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What if the key to better patient care, lower burnout, and higher physician engagement wasn’t more mandates or metrics, but intentional, evidence-based skill development that enriches clinicians while improving outcomes?
In this inspiring and practical episode of Designing Healthcare That Cares, Dr. Laura Suttin welcomes Dr. Stephen Beeson. Drawing from his groundbreaking work at Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group, where patient experience soared from the 6th to the 93rd percentile, Dr. Beeson shares how a continuous human development approach can create extraordinary results for patients, care teams, and organizations.
They discuss:
- How Dr. Beeson accidentally discovered the power of relational skills in the exam room
- Why patient connection is one of the strongest burnout countermeasures
- The critical role of leadership behaviors in driving physician engagement and discretionary effort
- Building evidence-based skills for better patient interactions, teamwork, and leadership
- How Practicing Excellence uses technology and AI to scale sustainable human development
This episode is essential listening for healthcare leaders, physicians, and anyone committed to designing systems where clinicians can bring their best selves to work every day.
Three Actionable Takeaways:
- Start with Identity, Not Just Behaviors: Help clinicians first define the kind of clinician or leader they want to be. Once that identity is clear, small, evidence-based micro-skills become much easier to adopt and sustain.
- Treat Relational Skills Like Clinical Skills: Communication, empathy, and connection techniques are learned behaviors backed by evidence, just like managing Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or intubating a patient. Provision simple, practical skills that deliver immediate benefits to both patients and clinicians.
- Invest in Leadership Behaviors to Unlock Discretionary Effort: Physician engagement and willingness to go above and beyond are heavily influenced by how well they are led. Develop consistent leadership skills such as emotional intelligence, gratitude, candor, and authentic appreciation to create an environment where clinicians feel heard, valued, and supported.
About the Show:
Designing Healthcare That Cares is where leadership meets humanity. Hosted by Dr. Laura Suttin, the show explores what happens when compassion, connection, and courage come together to transform how we care—for our patients, our teams, and ourselves.
About the Guest:
Dr. Steven Beeson is a practicing physician, national thought leader, speaker, and author of two national bestselling books: Practicing Excellence: A Physician’s Manual to Exceptional Healthcare and Engaging Physicians: A Manual to Physician Partnership. He is the former Physician Director of The Sharp Experience at Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group in San Diego, where the group earned the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award and multiple recognitions as a top-performing medical group. In 2013, he founded Practicing Excellence to scale systemic skill development that improves healthcare delivery while enriching the lives of clinicians and care teams. He currently serves as a national expert on human development applied to healthcare challenges.
Website: practicingexcellence.com
About the Host:
Dr. Laura Suttin is a physician, leadership coach, and lifelong advocate for designing systems that truly care. After years of navigating the complexities of healthcare, she realized that compassion and connection aren’t just nice-to-haves—they’re the foundation of great medicine.
Today, Laura brings that vision to life through her work as a consultant, speaker, and host of Designing Healthcare That Cares. She helps healthcare leaders and clinicians rediscover their purpose, build resilient teams, and lead with both strategy and soul.
When she’s not interviewing changemakers or guiding organizations, you can find her sharing stories that remind us all why we got into medicine in the first place—to make a difference, together.
🌐 Website: drlaurasuttin.com
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-suttin-md/
📸 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purposefulMD
Register for the Clinician Leadership Compass course to combat overwhelm and burnout.: www.thepurposefulmd.com/courses
The Designing Healthcare That Cares Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding personal or organizational decisions.
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