Path to leadership in medicine: Advocacy and evidence-based medicine

Physicians are experiencing overwhelming demands to generate revenue and complete ever-increasing administrative tasks. Whether employed by large health systems, academic centers or still struggling in small private practices, the autonomy so valued by medical professionals, and our ability to influence policies impacting our patients and the public, has diminished. In order to regain the joy in practicing medicine and overcome the sense of "burn-out" and frustration so many of us experience, it is essential to dedicate ourselves to becoming leaders in our communities, in our institutions and in our medical schools. We must apply the triad of evidence-based medicine - the data derived from randomized clinical trials, our learned experience, and our patients' values - to become leaders in the path towards reasoned public policy and institutional procedures that improve the care for individual patients and the community. Through advocacy and leadership, we can re-engage with the passion that drove us to our profession and renew our commitment to the patients we serve. The energy and time required for these activities will be more than repaid with joy and passion in our daily work and a sense of purpose in our lives.