Bullying, rudeness and violence have permeated headlines about the healthcare industry lately. In the post-pandemic era — one riddled with anxious patients and burnt-out providers, all still dealing with the consequences of prolonged isolation — it can be easy to assume that civility is dead. 

For decades, hospitals have touted high-quality care, clinical excellence and affordable access to care as their competitive advantage in crowded markets. But what happens when automation, data-driven insights and value-based care equalizes the field?

Throughout his healthcare career, Greg Wood has spent time walking the hospital floors, sitting in employee lounges and talking with staff. However, he recently got an even closer look at the front lines when he shadowed charge nurse Misty Freeman, RN, for eight hours at Laurinburg, N.C.-based Scotland Health Care System. 

Megan Gillespie, DNP, RN, began serving as CEO of Sutter Santa Rosa (Calif.) Regional Hospital in October, and she entered the role already aware of work being done at the hospital's parent organization, Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health, to make it easier for patients and communities to access care.

Becker's asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share their organization's areas of growth for the next few years. 

Board members are a professional group less often linked to the chronic exhaustion and emotional fatigue of burnout. But governing bodies are now increasingly feeling the strain, Fortune reports. 

A top executive with Penn Medicine is one possibility to replace the University of Pennsylvania's president, who resigned Dec. 9. 

Despite an improved outlook on organizational health for 2024, the majority of healthcare executives are keeping an eye out for new positions, according to a recent survey. 

The largest health system in the country is seeking leaders for numerous roles at the top of its hospitals. 

Becker's asked healthcare presidents and CEOs to describe 2023 in the context of their respective organizations using one word. None of them used the same word, but all their responses carried the theme of adeptly navigating the post-pandemic era. 

Health systems have overcome many challenges in the last three years, and rapid transformation will continue for the next three driven by thinning margins, workforce shortages and technological advancements, according to executives at top health systems.

While they serve at organizations of varying sizes in different markets, more than 100 healthcare executives who spoke with Becker's Hospital Review in 2023 shared one theme in common: Leadership — in all its forms and facets — requires constant adaptation. 

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has been on the leading edge of innovation in healthcare delivery and operations for years, incorporating artificial intelligence and digital transformation into all areas of the system.

The Biden administration is ramping up efforts to stop what it calls anticompetitive practices by healthcare entities.

As director of mission integration at California Hospital Medical Center, Samuel Scriven — also a trained chaplain — is like a physical conscience at the tables where decisions are made. 

While the candidates' commentary and critiques on healthcare were generalized in the fourth Republican presidential primary debate Dec. 6, mentions of the topic suggest its return as an issue for the 2024 election. 

Some health systems cut positions from their C-suites in 2023; others added to them, creating new positions that reflect the industry's shifting priorities.

The healthcare C-suite is changing, as many hospitals and health systems shake up their leadership structures in an attempt to ensure lasting success and support organizational transformation. Top priorities facing today's healthcare leaders range from delivering patient-centered care to promoting workforce well-being, optimizing new technologies like artificial intelligence, intelligent automation and analytics, and more.

At a time when the health industry is facing some of the roughest currents in history, we have an opportunity to rethink how we collectively steer the ship. When it comes to staying healthy and navigating the nation's current fee-for-service healthcare system, our industry is collectively sending a clear message to our patients and communities: You're on your own. 

A November article in Fortune shed light on the demand for softer CEOs. The crux of the article, which focuses on companies across various industries, is that in a post-pandemic world, recruiters are focusing less on administrative, financial and technical hard skills in CEO searches and more on empathy, humility and self-awareness. This raises the question: What does a "softer" CEO look like in healthcare?