Leadership & professional development: Developing expertise in traditionally subspecialty topics

REASONS TO DEVELOP EXPERTISE

In a profession that thrives on innovation and perpetually seeks to improve the patient experience, clinicians are rewarded for possessing unique skillsets. Although generalists are stimulated by practice variety, developing additional expertise offers opportunity to bolster quality patient care, advance career growth, and empower agency in addressing system failures. Investing time and effort to cultivate your passions into expertise will allow for increased autonomy and enhanced job satisfaction.¹

STRATEGICALLY SELECT YOUR EXPERTISE

Pursue your passions as this will promote longevity in your chosen career path. Identify specific care gaps within your community that are fundamentally valuable to patients and pragmatic for healthcare systems. An adaptable perspective allows providers to pivot to opportunities. Strategic topics include those where a significant benefit to the population exists or cost advantage is possible, but specialist care is limited either by interest or staffing. Internists and pediatricians have distinguished themselves in the fields of humanism, quality improvement, DEI, and preventative medicine. Even within subspecialty topics, providers have developed niche expertise as varied as gender care, anticoagulation, hepatitis C, surgical comanagement, Long COVID, addiction medicine, lipid management, and many more.

DEVELOPING SKILLS AND GROWING YOUR REPUTATION

See one —“See one” requires the provider to immerse themselves into diverse information from a variety of sources. Begin reading the relevant evidence-based literature and attend educational webinars. Engagement in scientific conferences and interaction with colleagues in your area of focus fosters sharing of perspectives and enriches understanding in emerging topics. Identify mentors who are experts in the field you are pursuing. If you are developing a novel expertise, align with mentors who have been pioneers, and seek advice on innovative solutions to troubleshooting shared challenges. Mentorship does not need to be limited to senior clinicians and can exist beyond your institution, consider near-peer mentorship and external collaborations.

Do one—“Do one” requires the aspiring expert to expose themselves to opportunities to learn through practice. This would be best to grow by joining committees, reviewing charts, initiating projects, and leading clinics. By demonstrating leadership and competency in your role, you will develop a reputation as an authority in your field. Consult mentors and colleagues when you encounter ambiguity. Build networks with others in the field to expand your footprint, locally and beyond. Engage stakeholders regularly and provide interval feedback on project successes to garner their investment.

Teach one—Significant clinical abilities developed over years of experience prepare the emerging expert to “teach one”. This can be achieved through a number of mechanisms: presenting your findings at scientific conferences and publishing evidence-based guidance in the medical literature, hosting capacity-building workshops to train other healthcare providers in your acquired skill, or designing and implementing telementoring platforms to disseminate knowledge. In propagating or disseminating the expertise, whether to students, patients, other faculty, or the community, the provider refines their understanding and ability to communicate their work, thus achieving true expertise.

CONCLUSION

Expertise in traditionally subspecialty topics is achievable for generalists and can increase autonomy, satisfaction, and advancement. Identifying a topic that aligns interests and system needs increases the likelihood of success. Immersion in clinical opportunities and integration into professional networks will develop expertise and reputation, ultimately improving the patient experience.

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