20 Years, 20 Leaders: Redonda Miller, MD, MBA
Image via the Baltimore Sun
“As doctors, we are historically trained to act quickly and often autonomously. But as administrative leaders, we need to hear and understand all viewpoints to make the most informed decisions.”
Our connection to the experiences of those who came before helps to define the present and future of medicine. The Foundation is celebrating 20 years by joining in conversation with 20 women leaders in all aspects of medicine to understand their stories and how their experiences will shape the next generation.
Redonda Miller, MD, MBA, is president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, a 1,100-bed teaching hospital with 11,000 employees and $2.6 billion in operating revenue. She also is a practicing internist. During her tenure, the hospital has been consistently recognized for clinical excellence, maintaining its ranking among the top three hospitals in the nation on the U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll.
Johns Hopkins also has earned four consecutive Magnet designations for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, gold certification in person-centered care from Planetree International, and the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence.
Here’s what we learned from Dr. Miller.
Why did you choose to go into medicine or your related field?
I did not originally intend to pursue medicine as a career. I always loved math and science and had my heart set on engineering. However, when I was a freshman in high school, my parents became critically ill due to accidental pesticide poisoning, and their lives were saved by quick-thinking paramedics and high-touch providers in the intensive care unit. I was profoundly affected by their work and knew I wanted to help others as they had helped my family. That defining event led to my decision to become a physician.
What’s your core philosophy?
I’ve heard this phrase uttered before, and it is at the heart of what I believe: Work hard and be kind. If you follow that mantra, you will be successful no matter what your endeavor. Hard work will help you move forward in life and in whatever career you choose, and the innate beauty of kindness is that it costs nothing — but results in an incredible payoff. We create the best of both worlds when we combine the two.
What motivates you?
First and foremost, I am motivated by our patients. It is a privilege to work in a place dedicated to helping patients heal, and to witness their grace and courage under the most difficult circumstances. I am also motivated by my colleagues. Theirs is a constant drive for excellence, no matter their role. They are dedicated, innovative, empathetic, and wholly committed to providing the highest quality, compassionate care for our patients.
How do you motivate others?
I believe the best way to motivate others is through positivity and authenticity. Studies have shown that a positive outlook improves health outcomes and helps people make better decisions. So it only makes sense that positivity would also help people approach their work with vigor and excitement. But positivity must also be authentic; it can’t feel forced or disingenuous. We want our colleagues to know that we value their work and are committed to helping them thrive. Ultimately, creating that positive work environment will translate to a place where patients feel positive about their care.
What challenges have you had to overcome?
We all have faced myriad challenges. For me, the most significant was my decision to reroute my career path to health care administration after years spent cultivating a more traditional medical trajectory. It was a decision that essentially required a new vocabulary and way of thinking — like moving to a new country and learning a new language. I had been an active academic and clinician for the first decade of my medical career. Then, in my mid-30s, my frustration with some of the inefficiencies in clinical care led me to a search for administrative solutions. So, I returned to school at night and obtained my M.B.A. After graduation, I met with the chair of medicine and asked for a project where I could use my new skills, which led to my first administrative role. It was a steep learning curve, but hard work on various projects led to positions of increasing responsibility, and ultimately to my role as president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Humans fail. Please share a time when you failed and what you did next to move forward.
The one that comes to mind immediately was related to our effort to centralize credentialing for physicians among our system of five adult hospitals, in order to remove a huge administrative burden. I made several mistakes: I didn’t seek advice. I optimistically attempted to keep costs down and, in the process, underestimated the time and resources needed. I had the right stakeholders at the table but did not continue to communicate with them robustly. As a result, we were overburdened and missed deadlines — not to mention, our medical staff were increasingly frustrated. We were able to turn the project around by being completely transparent about what had happened and what resources we needed to fix things. Ultimately, the lesson I learned was to never cut corners — and to communicate every step of the way.
Who was your most important mentor(s) and why?
I have had various mentors at different points on my career journey. One of the most impactful was the chair of medicine at the time of my career transition. He was someone who thinks “outside the box” and was very entrepreneurial in encouraging me to follow a nontraditional career path. He, like all of my mentors, encouraged me to take a risk and provided a safe environment where I could ask questions. They opened doors and were supportive in making me aware of opportunities that were a good fit for me. They truly cared about my success.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned?
Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of balanced decision-making. As doctors, we are historically trained to act quickly and often autonomously. But as administrative leaders, we need to hear and understand all viewpoints to make the most informed decisions. As a result, I try to ensure that there is always a diverse group at the table to provide a balanced view. This group could include a variety of professions, from clinicians to finance and operations professionals. But it must always include the person with the most concerns about the project. That person is key to identifying potential weaknesses and brainstorming solutions early in the decision-making process.
How do you define success and how do you measure up to your own definition?
I define success as leaving the organization in a better state than when I got there. At The Johns Hopkins Hospital, we have focused on making improvements in a few key areas over the past few years. As a result of our efforts, our patient satisfaction scores are currently above the 95th percentile nationwide. And we have made and are continuing to make a positive impact on our community by creating and expanding programs that address the social determinants of health, including supportive housing, second chance hiring of ex-offenders, and other innovative initiatives. I think we have been very deliberate and creative in our approach. These are successes that are not attributed to one person but to our entire team.
What do you see in store for the future of medicine and the related fields?
There are three realities that health care must address in the 21st century. First, value is key. With patients paying more out of pocket, we must provide care that is of the highest quality at a lower cost. Second, our patients are demanding convenience and technology-based access to care. Why should a busy mom or dad need to come to the doctor’s office in person when their child has a sore throat, when it’s easier to talk to the doctor via video chat? And third, we now recognize the role of social determinants in health and the need to address this through community health initiatives. How can a person who is homeless manage their diabetes when they don’t know where their next meal is coming from? We must continue to work with our neighbors to address all of their health needs — physical, emotional, social, and economic — both inside our hospitals and out in our communities.
What advice would you give to the next generation of women in medicine and the medical sciences?
Do not be afraid to take risks, to step up, or to apply for that next position. There is never going to be a right time. Just grab the opportunity and continue to learn on the job.
The Backstory on Dr. Miller
She grew up in Ohio and first came to Johns Hopkins in 1988 as a medical student. Her many honors include being named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of their 100 Great Healthcare Leaders and by Modern Healthcare as one of their Top 25 Women in Healthcare for 2019. She is married to Dr. Albert Polito, a pulmonologist. They have two daughters.