A Military Veteran’s Advice on Leadership in Healthcare? Build Leader Resiliency to Reduce Burnout

 

The future of healthcare leadership is a conversation that’s becoming increasingly crucial. The healthcare industry faces unprecedented challenges in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a time when leadership needs to be reimagined, particularly in an industry where burnout and compassion fatigue are rife among front-line workers. Estimates indicate 60% of healthcare workers reported burnout during the height of the pandemic. This fatigue continues to cause healthcare workers to leave the field, creating a gap in an industry whose needs are growing, not shrinking.

Considering these staggering figures, how can leadership in healthcare evolve to combat these challenges, foster resilience, and adapt to the changing landscape of this crucial sector?

In the latest episode of Holistic Leadership, The Future of Work & Education in Healthcare, hosted by Travis Hearne, we dive into this pertinent discussion with Dr. Kathleen Flarity, a veteran healthcare and military leader with more than four decades of service.

In this episode, the conversation revolves around three main areas:

  • The link between healthcare provider resiliency and leader resiliency and how fostering these can mitigate the risks of burnout and compassion fatigue
  • The balance between individual responsibility and organizational responsibility in healthcare leadership, particularly in the context of addressing systemic burnout
  • The evolution of Dr. Flarity’s mission and calling for leaders in the healthcare space, informed by her unique experiences in both healthcare and the military

Dr. Kathleen Flarity is a highly decorated military veteran, an esteemed academic, and a pioneer in healthcare. Her esteemed career includes serving as Deputy Director of the University of Colorado Anschutz Center for Combat Medicine and Battlefield Research and the role of Air Force Brigadier General. Beyond her military service, Dr. Flarity has published over 16 book chapters and 32 journal articles, including 15 peer-reviewed research manuscripts. She has significantly contributed to the healthcare field as an associate clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus and the President of the Aerospace Nursing and Allied Health Professional Society. She is also the president and founder of Flarity Consulting LLC, specializing in leadership consulting and re-engineering clinical processes. Her unique insights and experiences make her an authoritative voice in the evolving discussion around healthcare leadership.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Revenue Cycle
Transformation Without Disruption: How Access Healthcare Is Rewiring the Revenue Cycle with Agentic AI
September 17, 2025

Hospitals are juggling shrinking margins and rising costs while denial volumes remain stubbornly high. In the revenue cycle alone, hundreds of billions are lost annually to preventable errors and inefficiencies—in fact, Access Healthcare CEO Shaji Ravi cites more than $250 billion wasted each year. Meanwhile, payers have accelerated their use of AI to adjudicate…

Read More
leading with intention
Making Meaning Out of Life’s Pause: Billie Whitehouse on Finding Strength, Setting Boundaries, and Leading With Intention
September 17, 2025

In June, Forbes profiled Billie Whitehouse, CEO and Creative Director of Wearable X, as she broke her silence about leading through a devastating health crisis. Diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 27 while 22 weeks pregnant, Whitehouse underwent emergency surgery that ensured her survival, but came with the profound heartbreak of losing her…

Read More
Critical Care
Transforming the ICU Through Technology: Advances in Critical Care Telehealth Delivering Gold-Standard Care Anywhere
September 17, 2025

Critical care in the United States faces a mounting crisis. With a shortage of board-certified intensivists and younger, less experienced nurses filling ICUs, hospitals often struggle to provide timely, gold-standard care. Studies show that hospitals with board-certified intensivists in their ICUs see a 30% reduction in patient mortality, yet thousands of facilities still lack…

Read More
How to Scale Events Without Losing the Wow Factor
How to Scale Events Without Losing the Wow Factor
September 17, 2025

In this episode of Secured, host Mike Monsive, CEO of ASAP Security, reconnects with Idan Koren, CMO of Verkada, for a conversation about what it really takes to scale events without losing their impact. Idan shares how his team manages nearly 500 events a year—ranging from intimate gatherings to Verkada One, the company’s flagship…

Read More