SoundPractice

Hosted by American Association for Physician Leadership®

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208

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Aug 2026

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About the show

SoundPractice, hosted by the American Association for Physician Leadership®, delivers practical information and fresh perspectives for physician leaders and those running healthcare systems. Physician advocate Michael Sacopulos, JD (healthcare attorney, author, speaker) brings you the best thought leaders, crisp humor, and pithy tips to help your healthcare organization thrive.

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September 2, 2026Episode 20933 min

The Leadership Learning Curve: Dr. Vidhya Prakash on Imposter Phenomenon and Adaptive Leadership

Vidhya Prakash, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FAMWA, Chief Medical Officer and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Population Health at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine, joins host Mike Sacopulos for a candid conversation about her AAPL-published book, The Leadership Learning Curve: A Woman Physician's Journey as Chief Medical Officer . Dr. Prakash traces her path from an immigrant childhood in Cincinnati through infectious diseases, Air Force service, and hospital executive leadership. She speaks candidly about imposter phenomenon, adaptive versus technical problem-solving, and leadership lessons from military service, while also describing her role in founding the Alliance for Women in Medicine and Science (AWIMS) at SIU, a grassroots initiative that has measurably improved faculty promotion and tenure equity. Listeners will hear practical guidance on balancing clinical practice with executive responsibility; distinguishing adaptive from technical leadership; treating leadership as both an art and a practice; reframing failure; applying Air Force leadership principles of integrity, service before self, and excellence in all we do; and helping more physicians, especially “accidental leaders,” step into leadership roles. Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.2882398846

August 19, 2026Episode 20828 min

Rethinking Reform: Ken Terry on Primary Care, Cost, and the Future of U.S. Healthcare

In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos talks with veteran healthcare journalist Ken Terry about his new book, Beyond Medicare for All: Cracking the Code of the Healthcare Affordability Crisis , published by the American Association for Physician Leadership. Terry, a former senior editor at Medical Economics has written for publications including Medscape Medical News, WebMD, cio.com, InformationWeek, and Fierce Healthcare. He is the author of two previous books on healthcare reform, Rx for Health Care Reform (Vanderbilt University Press, 2007) and Physician-Led Healthcare Reform: A New Approach to Medicare For All (AAPL, 2020). He also contributed to Stephen K. Klasko's 2023 book, Feelin' Alright: How the Message in The Music Can Make Healthcare Healthier. In this interview, Terry explains why he abandoned the assumption that Medicare for All will ever become reality — and lays out an alternative model built around empowered, salaried primary care groups, all-payer hospital rates, and a new “consumer council” to help guide difficult coverage decisions. Topics Discussed: Why primary care physicians should lead basic care — and how that could reverse primary care's decline The role of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in a primary-care-led system How corporate practice of medicine laws could be strengthened, state by state, to give PCPs more independence Why insurers and hospitals might support this model rather than fight it Maryland's all-payer, global-budget hospital system as a template for reform A modified approach for rural healthcare, where physician scarcity changes the equation Caring for an aging population and the unresolved challenge of long-term care financing The idea of a “consumer council,” inspired by the late David Eddy, to help guide coverage decisions for new technologies What's next for Terry, including plans to bring these ideas to Congress and the 2028 presidential campaigns Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.9016618520

August 5, 2026Episode 20734 min

Leading with Clarity: Self-Awareness, Civil Discourse, and the Future of Healthcare Culture with Dr. Jessica Bunin

What if healthcare’s greatest barrier is not funding, technology, or policy, but leaders’ lack of self-awareness? In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos talks with Jess Bunin, MD, MHPE, FACP, FCCM, CEC, a psychiatrist, author, and co-founder of All Levels Leadership, a consulting firm designed to revolutionize healthcare leadership training. Dr. Bunin brings a perspective forged at West Point and through a military career that included deployment to Iraq, leadership as an ICU director and chief of critical care, and service as dean of community at the Uniformed Services University, the nation’s military medical school. She argues that healthcare’s deepest wounds are relational—and that healing them starts with leaders doing the hard work of understanding themselves. Dr. Bunin discusses: Why physicians often overestimate their self-awareness, and what research reveals about the inverse relationship between confidence and competence. How struggling as a program director helped her distinguish between mentoring for her own success and mentoring around a resident’s needs. How today’s medical students and residents differ from those trained 15 years ago, and why digital communication, COVID, and political polarization have weakened the skills needed for productive disagreement. How patients have changed as well, and why declining doctor-patient trust and the rise of Dr. Google make emotional attunement essential. The CLEAR framework for civil discourse: Create psychological safety, Listen actively, Establish common ground, Adjust your thinking, and Respond skillfully. Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.9800458950

July 22, 2026Episode 20639 min

A Physician, a Rare Disease, and the Art of Being Present with Dr. Lyndsay Hoy

Lyndsay Hoy, MD , was just beginning her first week of anesthesia residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania when she was received a life-altering diagnosis: lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a rare and progressive lung disease that predominantly affects women of childbearing age. Diagnosed within 36 hours of experiencing symptoms, Hoy embarked on a journey defined by the dual roles of clinician and patient — a dynamic that profoundly influenced every aspect of her life. From her marriage to fellow physician Vincent Nguyen, to her decision to pursue IVF and embryo preservation, to her advocacy for rare disease patients, and her leadership as Chief Mission Officer of The LAM Foundation, her experiences have shaped her path and purpose. In this episode, Hoy speaks with host Mike Sacopulos about the challenges of managing an invisible illness while navigating a demanding clinical career and the structural inequities that determine who gets diagnosed and treated for rare diseases. She also reflects on a chapter she co-authored with her husband for AAPL's recent book on dual-physician marriage. Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.4448307229

July 8, 2026Episode 20526 min

Healing from the Inside Out: How Medicine Must Learn to Share Its Power with Dr. Rana Awdish

What happens when a physician becomes a patient — and discovers that medicine can heal the body but leave the person behind? In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos sits down with Rana Awdish, MD , medical director of care experience at Henry Ford Health and bestselling author of In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope. Awdish's path to physician leadership is unlike most. As a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Henry Ford, she nearly died — and that experience cracked open a new understanding of what physicians actually need to do their jobs well. She began building a communications curriculum, quietly and without a formal title, until the work proved so effective that the institution asked her to lead it systemwide. Today she oversees care experience, runs the Pulmonary Hypertension Program, and helps shape Henry Ford's physician onboarding and Leadership Institute. The conversation is equal parts practical and profound. Awdish describes Henry Ford's "senior peer partner" model — a social mentoring program that pairs new hires with seasoned clinicians not to teach clinical skills but to transmit culture. And she shares what comes next. Her forthcoming book, Aftershock: Learning to Reinhabit My Body After Illness, goes deeper than In Shock did, tracing a second journey — through somatic healing, art, and what she calls "re-embodiment" — that ultimately led her to discover her own undetected cancer. The book is a challenge to medicine's assumptions about where healing begins and ends. Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.4947586419

June 24, 2026Episode 20430 min

Between Heartbeats and Algorithms: Reclaiming What Matters in Healthcare with Dr. Devjit Roy

What happens when the art of medicine collides with the rise of clinical algorithms, electronic health records, and artificial intelligence? In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos speaks with Devjit Roy, MD, MAS, MSPC, CPE, from Nathan Littauer Hospital in rural New York — about his book, Between Heartbeats and Algorithms: Reclaiming What Matters in Healthcare . Roy explains how the book grew from journals he kept while working on the front lines of a COVID surge hospital, where he recorded patient stories as a way of processing the trauma. Years later, those stories became the foundation for a call to action: Physicians must step into leadership to ensure that technology serves medicine — not the other way around. He also serves as medical director of the hospital's nursing home, board member for Mountain Valley Hospice, and co-president of a regional joint venture focused on preserving specialty care. He continues to practice as a hospitalist and palliative care physician. Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.9499938075

June 10, 2026Episode 20340 min

The Circle of Money: What Physicians Need to Know About Health Plan Contracting with Dr. Jacob Asher

Few physicians ever experience healthcare from the perspective of a health plan, but Jacob Asher, MD, is an exception. A former ENT surgeon with Kaiser Permanente, Asher shifted gears in 2008 to pursue a career in commercial health plan management. Over the next 14 years, he served as California Commercial Market Medical Director for Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare. Today, he shares his expertise by mentoring students in Stanford University's Master’s Program in Medical Informatics. In this conversation with host Michael Sacopulos, Asher pulls back the curtain on commercial insurance — from how contracts are structured, to who holds pricing power, why behavioral health has been siloed, and what AI might finally be able to fix in a system long defined by friction and misaligned incentives. Asher also shares how serving on Kaiser Permanente’s Medical Group Board of Directors helped prompt his move from surgery into health plan leadership. He also discusses the role of AAPL (then ACPE) in preparing physicians for non-clinical career paths. Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.2297884529

May 27, 2026Episode 20243 min

Ethics at the Edge: Bioethics, AI, and the Courage to Lead with Arthur Caplan, PhD

What does it take to build a culture of ethics inside a health system — and what happens when leaders lack the courage to defend it? In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos sits down with Arthur Caplan, PhD, one of the world's foremost bioethicists and the founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Department of Population Health. Dr. Caplan traces his path into bioethics from a childhood hospitalization for polio to graduate training at Columbia, where he witnessed firsthand the ethical gaps in medicine's early encounters with IVF, informed consent, and research oversight. That experience shaped a career devoted not just to theorizing about ethics, but to solving real problems in real institutions. In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Caplan and Mike Sacopulos explore: What an effective ethics infrastructure looks like The defining bioethical challenges of the next decade Compassionate use and unproven therapies Misinformation and informed consent Rationing and equity Bioethics training for the next generation Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.4001445650

May 13, 2026Episode 20130 min

Where Will Doctors Train? Residency Applications, Abortion Restrictions, and the Coming Workforce Crisis with Dr. Anisha Ganguly & Dr. Anna Morenz

In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos speaks with two physician-researchers whose landmark study is sounding an early warning about the long-term consequences of state abortion restrictions on the U.S. physician workforce. Anisha Ganguly, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Anna Morenz, MD, MPH, assistant clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Arizona, discuss their study published in JAMA Network Open in March 2026. Their study analyzed nearly 24.2 million residency applications submitted to more than 4,300 programs across all medical specialties between the 2018–2019 and 2022–2023 application cycles. Using an interrupted time-series causal methodology developed in collaboration with health economist Anirban Basu, PhD, MS, at the University of Washington, the team found that applications to programs in states enacting new abortion restrictions after Dobbs dropped significantly — among both male and female applicants. Among the conversation’s most striking moments: Ganguly reveals that the decline among men applicants was larger than expected — and larger than they had originally hypothesized. She and Morenz discuss why this makes Dobbs an “all of us” problem, not just a women’s issue, and what it signals about the broader reproductive climate of restricted states. The episode also covers the pipeline problem: because more than half of physicians ultimately practice in the state where they trained, sustained declines in application volume could worsen existing physician shortages in primary care and emergency medicine in restricted states for years to come. Morenz shares a timely update: in the most recent March 2026 match cycle, two OB-GYN residency programs — both in Texas — failed to fill all their slots. Study Reference: Ganguly AP, Basu A, Morenz AM. State-Level Disparities in Residency Applications After Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(3):e260286. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.0286 Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.3119622965

April 29, 2026Episode 20039 min

From Battlefield to Bedside: Physician Leadership Lessons from Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling

What does commanding troops in combat have to do with leading a hospital? More than you might think. In this episode of SoundPractice, host Mike Sacopulos sits down with Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, U.S. Army (Ret) — former commander of U.S. Army Forces in Europe, CNN military analyst — to explore the surprising parallels between military and medical leadership. Soldiers and physicians share more in common than most realize. Both are defined by their profession first, and both operate in life-and-death environments where leadership is not optional. Hertling shares how he came to spend nearly a decade at AdventHealth developing physician leadership programs, what his doctoral research revealed about inter-professional training, and why getting doctors, nurses, and administrators in the same room may be the single most important thing hospitals can do. Inter-professional leadership training produces measurably better outcomes than siloed programs. He also discusses his newly released memoir, If I Don't Return: A Father's Wartime Journal, drawn from a handwritten journal he kept during Operation Desert Storm. Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership . https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.3026455942