This year has been a big one for Jill Brodsky: She received an MBA in Health Care Management from Johns Hopkins University and she became Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at CareMount Medical. The Buffalo native’s academic focus gelled, of all places, at summer camp. “I fell in love with pediatric endocrinology by working at diabetes camp as a medical student,” she says.
Dr. Brodsky joined Mid-Hudson Medical, now CareMount Medical, in 2011, as the only physician in her specialty between Albany and Westchester County. “Accessing high-quality care closer to home allows children and families to fit their endocrine disease into their daily life, as opposed to having life revolve around care of their disease,” she says. Leadership roles led to appointments as Associate Medical Director and Director of Physician Recruiting in 2017.
Over two years, she led efforts to hire 95 new physicians across 18 locations. She is the only pediatric endocrinologist between Manhattan and Albany to develop a program for transgender children and adolescents. In support of the LGBTQ community, she spearheaded her office’s presence at Poughkeepsie Pride Day last year.
What are you most proud of in your role as an administrator?
I work to lead by example in order to inspire other physicians throughout the organization. Since assuming my roles as CareMount Medical’s Recruitment Director and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, I have launched several new initiatives to reduce physician burnout, improve patient care, and enhance workflow efficiency. I appreciate that change can be difficult for many people, and I am proud of my communication and coaching skills, which have helped to alleviate anxiety experienced by some of my colleagues.
Additionally, empowering women is a passion of mine. I am a founding committee-member of the CareMount Medical Women’s Council, which was created to enable female physicians to empower themselves to move their career forward in leadership roles and feel more balanced in their lives.
What advice do you have for the next generation of female leaders?
Join and stay involved in the conversation. If you have a passion for leadership, share your aspirations and goals with your mentors, supervisors and managers. As female leaders, we need to champion the next generation of women who aspire to ascend to leadership. We need to encourage them to speak up in meetings, minimize interruptions, and reinforce the merit of their ideas.