Empowering current and future leaders
We believe our colleagues do their best work when they feel supported and inspired. Our goal is to foster workplaces where colleagues are valued and have the opportunities and motivation to excel in their roles. In 2025, this meant investing in cultivating a learning and performance culture.
Empowering current and
future leaders
Strong leadership is an essential part of our commitment to advancing care and creating healthier tomorrows. When we empower colleagues to lead with confidence and purpose, we not only strengthen our workplace culture but also elevate the quality of care delivered to patients. Through the Leadership Institute and enterprise learning resources, we equip today’s leaders and prepare the next generation to guide our organization forward.
Leadership Development Institutes
Leadership Development Institutes (LDIs) bring leaders together to align on strategy, learn from one another, share best practices and build meaningful connections in support of our mission. In 2025, more than 11,750 leaders participated in an LDI.
The Leadership Institute
The Leadership Institute serves as a cornerstone of our leadership and learning strategy, designed to advance leadership capability across the enterprise. In 2024, the Leadership Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary — a decade of empowering leaders to shape the future of healthcare. The institute continues to expand its reach and impact, with more than 9,200 leaders graduating in 2025 alone.
Even more excitingly, 2025 was a transformational year for the institute with the development and launch of 18 new programs focused on strengthening leadership capabilities across the board.
This portfolio of programs builds strategic and operational capability while inspiring leaders to cultivate followership, connection and high-performing cultures. Offerings range from formal development programs to flexible, self-paced learning, all designed to prepare leaders to drive meaningful change.
A legacy of leadership
40,140+
Total Leadership Institute graduates since inception
365,750+
hours of training delivered in 2025
1,375+
in-person and virtual classes hosted in 2025
94%
retention rate for 2025 Leadership Institute graduates
Physician Leadership Development
The Physician Leadership Development portfolio is a suite of programs dedicated to supporting physician leaders at multiple levels within HCA Healthcare.
Physician Leadership Academy
The Physician Leadership Academy (PLA), the portfolio’s cornerstone program, builds physician executive leadership capability and elevates business and clinical knowledge to drive performance. In 2025, PLA welcomed 42 chief medical officers (CMOs) from across the enterprise. Momentum generated by PLA drove expansion of the portfolio to advance physician leadership at scale.
Chief of Staff Leadership Summit
In 2025, HCA Healthcare’s Leadership Institute hosted a Chief of Staff Leadership Summit, bringing together more than 120 physician leaders from across the country who play a vital role in shaping and influencing the culture, safety and clinical excellence across our hospitals. The summit fostered collaboration, strengthened connection among physician leaders and HCA Healthcare senior leaders, and reinforced the strength and value of being a part of the HCA Healthcare network. The summit received a value score of 4.9 out of 5 by participants.
It was really an invaluable experience. The Chief of Staff Leadership Summit gave us the opportunity to interface with high levels of leadership across the organization, which demonstrated the breadth and scale of HCA Healthcare. It was a wonderful perspective to bring back to our own hospitals. The practical sessions were immediately useful, and I’ve been able to apply them on a day-to-day basis.
Dr. Mariam Said,
Chief of Staff, Reston Hospital Center
Chief Medical Officer Orientation
Designed for physician executives who are new to their role or new to the organization, this two-and-a-half-day conference connects participants with senior executives, corporate resources and peers while clarifying their role in advancing HCA Healthcare’s commitment to exceptional quality care.
CEO Accelerator Program
Launched in 2024, the CEO Accelerator Program was created to strengthen leadership across HCA Healthcare by preparing high-potential executives to guide teams, advance culture and elevate care delivery in increasingly complex environments. In 2025, we expanded the program’s reach and equipped more leaders to drive engagement and operational excellence across our hospitals.
Chief Medical Officer Compass
CMO Compass is a monthly series embedded into CMO calls to support the effectiveness of CMOs across the organization, increasing alignment and access to leadership development resources.
Executive Development Series
Launched in 2024, the Executive Development Series is designed to strengthen leadership capabilities in critical executive roles and to establish a consistent standard of excellence across the enterprise. Open to all vice presidents and above — nearly 2,000 leaders — the series provides direct engagement with HCA Healthcare’s senior leadership. Through focused capability-building sessions, participants deepen their expertise in strategic thinking, operational execution, effective communication and leading through change.
A leadership pathway supported by the Physician Leadership Development portfolio
Dr. Ashish Sethi’s journey with HCA Healthcare began as a student volunteer and evolved into a clinical career in interventional radiology before he stepped into hospital leadership. As he transitioned into the hospital CMO role, HCA Healthcare’s Physician Leadership Development portfolio helped him lead effectively at scale by providing structure, mentorship and enterprise-wide collaboration. His development included participation in CMO Orientation, the Executive Transitions Program and the Physician Leadership Academy (PLA), reflecting a progressive training pathway intentionally designed to support physicians at each stage of their leadership journey.
The Physician Leadership Academy played a particularly pivotal role in Dr. Sethi’s development. “The Physician Leadership Academy was one of the most impactful training experiences of my career,” Dr. Sethi shared. “It is a program that gives back exponentially more than what you put in.” PLA offered him a national platform to refine improvement initiatives and engage with peers across the enterprise. “The networking alone was invaluable as it exposed me to ideas and strategies that I could adapt and scale within our own facilities.”
Collectively, HCA Healthcare’s physician leadership programming helped him make what he describes as a defining shift in his leadership approach. “It helped me make the critical mindset shift from clinician to physician leader. It taught me how to tap into the collective intelligence of teams, how to ask the right questions and how to create clarity even in areas where I am not the clinical expert.”
Today, Dr. Sethi applies these skills not only as CMO but also as the Designated Institutional Official (DIO) for residency programs at Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals. In this role, he helps shape the training environment, elevate performance standards and develop the next generation of physicians. His physician leadership experience strengthens that work by modeling what high-impact leadership looks like. “Leadership development has shown me that great leaders aren’t defined by having all the answers — they’re defined by knowing how to find the answers and bring the right people together.”
Learn more about our commitment to partnering with physicians and supporting their development.
The Physician Leadership Academy was one of the most impactful training experiences of my career. It is a program that gives back exponentially more than what you put in.
Dr. Ashish Sethi,
Chief Medical Officer, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital