This week I spoke with Dr. Todd Albert, a 1987 UVA Med School alumn who’s the Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus at the Hospital for Special Surgery Chief and helped start Care Equity, a healthcare focused Private Equity fund.
The Rundown:
COLD OPEN: Doubling down on mentorship
TURNING POINT: Recovering after a loss
STEAL THIS: What are you most and least proud of
INDUSTRY INSIDER: Diversity of thought is key to building successful teams
IF I WERE YOU: Be humble, be respectful, and be willing
COLD OPEN
How Did You Get Your Start?
My career was a series of mentorships.
My dad was a podiatrist. I loved watching him interact with patients and knew that’s what I wanted to do.
Being a family doctor was interesting to me, but in college at Amherst my good friend on the football team invited me to stay with him for a weekend and meet his dad.
His dad happened to be a very famous orthopedic surgeon (was the dean at Penn State) and became a mentor to me. He’s in his 90’s now and is still a mentor.
After med school at UVA, I got another mentor in residency. This guy Nick Rothman at the Rothman institute in Philadelphia.
I was hired there, and ultimately became the chairman. From there I moved to the Hospital for Special Surgery and was the Surgeon in Chief.
I am where I am because of mentorships and the intersection of great people who helped and inspired me.
I still practice spine surgery, but I’m also involved in developing medical instrumentation, helped start a Private Equity firm, and am the CMO and co-founder of SeeAll AI, a surgical imaging company.
TURNING POINT
What’s A Challenge You Faced Early On?
I was about 37 years old, 4-5 years into practice, and my wife died.
We were on a trip in Morocco going over the High Atlas mountains and our driver, avoiding a bus, went off the cliff.
I had 3 little kids at the time. Raising them while continuing to practice was incredibly challenging.
I'll say this: We don’t grow as much from our successes, we learn much more from our difficulties.
STEAL THIS
What’s A Question You Love To Be Asked (Or Asking)?
When I interview students, I like to ask what are you most proud of.
Right after I ask what are you least proud of.
People don’t expect it, but confronting your humility is important.
INDUSTRY INSIDER
What Do People Misunderstand About Leading Medical Institutions?
The biggest misconception is that it's easy. I'm not sure anyone really believes this, but the idea is that it shouldn’t be that hard because you’re leading a bunch of smart doctors.
There’s a lot more to it. When you’re the chief medical officer, you have a group of surgeons, anesthesiologists, ancillary medical providers, nurses, admin, so there's a lot of diversity and it's a complex ecosystem.
In the not-for-profit institutions, it has a different level of economics, so there's a different set of rules.
FOLLOW UP: How do you build and foster great teams?
You need a lot of help. It takes a village.
You have to be open to all types of people. The worst teams are those built in one person's image. You need diversity and inclusion.
By diversity, I mean of thought. What experiences have you had, what’s your background, and what can you bring to the table that’s different?
The problem with the world now and the algorithms is you get put in a bubble of people who think just like you.
IF I WERE YOU
Do You Have Any Advice For Students?
Be humble, treat every single person with respect, and be willing to do anything.
If you start a job, and they ask you to clean a toilet*, be the best toilet cleaner you can be.
No job is below you, and if you have that attitude, I promise you’ll be successful.
*EDITORS NOTE: Funny enough, UVA Swim Coach Todd DeSorbo said almost the exact same thing in his interview — maybe UVA needs to graduate more janitors. (Click here and scroll to his “Do You Have Any Advice” section if you don’t believe me.)
CLOSING TIME
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