Internal medicine physician Vidhya Prakash explores how quiet clinicians can overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome to step into health care leadership roles, detailing her journey from an infectious diseases specialist to chief medical officer at SIU Medicine in a recent podcast discussion reported by KevinMD.
Clinical Leadership Relies on Listening and Training
- Beyond Loud Voices: Effective clinical leadership relies on active listening, problem-solving, and team mobilization rather than loud or commanding personalities.
- Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Budding physician leaders frequently hold themselves back by demanding they check every single requirement box before accepting advancement.
- Bridging the Business Gap: Transitioning successfully into executive roles requires direct experiential training, such as sitting down with finance leaders to analyze departmental budgets line by line.
The Accidental Ascent to Chief Medical Officer
Vidhya Prakash grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, after her family immigrated from India in the late 1970s. She completed her medical training at the University of Cincinnati before entering the United States Air Force, where she finished an internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship in San Antonio, Texas. Following several years of service at a military hospital in Dayton, Ohio, she transitioned to the civilian sector, joining SIU Medicine in 2014 as an infectious diseases physician.
Leadership was never part of her initial professional roadmap. Instead, her ascent happened because supervisors and mentors tapped her on the shoulder to ask her to serve in various administrative capacities. That sequence of requests eventually led to her current appointments as chief medical officer of SIU Medicine. In her book, The Leadership Learning Curve, she outlines how she initially questioned these opportunities because she lacked formal business instruction and did not see many women or Indian women holding executive titles within her health care systems.
Dismantling Self-Doubt and The Loneliness of Executive Roles
As she stepped into her early leadership positions, Prakash confronted deep-seated self-doubt. She noted that women physicians often experience a cycle of imposter syndrome where they focus on perceived deficiencies rather than the competencies they bring to a team. Overcoming this barrier required shutting down an internal refrain that told her she was not qualified.
| Leadership Domain | Traditional Clinical Training | Executive Administrative Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Core Competency | Individual patient diagnosis and treatment plan | Strategic planning and population health oversight |
| Problem Solving | Synthesizing labs, imaging, and chief complaints | Navigating organizational conflict and managing budgets |
| Team Dynamics | Directing immediate multidisciplinary medical teams | Engaging diverse departmental personalities and non-clinicians |
Physicians inherently develop strong problem-solving frameworks through clinical training, systematically moving from a patient’s chief complaint to a synthesized assessment and plan. However, Prakash points out that clinicians stepping into administration need targeted development in engaging teams, managing interpersonal conflict, and mastering the business side of medicine.
To acquire fiscal literacy, she pursued experiential education. During her initial years in administration, she sat down line by line with the chief financial officer and accounting heads to review complex institutional budgets. She supplemented this practical experience with specialized programs offered through organizations like the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Association of American Medical Colleges.
References
- Prakash, Vidhya. The Leadership Learning Curve. KevinMD Publishing.
- Prakash, Vidhya. Learning to Listen. KevinMD Publishing.
