2019 Member Spotlight – Fayola Edwards-Ojeba, MD
Bio
Fayola Edwards-Ojeba, MD is the founder and CEO of RechargedMD. As a board-certified internist and a Clinical Assistant Professor at UCSF, Dr. Edwards-Ojeba cared for patients and taught internal medicine residents. During her time as a practicing physician, she experienced the deep gratification and frustration of clinical practice. She overcame the struggles of burnout with the tools and services she turned into RechargedMD. Dr. Edwards-Ojeba has developed comprehensive workshops and team building exercises to improve communication amongst physicians and to facilitate dialogue with senior leadership.
She aims to change the national discourse around physician burnout to focus on systems-level challenges in our current healthcare climate. Through RechargedMD, her mission is to positively impact the healthcare system and improve the practice of medicine.
Dr. Edwards-Ojeba is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the National Association of Health Services Executives, and serves on the Clinical Leaders Committee of the California Association of Healthcare Leaders. She graduated from Harvard College with honors, attended Yale Medical School, and completed her Internal Medicine Residency training at UCSF.
Member Since (when did you become a CAHL member? ACHE member?)
I joined CAHL and ACHE in November 2018. I currently serve as a co-chair on the clinical leaders committee.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare administration?
I am a physician by training and have strived to dedicate my skills to helping others. In my role as clinician and clinical assistant professor, I observed that my fellow colleagues, myself included, were struggling with burnout. I felt called to play an active role in addressing physician burnout on a systemic level. It became apparent that I had limited opportunities to interact healthcare administrators in my daily work as a physician. I joined CAHL and ACHE to have the ability to collaborate with healthcare administrators and share perspectives on exploring an important issue. I am hopeful that together we can create a clear path to improving our healthcare system for physicians and patients alike.
My goal is to improve physicians’ work environments, allowing for a more fulfilling practice of medicine and healthcare delivery. Patients will benefit from having engaged and connected physicians who are well supported in their ability to best care for them. Through the RechargedMD platform, I hope to change the national discourse around physician burnout to promote systems-level solutions and to consider the human impact of this public health crisis. Excitedly, I have been invited to give presentations at upcoming local and national conferences, including the Becker’s Healthcare 8th Annual CEO & CFO Roundtable in November 2019. My mission is to raise awareness on this critical issue while promoting comprehensive and viable solutions.
Why did you join ACHE and CAHL?
I was excited to have the opportunity to interact with and learn from a diverse group of healthcare executives. I am appreciative of how welcoming the members of both professional organizations have been. I have had the opportunity to co-organize an upcoming talk with members of CAHL. Through the process of planning this event, I have had the opportunity to interact with many of the group members. I have felt fully supported and am excited to be part of such a dynamic group.
What makes you diverse?
In my prior role, I was one of few underrepresented minorities in my department. I would like to serve as a role model for the younger generation in healthcare. I hope to publicly demonstrate that women and people of diverse backgrounds are exceptional leaders. I would love the opportunity to add physician executives to my team and continue to be intentional in my choice to value differences and promote inclusion.