Opening Plenary
The Evolving Medical Workforce Landscape — From Unionization to Private Equity Practice Ownership
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
The medical profession is experiencing a variety of workforce changes — from the increasing prevalence of private equity practice ownership to the growing union movement among trainees and physicians. This session will explore the implications of these changes in the practice of medicine, the training environment, and hospital and health system staffing needs, as well as the impact on physician certification, professional self-regulation, and the growing issue of physician shortages
Panelists
Moderator
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Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Lucey, a practicing physician and leading national voice on medical school education, took the helm as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (EVCP) in January 2023.
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As EVCP, Dr. Lucey leads both the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) robust research enterprise as well as its highly ranked academic programs, comprising four professional schools and the Graduate Division. She works in close collaboration with the Chancellor and the leadership team to develop and implement campus priorities and vision, maintain the University’s status as an international leader in health sciences education and research, and oversee external partnerships representing UCSF’s best interests across the University of California system, at the UC Office of the President, and beyond.
Renowned for her leadership, Dr. Lucey was Vice Dean for Education and Executive Vice Dean for the School of Medicine, reporting to Dean Talmadge E. King, Jr. In these roles, she directed the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education programs of the School of Medicine and the Office of Medical Education. A champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Lucey also was on the executive management team for the School of Medicine’s Differences Matters Initiative and oversaw other strategic projects across the campus.
Her national portfolio of work has included membership on the National Academy of Medicine, the Board of Directors of the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the American Board of Medical Specialties. Additionally, she served as Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine. In these roles, she has worked to influence the direction of academic medicine and the continuum of medical education in ways aligned with UCSF’s approach to education, culture, and community.
Dr. Lucey joined UCSF in 2011 from The Ohio State University, where she was Vice Dean for Education for the College of Medicine and Associate Vice President for Health Sciences Education for the Office of Health Sciences. She completed her residency in internal medicine at UCSF, including service as Chief Resident at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco General Hospital (now named Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center).
She earned her medical degree from Northwestern University School of Medicine.
Dr. Lucey is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
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Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
Member, Massachusetts Health Care Affordability Working Group
Associate Editor, JAMA Health ForumDr. Song is an Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine at Harvard Medical School and general internist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where he practices primary care and is on the inpatient teaching service.
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His work focuses on the health and economic effects of public policies and private sector interventions in the health care system. This includes payment reform, Medicare financing, health care prices, employer programs, and private capital investments in care delivery. Related work examines issues in primary care and public health.
Dr. Song serves on the Massachusetts Health Care Affordability Working Group and has worked with state policymakers on primary care financing and private equity in health care. He has also worked on Medicare payment policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He serves as an Associate Editor of JAMA Health Forum and Editorial Board member of Health Affairs and Health Services Research. He is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and National Academy of Social Insurance.
Dr. Song leads the Health Policy track of the MGH Internal Medicine Residency and serves as Chair of Admissions for the Harvard PhD program in Health Policy. He also directs health policy courses for Harvard Medical and Dental students, Mass General Brigham residents, and Harvard Executive Education. He received a MD, magna cum laude, and PhD in Health Policy (economics track) from Harvard, with a fellowship at the National Bureau of Economic Research, along with a BA in Public Health Studies with honors from Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Song is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
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Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Assistant Professor, Division of Hospital Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern UniversityDr. Theodorou is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Hospitalist at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
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After completing her undergraduate studies at Case Western Reserve University, she attended Loyola Stritch School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Loyola University Medical Center where she also served as a Chief Medical Resident.
Dr. Theodorou is Associate Program Director for Resident Wellbeing for Northwestern’s Internal Medicine Residency Program and formerly served as the Medical Director of Northwestern’s Complex High Admission Management Program.
Her areas of interest include resident professional identity formation, health equity, care of patients with complex health-related social needs and optimizing clinician-patient communication. Dr. Theodorou is a faculty appointee to the Gold Humanism Honor Society and a Department of Medicine Peer Coach.
Dr. Theodorou is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
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President and Chief Executive Officer, American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
Dr. Hawkins has more than 30 years of professional experience ranging from his service in the United States Navy as an officer in the Medical Corps to leadership positions at national medical professional associations.
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Prior to joining ABMS in 2018, he served for five years as the Vice President for Medical Education Outcomes at the American Medical Association (AMA). There, Dr. Hawkins provided leadership for the AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative, a $13.5 million grant program supporting 32 medical schools that are transforming their educational programs to better prepare their students to succeed in the nation’s evolving health care systems. He also provided senior staff leadership to the AMA’s Council on Medical Education and Academic Physician Section.
Previously, Dr. Hawkins was the Senior Vice President for Professional and Scientific Affairs at ABMS. In this role, he led educational, assessment, and international initiatives. Prior to that, Dr. Hawkins was the Deputy Vice President and then Vice President for Assessment Programs at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). There, he helped implement the Clinical Skills Examination of the United States Medical Licensing Examination, develop its assessment of professional behaviors program, and enhance the post-licensure assessment system for NBME and the Federation of State Medical Boards. Prior to joining NBME, Dr. Hawkins was Assistant Dean and Director of the Simulation Center at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Additionally, he served in various academic appointments in the Naval Medical Corps, receiving numerous commendations for his service.
A well-respected leader in the fields of physician assessment and education, Dr. Hawkins has more than 20 years of experience working on various initiatives to evaluate and improve physician performance, and is co-editor of a textbook on the assessment of clinical competence. He has given more than 80 presentations; conducted 30-plus courses and workshops; and published more than 70 articles, books, and book chapters. Dr. Hawkins is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is participating in continuing certification.