New Book from AAPL Equips Physician Leaders to Drive Systemic Change Through Coalition Strategy and Systems Thinking

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) announces the publication of Systems Thinking for Physician Leaders: Leading Change Through Strategic Networks, a landmark co-edited volume that reframes physician identity as an organizational leadership asset — and provides the practical tools to act on it.

Edited by Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAP; Matthew Mazurek, MD, MHA, MBA, CPE, FAAPL, FACHE, FASA; Jennifer Miles-Thomas, MD, URPS, MBA; and Mark Olszyk, MD, MBA, CPE, FACEP, FAAPL, FACHE, the book draws on case studies from physician contributors practicing across the landscape of healthcare systems.

"Physicians are already systems thinkers — that is what medical training builds," Dr. Nehal says. "This book shows physician leaders how to apply that capability at the organizational level, even when they don't hold traditional positional authority."

Healthcare's growing complexity has created an urgent need for this kind of resource. Administrator roles in U.S. healthcare grew 3,200% between 1975 and 2010, while physician autonomy has steadily declined. Today, more than 77% of physicians are employed by hospitals or corporate health systems, yet most report feeling sidelined from meaningful organizational decision-making.

Systems Thinking for Physician Leaders directly addresses this gap. The book is organized into three parts.

Part I introduces five foundational frameworks — systems thinking, power mapping, change psychology, systematic change implementation, and impact measurement — all tailored to the realities of physician leadership in matrixed organizations.

Part II presents real-world case studies across the landscape of healthcare settings, each analyzed using the book's analytical framework.

Part III synthesizes lessons learned and equips readers to apply the frameworks to their own institutions.

Among the book's distinguishing features is its use of Kotter's 8-step change process adapted explicitly for physician-led coalition building. An appendix of ready-to-use tools — including power mapping templates, stakeholder analysis worksheets, and sustainability planning guides — makes the content immediately actionable.

"This isn't theory for theory's sake," Dr. Mazurek explains. "Every framework in this book is illustrated through real physician leaders doing real work in real systems. The goal is to give readers something they can use the next morning."

The book is intended for physician leaders at all career stages — from chief residents entering leadership roles to CMOs navigating enterprise-level transformation — as well as healthcare executives and graduate programs in health leadership, public health, and healthcare administration.

About the Editors

Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAP, is a former chief medical officer of a 14-center $100 million agency and founder of an AI-enabled digital health company incubated at MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Matthew Mazurek, MD, MHA, MBA, CPE, FAAPL, FACHE, FASA, is assistant professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Jennifer Miles-Thomas, MD, URPS, MBA, is the treasurer of the American Urological Association and is vice chair of integration and innovation at Northwestern Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Mark Olszyk, MD, MBA, CPE, FACEP, FAAPL, FACHE, is chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at Carroll Hospital, part of LifeBridge Health, Westminster, Maryland.

About the American Association for Physician Leadership
The core philosophy of the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) is that leadership is learned. AAPL is focused on the personal transformation of all physicians, and through them the organizations they serve. With the goal of improving patient outcomes, workforce wellness, and a refinement of all healthcare delivery, AAPL has remained the only association solely focused on providing professional development, leadership education, and management training exclusively for physicians. Since its founding in 1975, AAPL has empowered more than 300,000 physicians across 35 countries—including CEOs, chief medical officers, and physicians at all levels of healthcare. www.physicianleaders.org 

Contact:

Elliot Jones
[email protected]
(813) 636-2842

SOURCE American Association for Physician Leadership