How Would Failing Forward Catapult the Impenetrable Forcefields of JEDI? with Dr. Darilyn Moyer, Episode #011

Dr. Darilyn Moyer is a board-certified Internist and Infectious Disease specialist who has been a FACP since 2007. She has served on the Board of Regents, chaired American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Board of Governors and served as Governor of ACP’s Pennyslvania SE Chapter. Dr. Moyer’s research & scholarly activities are in the areas of medical education, high value care, patient safety, and professionalism. In 2016, Dr. Moyer was the first woman to serve as the ACP Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the 101-year history of the organization. She is one of three women physician CEOs in about 48 national physician professional society.

In this episode, we discuss her various leadership roles and how she is using her position to connect with women and men to forward JEDI (Just, Equitable, Diverse, Inclusive) and anti-racist environments in healthcare. The ACP has a center for Ethics and Professionalism that seeks to advance physician and public understanding of ethics and professionalism issues in the practice of medicine to enhance patient care by promoting the highest ethical standards. She accesses these resources to ensure that decisions regarding JEDI are grounded in evidence.

The goal is not merely to have one person that represents the diversity of the rank and file of the organization at that table, nor to meet the metrics of diversity by obtaining the right number of women, age-appropriate members, or persons of color. But rather, overall outcomes will improve when well-qualified leadership is diversified, thus adding value, expertise, and alternative perspective. Key leaders need to understand the importance of disrupting systems that have been in place for centuries by inviting energetic folks to the front lines to help bring about these necessary changes.