Podcast: Leading in Academic Medicine and Thriving During Challenges
Dr. Julie Freischlag shares hard‑won leadership lessons with Dean Henri Ford, reflecting on resilience, humility and thriving through crisis.
What does it take to lead and thrive in health care during one of the most transformative eras the field has ever experienced?
In the latest episode of Inside U Miami Medicine, Henri Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean and chief academic officer at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, sits down with Julie Freischlag, M.D., a pioneering vascular surgeon and one of the most influential leaders in academic medicine today.
Breaking Barriers at the Highest Levels of Medicine
A trailblazer who led some of the nation’s preeminent academic institutions and societies, Dr. Freischlag has broken countless barriers and helped redefine what leadership looks like in health care.
Some of her notable achievements include being the first woman to lead the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University, the first female president of the Society of Vascular Surgery, election to the National Academy of Medicine, president of the American College of Surgeons and chair of the board of the Association of American Medical Colleges, to name a few.
Most recently, she served as CEO and chief academic officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, chief academic officer and executive vice president of Advocate Health and executive vice president for health affairs at Wake Forest.
In this candid and energizing conversation, Dr. Freischlag reflects on the unexpected twists that shaped her path, from growing up in small-town Illinois to discovering a passion for surgery almost by accident.
“It’s a lot of serendipity,” she shared.
“Bounce Up”: Learning to Grow Stronger After Crisis
Dr. Freischlag speaks openly about building trust, leading with humility and knowing when to course-correct, including how to “bounce up” — her own term for growing stronger from moments of adversity.
“Never let a disaster pass you by,” she said. “It’s a waste of a good crisis.”
She also reflects on the deeply human side of a life in medicine: the relationships that sustain you, the ones you sometimes lose along the way and the next generation of leaders, whom she considers her greatest legacy.
And yes, you’ll also learn a few surprising things about her life outside the operating room.
Tune in to learn more about this transformational leader and gain insight about how you can lead in academic medicine.
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Tags: academic medicine, Dean Henri Ford, Dr. Henri Ford, Inside U Miami Medicine podcast, vascular surgery