Healthcare prioritizes physician input, clinical capabilities, growth and innovation, so physicians can focus more on what they do best: caring for our patients.
HCA Healthcare’s Physician Leadership Academy Class of 2024 at the Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University
Daniel Grenier, DO, Emergency Medicine Physician; Trish Stephens, MD, Chief Medical Officer; HCA Florida Aventura Hospital
Physician input
Our annual Physician Engagement Survey is one of the many ways physicians provide feedback. In 2024, more than 15,000 physicians completed the survey. When asked what they like best about their hospital, more than half of them commented about our people and culture. HCA Healthcare’s 82% physician engagement rating is 15 points above the healthcare benchmark for physicians.
All of our hospitals create, manage and close the loop on action plans year-round. Additionally, we have enterprise action plans in place for the ER and OR. Our physician advisory groups help represent the voice of our physicians and ensure the influence of providers on important quality and operational initiatives across the organization.
Enhancing physicians’ clinical and
leadership capabilities
At HCA Healthcare, we invest in our physicians as leaders and provide them with the tools and resources they need to deliver high-quality care.
The Physician Leadership Academy (PLA) is a suite of leadership development programs dedicated to supporting physician leaders at multiple levels within HCA Healthcare. Initially launched in 2015 to support the leadership development needs of HCA Healthcare’s Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), the program paused in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Revitalized in 2024, the PLA welcomed 36 CMOs from across the enterprise and expanded to include a broader range of programs aimed at developing physician leaders throughout the organization. New programs are set to launch in 2025, reflecting strong interest and support for cultivating industry-leading physician leaders.
Capstones are a requirement for the PLA. Capstone projects focus on multiple areas. Three trends emerged from the Physician Leadership Academy’s class of 2024: enhancing strategies to support physician engagement, improving efficiency in our hospitals and improving quality of care.
Dr. Olufunmilayo Ogundele, associate chief medical officer at Mission Hospital in the North Carolina Division, focused her capstone project on engaging physicians to impact experience and quality in the emergency department. One of the key learnings highlighted in her project reinforced the value of cross-functional teamwork to align solutions with organizational challenges and resources.
Dr. Will Jackson, associate chief medical officer at HCA Florida JFK North Hospital, centered his capstone project on increasing education and the process around palliative care to reduce readmissions and improve quality of life for terminally ill patients. One of the key learnings from his project spotlighted how engaged leadership and multidisciplinary teams remain essential to leading change in our industry.
The PLA has received overwhelmingly positive feedback since its resumption, with all four sessions of the refreshed core program scoring 4.9/5 and the overall program rated 4.9/5 by participants. The PLA’s purpose is to enhance physicians’ clinical and leadership capabilities by teaching skills such as influence, emotional intelligence, facility business acumen, data synthesis, communication, change management and understanding enterprise processes. A major benefit of the program is the networking opportunities it provides, allowing participants to connect with other physician leaders from across the country and share best practices.
This network fosters a supportive environment and creates a channel for disseminating best practices and lessons learned across the enterprise. Participants have praised the program for its meaningful curriculum and the strong professional connections it facilitates, contributing to improved organizational commitment and patient care quality.
Preparing the
next generation of physician leaders
HCA Healthcare is the largest sponsor of Graduate Medical Education (GME) in the nation. Our program is designed to educate the next generation of physicians to positively impact communities, attract clinical talent to care facilities and improve the quality of care provided. As a key leader in the field, we see this as an obligation to address a critical forecasted physician shortage, and also to train doctors who focus on excellence in delivery of safe, equitable, quality care in the communities we serve.
In our GME program, residents and fellows gain hands-on clinical experience, and our network of hospitals and facilities gives them access to more resources and support services. Additionally, we train our faculty and other leaders to support residents’ autonomy, create belonging and develop their sense of competence.
Left: Manjot Malhi, MD, Pulmonary Critical Care Fellow Physician, HCA Florida Aventura
For the 2024-2025 academic year, we welcomed 1,846 new residents and fellows to our GME programs across the nation and plan to increase our program growth 28% by 2030.
Our residents and fellows are supported by exceptional faculty who are focused on enhancing patient care, making advancements in the field of medicine and inspiring the next generation of physicians. In 2024, Dr. Abdo Asmar, a program director of the UCF-HCA Florida Healthcare Internal Medicine Residency Program of Greater Orlando/Osceola, was a recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award by the American College of Physicians (ACP) Florida Chapter.
GME program by the numbers
325
GME programs
79
hospitals with GME programs
16
states with GME programs
5,138
residents, a 28% increase from 2021
316
fellows, a 64% increase from 2021
Board pass rate
In the aggregate, our Cardiology, OB-GYN and Emergency Medicine specialty programs have higher board pass rates for first time test takers than the national average.
“It’s an incredible privilege to receive this award from the ACP Florida Chapter. Teaching is not just a responsibility — it’s my passion. Guiding residents through their medical journeys and watching them grow into skilled and compassionate physicians is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. Each learner I mentor also inspires me to continue growing as a physician and an educator.”
Dr. Abdo Asmar
Program director of the UCF-HCA Florida Healthcare Internal Medicine Residency Program of Greater Orlando/Osceola
Supporting residents’ and fellows’ well-being
To support our residents in their next phase of their clinical education, we are committed to creating a positive work and learning environment. In the 2022-2023 academic year, HCA Healthcare residents and fellows beat the national average on eight of the 12 items on the annual Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Resident and Fellow Well-Being Survey and tied on the other four items. In 2023-2024 academic year, through our efforts, HCA Healthcare trainees beat the national average on all 12 of the items on ACGME’s well-being survey.
Above (left to right): Richard Shalmiyev, MD, Pulmonary Critical Care Fellow; Jude Tabba, MD, Pulmonary Critical Care Fellow; HCA Florida Aventura Hospital
HCA Healthcare was invited to present our approach to creating optimal work and learning environments at several prestigious locations including the ACGME annual conference, the ACGME Symposium on Physician Well-Being, the National Association of DIO conference, the HERO Foundation Healthcare Summit, the Association for Hospital Medical Educators and the Champions of Wellness Conference at the Mayo Civic Center.
Another way we are supporting resident well-being is through our Physician Wellness Research Lab. Developed in partnership with Claremont Graduate University, the Physician Wellness Research Lab champions scientifically based approaches to well-being to help residents balance the demands of the job with the resources they need to be successful.
GME program residents serve local community
In addition to training residents to provide quality care within our facilities, our GME program and faculty leverages HCA Healthcare’s commitment to creating healthier tomorrows for our communities where our residents and fellows live and work.
During her intern year, Dr. Lindsey Ferko, now DO at Ocala Regional Medical Center, collaborated with nonprofit NMDP (formerly known as Be The Match) to lead a donor drive at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital connecting patients who need a stem cell or bone marrow transplant with registered donors.
Lindsey was inspired to lead the donor drive because before she started her residency in 2023, Lindsey received notification that she was a perfect match for someone who needed an urgent stem cell transplant. “The few weeks between graduation and starting residency were filled with pre-transplant preparation and I ended up donating my stem cells to a complete stranger two days before residency orientation,” Lindsey said.
More than 70 people registered as donors, and there are hopes to do the drive annually.
Valesco physicians support care teams during Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Valesco’s full transition to our HCA Healthcare family in 2024 is increasing our capabilities to care for our patients, clinicians and hospitals while improving operational performance.
With the nation’s largest group of hospitalists and emergency medicine doctors, HCA Healthcare has advanced our capabilities and resources to continue creating solutions and being there for our patients when they need us the most.
In the face of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Valesco physicians demonstrated dedication and resilience to caring for our patients by supporting our care teams in Asheville, North Carolina and West Florida. Amidst personal hardships such as flooded homes and debris-filled streets, Valesco colleagues traveled from near and far to not only support continuous medical care but to bring hope and comfort in the face of adversity to our patients and colleagues.
Dr. Eddie Trevor, medical director at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire went to provide relief to the emergency room team at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. “Every patient we saw was one less for the Mission providers,” he said. Learn more about our ability to adapt and respond to emergency events.