Women Hospitalists Shaping the Future of Leadership

Leaders provide a clear vision, empower others, and direct and motivate their teams to achieve common goals.

And although more women work in the medical field than ever before, men dominate institutional leadership roles.¹ Further, women face gaps in pay, promotion, representation, and recognition.²

In honor of September being Women in Medicine Month, six members of SHM’s 2026 Leadership Academy faculty reflect on their journeys to leadership and share their insights on what it takes to be a leader and how to overcome the inequities that women face.

Rachel Cyrus, MD, SFHM

Dr. Cyrus

Dr. Cyrus, associate chief medical officer and clinical practice director in the division of hospital medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, an urban academic medical center with more than 900 beds in Chicago, has built and refined her leadership skillset by attending conferences, through self-directed learning, and by regularly reading books on leadership. “Like any skill, it requires study and consistent practice,” she said.

“Many opportunities to grow and demonstrate leadership come through participating in committees and actively working to solve problems,” she said. “Leadership often begins before having a formal title.”

Professionalism in interactions and in forming relationships is also key. “In complex healthcare systems, meaningful change requires collaboration and teamwork,” Dr. Cyrus said. “Your reputation for how you work with others can significantly influence future opportunities.”

Many leadership roles are learned on the job. “I think women may hesitate to apply for a position because they don’t feel fully prepared,” she said. “In reality, most candidates don’t meet all the criteria listed in a job description. Remaining skills can be developed with experience.”

Someone once said to her, “First, you lead your team; then, you stand next to them; and ultimately, your goal is to develop new leaders and stand behind them.” This philosophy resonated with her.

Serving as the chief of staff for Northwestern’s medical staff has been one of her most rewarding leadership roles. She focused on ensuring safe and high-quality physician practices and identified and supported struggling physicians, including those facing health-related challenges.

For her, focusing on a smaller number of priorities at a time and executing them well is more effective than trying to do too much at once.

Being able to fully disconnect periodically is also incredibly important. “It not only helps prevent burnout, but I also return to work with renewed energy and perspective,” she said.

Dr. Cyrus believes that women remain a minority in many top healthcare leadership positions because they may be more prone to experiencing imposter syndrome due to perceived gaps in experience and feeling unprepared for leadership roles.

Further, women take on a disproportionate share of childcare and household responsibilities. This added responsibility may make some women more hesitant to pursue leadership roles that require additional time and energy.

To help address these challenges, organizations can create more flexible leadership structures that accommodate responsibilities outside of work. Open calls for leadership positions can help reduce the tendency to rely on informal networks or select individuals who resemble current leaders.

Dr. Cyrus defines success in leadership as creating a synergy between achieving hospital, division, and provider goals and empowering leadership teams and clinical providers. “It’s important to not only meet key organizational targets but also to ensure that individuals delivering care feel supported, engaged, and heard,” she said.

Teresa Cornelius, MD, MPH

Dr. Cornelius

For Dr. Cornelius, leadership was never part of a carefully crafted career plan. Instead, her path emerged through a commitment to meaningful clinical work, a willingness to embrace unexpected opportunities, and the support of mentors who recognized her potential before she fully saw it herself.

An assistant clinical professor in hospital medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Children’s of Alabama, Dr. Cornelius currently serves as vice chief of clinical operations and nocturnist lead for UAB Hospital Medicine, all in Birmingham, Ala.

Her leadership journey began a few years after residency when she was asked to serve as nocturnist lead. “I was hesitant to take on additional responsibilities so early in my career and while raising three young children, but working nights gave me a unique perspective that I felt was important to represent in leadership discussions,” she said.

That opportunity opened the door to further leadership development, including participation in the SHM Leadership Academy. The experience broadened her understanding of organizational dynamics, strengthened her leadership skills, and connected her with mentors and sponsors who continue to influence her growth.

A formative exercise during the academy challenged participants to develop their own personal mission, vision, and set of core values. “That exercise remains foundational to my leadership approach,” she said. “It provides a framework for evaluating opportunities, making difficult decisions, and ensuring that my actions remain aligned with the type of leader and person I aspire to be.”

Like many leaders, Dr. Cornelius struggles with self-doubt. When she moved into the vice chief role, she considered herself a relatively new leader. “Self-doubt often appears when I’m stretching beyond my comfort zone,” she said. “I’ve learned to recognize that discomfort is not a sign that I’m not qualified, but rather a prerequisite for growth and learning.” Coaching has been pivotal in that mindset shift and in her overall personal and professional development.

Dr. Cornelius describes her leadership style as calm, grounded, collaborative, and mission-driven. Central to her approach is the belief that leaders need a clear sense of purpose.

Dr. Cornelius credits supportive colleagues, flexible scheduling, and a culture that recognizes life outside of work as essential to sustaining both personal and professional fulfillment. Those experiences have fueled her passion for mentoring and coaching other women in health care as they navigate leadership aspirations, family responsibilities, and pursuing meaningful careers.

Her advice for aspiring leaders is simple: leadership is not synonymous with a title. Influence, relationships, and service can begin long before a formal leadership role. “Invest in understanding yourself, remain open to opportunities, and intentionally cultivate relationships,” she said. “Some of my most important opportunities arose from others seeing potential in me.”

For Dr. Cornelius, leadership is ultimately about helping people feel seen, valued, and connected to a shared purpose—an approach that continues to shape both her career and the teams she serves.

Eliza Holland, MD

Dr. Holland

As a summer camp counselor during her college years, Dr. Holland, a pediatric hospitalist at the University of Virginia (UVA) Children’s Hospital, an academic hospital in Charlottesville, Va., learned teamwork, resilience, creative problem solving, and patience.

Her formal leadership training started with a yearlong community leadership class that taught her how to think critically about a problem’s source, connect with grassroots organizations and local leaders, and engage with government representatives.

As a leader, she believes that when you identify a problem, you need to find a solution. “I use this technique with senior residents on rounds to improve autonomy and decision-making skills,” she said.

Dr. Holland sees a successful leader as one who can lead by consensus, takes the effort to know their team members and their strengths, can advocate for their team, holds others as well as themselves to high standards, isn’t afraid to admit when they’re wrong, and is approachable.

She feels fortunate to have worked part-time for most of her career, which provides work-life balance. She is now full-time and has combined clinical care with other pursuits, such as undergraduate medical education, quality improvement projects within the medical center, and resident coaching.

The toughest challenge on her leadership journey has been taking on more than she should. “I’m trying to find other people to lead some projects and am learning how to manage my expectations with people who commit to projects but never contribute,” she said.

Some of her current leadership roles include: liaison with SHM’s Annual Conference Committee for the pediatric track at Converge; director of the UVA trainee healthcare leadership program; and co-chair of the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative’s evidence-based dyad care–substance use disorder statewide project.

This past year, she started a leadership track specifically for UVA trainees who were identified as emerging leaders by their program directors. Almost 40 senior residents and fellows participated in a longitudinal course with eight monthly sessions on topics such as leadership styles, negotiating, advocacy, budgeting, and health care policy. The trainees also completed group projects that addressed issues they identified within the health system.

She thinks aspiring leaders should invest their energy into the path that makes the most sense for them. “Seek out mentors who are involved in the projects that align with your interests,” she said. “Offer to lead the next sponsored national quality improvement project that enters your mailbox. Join smaller committees through professional organizations to widen your networking circle. Take a course through SHM’s Leadership Academy, which is also a great way to meet new people outside of your institution.”

Maliha Iqbal, MD, SFHM, CHCQM-PHYADV

Dr. Iqbal

Dr. Iqbal, an adult hospitalist and physician advisor in the utilization management department at Beacon Health System, a nonprofit healthcare organization based in South Bend, Ind., said her path to a leadership role was shaped by curiosity, necessity, and a genuine desire to improve the systems around her.

She trained in India and completed residency in the U.S.—building a foundation in a system entirely new to her while navigating cultural and institutional learning curves.

“I learned to adapt and pay close attention to how systems function and where they fail,” she said. “I was pushed to understand hospital medicine from every angle: bedside care, clinical documentation integrity, utilization management, and leadership development.”

The breadth of her training was intentional. “You can’t lead effectively without understanding how clinical decisions intersect with documentation, reimbursement, and operations simultaneously,” she said.

As the medical director of Beacon’s clinical documentation integrity program, Dr. Iqbal had to translate across clinical medicine, coding, and hospital administration—disciplines that don’t naturally speak the same language. That work taught her that the hospitalist’s greatest asset is seeing the whole patient, the whole stay, and the whole system simultaneously.

“Leadership is often about being the translator in the room—converting clinical reality into language that administrators, payers, and regulators can act on,” she said.

Dr. Iqbal, who also chairs Beacon Health System’s utilization management committee and is the secretary of SHM’s Indiana Chapter, went from learning about leadership to cultivating it in others. “That’s the role I value most, because investing in the next generation is where the work actually multiplies,” she said.

Dr. Iqbal believes in deliberate sponsorship—nominating colleagues for opportunities they wouldn’t have sought themselves, because those who most deserve it are rarely the ones self-promoting. She co-founded the Beacon Women Physician Committee because individual mentorship cannot substitute for changing the system that makes mentorship necessary.

When advising a young hospitalist aspiring to become a leader, Dr. Iqbal recommended starting before feeling ready, because the readiness you’re waiting for is largely a myth. “Leadership competence develops through doing, not through preparing to do,” she said. “Take the committee seat. Volunteer for the quality project no one else wants. Say ‘yes’ to the stretch opportunity and figure it out.”

She also emphasized investing in one’s professional community early. “The relationships I have built through SHM have been among the most sustaining resources of my career,” she said. “These colleagues nominated me for opportunities I didn’t know I was eligible for, called when opportunities opened, and gave feedback I couldn’t have gotten elsewhere.”

“The generation of women entering hospital medicine today is extraordinary; they’re better prepared, more aware of structural barriers, and far less willing to absorb inequity quietly,” Dr. Iqbal said. “They aren’t waiting to be invited—they’re building the table. My job is to make sure it’s large enough for all of them.”

Kheyandra D. Lewis, MD, MEd

Dr. Lewis

Leadership centers on developing others and helping them to recognize and maximize their unique strengths, said Dr. Lewis, vice chair of faculty and professional development in the department of pediatrics, associate program director of the pediatric residency program, and associate professor of pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine’s St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, an academic urban pediatric hospital with 188 beds in Philadelphia.

“I lead through active listening, meaningful feedback, and relationship-building,” said Dr. Lewis, who is also the director of the hospital’s simulation center. “I believe people are most successful when they feel valued, heard, and empowered to contribute in ways that align with their talents and aspirations.”

As a female leader, Dr. Lewis speaks with purpose and confidence to ensure that her voice is heard and that her contributions are recognized. “It’s also equally important to amplify other women’s voices and ensure that their ideas are acknowledged,” she said.

For her as a woman of color, supporting emerging leaders, particularly women and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, is deeply important.

“I advocate in both visible and behind-the-scenes ways,” she said. This includes creating opportunities for colleagues to lead projects, connecting them with mentors and sponsors, amplifying their contributions in meetings, and encouraging them to pursue opportunities they may not feel qualified for.

Dr. Lewis sees a growing need for intentional sponsorship for women and those underrepresented in medicine, particularly at the mid-      career point when many leadership opportunities emerge.

She maintains that women frequently bring valuable perspectives on balancing competing priorities, navigating organizational dynamics, and leading through influence rather than authority alone.

She believes that organizations should create greater transparency around leadership selection processes, provide equitable access to sponsorship and mentorship, and ensure that leadership opportunities are purposefully developed rather than informally assigned. “Addressing these structural barriers is essential if we want leadership representation to better reflect the workforce,” she said.

Dr. Lewis believes that imposter feelings can emerge when stepping into new responsibilities or unfamiliar environments. “That’s often a sign that I’m stretching outside of my comfort zone, which is where growth occurs,” she said.

She strives not to compare herself to others and instead to reflect on the value she contributes. When self-doubt creeps in, she reminds herself of her experiences, her perspectives, and her impact on others. She also seeks objective feedback from trusted mentors and colleagues.

One practice she intentionally developed is learning to accept praise and positive feedback rather than immediately dismissing it. She acknowledges that missteps can arise and recognizes that learning opportunities can build confidence and resilience to navigate future challenges.

Dr. Lewis’s advice to young hospitalists is to intentionally invest in their leadership development. “Strengthen your leadership capabilities through reading, formal training, and experiential learning,” she said. “Look beyond medical resources and explore leadership principles from other industries, as many lessons are universally applicable.”

Rachel Thompson, MD, MPH, MHM, FACP

Dr. Thompson

As one of the first inpatient-based hospitalists at her health system more than 20 years ago, Dr. Thompson saw an immediate demand for program development, interpersonal and interdepartmental relationship building, strong communication, change management, emotional intelligence, negotiation strategy, and alignment with hospital priorities. “For me, it was sink or swim, and I did a bit of both at first,” she recalled.

Today, Dr. Thompson serves as the chief medical officer for Core Clinical Partners in Seattle, an acute-care practice management group focused on improving care.

A key event in her leadership development was attending SHM’s Leadership Academy. It provided a solid foundation and common language for process improvement and change management strategies.

Ten years into her leadership role, she pursued a Master of Public Health degree while continuing to work. “I wanted to improve my data skills; it also helped me to expand my understanding of global issues in healthcare,” she said.

Dr. Thompson compares her career to a leaf that fell into a river. “Day by day I ride the current, learning as I go, flexing with the ripples, bumping into rocks, and bouncing around them,” she said. “Through it all, my constant is a focus on caring for people.”

As a woman and leader in medicine, some of the boulders in the river may have been bigger or harder to find ways to glide around, she recalled. “But in the moment, it never quite struck me—maybe because I’m more than a bit stubborn and happy to fail, fail again, and fail better—knowing in the end that there will be better outcomes,” Dr. Thompson said.

Dr. Thompson believes it’s important that clinicians represent the diversity of their communities and that an evolution is occurring. First, women became medical students, and now doctors, and next, leaders.

In regard to measuring success, Dr. Thompson’s top key metric is clinician engagement. “All other metrics tie back to this—strong clinician teams, solid clinical outcomes, and reliable multidisciplinary relationships,” she said. “Happy and engaged clinicians will naturally drive for the best care and collaborate with partners across health systems.”

Dr. Thompson is most proud of the lives she has touched and especially the people who took an extra step because they knew she had their backs. “I still remember their names, faces, and stories,” she said.

For any young hospitalist aspiring to become a leader, she would say, “Go for it! This will be the most rewarding part of your career journey. Embrace the challenge. Find supportive people and lean on them.”

Regarding the recipe of skills and qualities that are necessary to lead, Dr. Thompson recommends a deep commitment to curiosity, a large helping of compassion, and a dash of just plain stubbornness.

“Be willing to be labeled bossy—that means you’re confident and strong,” she said. “Be willing to be labeled emotional—that means you care and are invested. Look for peers outside of your system, which will provide you with tremendous perspective.” 

Karen Appold is an award-winning journalist based in Lehigh Valley, Pa.

References

1. Levy MS, et al. Gender inequity in institutional leadership roles in US academic medical centers: a systematic scoping review. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 ;8(4):e252829. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.2829.
2. Etsey M, et al. We are women in medicine. American Medical Women’s Association website. https://amwa-doc.org/we-are-women-in-medicine/. Published September 30, 2025. Accessed July 31, 2026.