Clinical Associate Professor of Business Law and Management
Indiana University Bicentennial Professor
Healthcare is an industry constantly in flux. A solution that might’ve worked 15 years ago may not be as effective today. When physicians lead effectively, they can help successfully usher their organization through the next shift or obstacle.
“There are unique challenges in healthcare that require stellar leadership: Addressing rising costs, patient preferences, and attracting and retaining new physicians and staff,” said Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow. “Structured, research-based leadership training empowers physicians to be effective, innovative, and nimble. Research shows that physician-led healthcare systems are the most effective healthcare systems, and that’s what we’re preparing you to do.”
A clinical associate professor-business law and management, Westerhaus-Renfrow teaches leadership, conflict resolution, and negotiation in the Physician MBA Program. She has a unique background in leadership herself, having served in the United States An Air Force, worked as a civil litigation attorney, and spent several years in higher education.
Westerhaus-Renfrow teaches negotiations in the healthcare setting, which can include navigating agreements with regulatory agencies, insurance companies, foundations, and staff. She says teaching physicians how to negotiate helps them achieve a win-win resolution at the table.
“Just as a physician aims not only to defeat disease but also to ensure the best possible outcome for the patient’s overall well-being, a skilled negotiator strives for a win-win solution that benefits both parties,” she explained. “In medicine, success isn’t just about eradicating illness—it’s about healing the patient. Similarly, in business, the most effective negotiations lead to outcomes where both sides gain, building stronger relationships and opening the door to future opportunities.”
Another practical skill clinicians earn in the Physician MBA Program is conflict resolution. While physicians spend many years learning the science of medicine, they may not have as much structured learning on the soft skills of managing others and creating a productive and thriving work environment.
“Conflict resolution skills in healthcare help physicians manage problems, provide constructive feedback to their teams, and negotiate effectively with staff and leadership,” Westerhaus-Renfrow said. “If you have these skills, you can establish a culture of psychological safety in which employees are more loyal, effective, and efficient.”
Through the process of learning about negotiations and conflict resolution, Westerhaus-Renfrow says physicians gain new strategies for leading their organizations, and they learn more about themselves. Ultimately, physicians can become a more confident, self-aware leader who communicates effectively with their team.
All of this is delivered in a rigorous MBA program that is focused specifically on healthcare. Rather than using examples of accounting from the construction industry, for example, Kelley professors use a hospital’s financials to study those principles. Hands-on, experiential learning is a hallmark of the Kelley School’s didactic approach. Westerhaus-Renfrow applies this method in conflict resolution and negotiations so that physicians can put themselves in the driver’s seat to make authentic decisions in real time.
“Physicians are often extremely analytical, astute learners whose job it is to evaluate and diagnose. When I go into a classroom of physicians, I need to be able to connect the dots on how these soft skills are going to improve their healthcare practice, leadership, and–most importantly–healthcare delivery,” Westerhaus-Renfrow said.
“In the Physician MBA, we’re focused on the world of healthcare, and we use experiential learning because it’s how clinicians learned in medical school: They have to touch and feel the material to learn it. When I teach conflict resolution and negotiations, physicians will experience these scenarios much like they would in the real world so they can immediately apply it to their practice.”