Critical Connections and Leadership in EM with Dr. Andrew French

In this Frontline Weekend Playlist episode, hear Dr. Andrew French, Vice President and Physician Executive for Quality, Safety, and Clinical Operations at Centura Health, present "Critical Connections, Leadership in Emergency Medicine" from the Fourth Annual Leadership Symposium and EM: High Risk, Do Not Miss Conference in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Dr. French reframes leadership as influence rather than title or authority, and argues that emergency medicine, with its daily demands for adaptability, quick decision making, and managing a huge range of perspectives under pressure, is the ideal training ground for building that skill. He walks through a practical framework for developing leadership on shift, starting with a simple personal leadership statement and building toward leading teams and larger systems, and makes the case that emergency physicians are uniquely positioned to lead change across the broader healthcare system. The throughline is that leadership is not acquired knowledge but a skill built through repeated practice, and the emergency department is the best laboratory available for building it.