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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. My name is Chanel Banger. Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with doctor Nicole Fox, associate chief medical officer and medical director of pediatric trauma at Cooper University Health Care, who joins the podcast today to share insights in the health care trends she's keeping an eye on, advice for leaders, and a bit more. Doctor Fox, thank you so much for joining me.

Speaker 2: Thanks, Chanel, for having me. Happy to be here.

Speaker 1: Likewise. Well, to get us started, could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about Cooper University Health Care?

Speaker 2: Sure. Well, as you said, I'm the associate chief medical officer at Cooper, but I'm also a trauma surgeon and a surgical intensivist, as well as the medical director of the pediatric trauma center. So I serve two roles there as a trauma surgeon and a hospital executive. Cooper is an academic health system in Southern New Jersey. We have over 11,000 employees, including over a thousand physicians and over 1,600 nurses.

So it's a busy place. We admit over 32,000 patients a year, and we're the only one level one trauma center in Southern New Jersey. And, there's a lot going on.

Speaker 1: Well, let's get into what's going on. Can you talk about what trends you're currently watching either in pediatric trauma or just health care overall?

Speaker 2: Well, sure. Let's start with health care overall. I mean, what aren't we watching really is the question. Some of the things that are high on the priority list are obviously the incorporation and use of AI in our health system. That's a big one.

How do we leverage this technology and how can we make work more efficient? Of course, the health care policy changes and how they'll impact the delivery of care is very important. But really, the thing that I'm focused on the most currently is the workforce. These are challenging times and the question is how can we keep the people who are delivering care and helping the hospital run smoothly, stay happy, productive, and efficient. You know, we can't ignore the fact that we are entering 2026 after some very difficult years in health care.

The the pandemic for one and and changes that are on the horizon. We're tired and our teams are tired, and that needs to be addressed and acknowledged and work needs to be done around that. I can tell you that that's particularly relevant in trauma care. We have been busy, we have never stopped, and the work is difficult. And so really paying attention to the workforce and what they need right now is a top priority for me and my teams.

Speaker 1: Got it. Got it. And now going into 2026, can you talk about what you're most focused on and excited about?

Speaker 2: Sure. Along with the theme that I just discussed, personally, I'm most focused on and excited about the development of our workforce and ensuring their sustainability. So the demands of on our system are tremendous and we need to ensure that as things get tougher, we have people who are still ready and willing to do the work and meet the challenges. So I'm very proud of the culture we build at Cooper and the fact that we're constantly looking for ways to keep people informed, to make their jobs easier, and remove barriers to getting their work done. So in my specific role, for example, physician engagement, physician well-being is very important, and I'm proud of some of the programs we put in place and are in the process of developing to assist with that.

So one example would be our peer support program for physicians, and also advanced practice providers. We have a large team of peer supporters who are willing to serve as support for their colleagues. And we're also developing a coaching program, for physicians and APPs and working with the American Medical Association on our joy in medicine program. So, really, all efforts geared around trying to keep people engaged, wanting to come to work, excited to be in health care, and giving them the tools they need to stay resilient and focused.

Speaker 1: Thank you so much for walking us through that, doctor Fox. And, kind of expanding on that, can you talk about what you're most proud of from the past year or so?

Speaker 2: Well, I'm really proud of the fact that our engagement results across the organization are very high. It shows that the people that work at Cooper wanna be there, they intend to stay, and they're enjoying their work. And so I wanna continue that momentum forward in 2026, find maybe where some gaps exist and there are spaces that we need to fill. But overall, we're in a very good position with our workforce, and people are happy to be in our system.

Speaker 1: Got it. Got it. And as we all know, health care is evolving rapidly. And with that and all of your experience, I'm curious to know what advice do you have for the next generation of health care leaders stepping into the field today?

Speaker 2: Sure. I mean, two things. The first one sounds simple, but staying connected to your why and finding ways to help others do that as well is really important. The pace and the sheer volume of information we're subject to each day causes us to really get lost in the mechanics of the work. So, for example, I find myself, it's really easy for me to tell people what I do and how I do it, but it's easy to get disconnected from why I went into health care in the in the first place, why I do what I do.

So with my teams, taking the time to step back and trying to focus on this when you can is really important and kinda bringing people back to that. And and most people have lost it, and that's understandable as time goes on. But doing activities with them and exercises to try to reconnect to their why, I think, is very important for leaders. You know, and I would say the other thing is, as leaders, we generally have the opportunity to see the bigger picture and understand what's going on behind the scenes and why certain decisions are being made in the system. Communication around that is critical, to keep people engaged and the lines of communication open.

So making sure that we're sharing what we know, making sure that we're being clear about why decisions are being made and how they are reached is even more important now than it than ever before.

Speaker 1: Excellent advice. Well, doctor Fox, I wanna thank you for your time today. But before I let you go, is there anything else that listeners should know? I I know that you have a podcast, Prognosis Ikigai. Would you wanna talk about that for a bit?

Speaker 2: I do. Sure. I'd love to talk about it. So Prognosis Ikigai was sort of a passion project that started for me this year. Ikigai is a Japanese word for basically your reason for getting up in the morning or your reason for a living.

You could translate it as to your why. And I started it because I see the darker side of health care. I see people that are disillusioned, people that are disengaged. And so I decided to focus on speaking to people in health care who have had successful and fulfilling careers, and they're all at different stages, of their journey, and ask them how they did it. And I really was surprised I had such a great variety of guests, this year.

Everybody from our own CEO at Cooper, to the first black female transplant surgeon in The United States, to a former paramedic and firefighter who suffered from severe PTSD and had to retire and became a licensed, therapist. Just stories of people who had made their way in health care, who had had interesting journeys, and who were very happy, very fulfilled, very connected to their why, and doing what they love. And just hearing their stories unfold over the hour of the podcast was phenomenal, and it taught me a tremendous amount. So I I really enjoyed it this year, and I'm gonna continue it. Next year's theme in 2026 will be women leading in health care.

And so, hopefully, everybody will stay tuned for that, but it's been a lot of fun.

Speaker 1: Love to hear it. And for listeners, that's Prognosis, I k I g a I. Well, doctor Fox, I wanna thank you once again for your time today and for sharing your insights on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2: Absolutely. Thank you.