Alissa Willis, MD

AUPN's Leadership Minute is a brief, highly focused summary of practical advice for Chairs, Program Directors and other leaders in academic neurology, available as both mini-podcasts and in short form videos.

The goal of this program is to provide relevant and useful information in a modicum of time, designed to fit seamlessly into our very busy schedules.

Numerous social media platforms are available to enable communication and This podcast is designed to discuss how neurologists are undervalued in academic and non-academic settings when their compensation is predicated on RVUs alone. Neurologists, particularly in certain disciplines, generate enormous economic advantages for their institutions that need to be recognized, appraised, and valued.

73% of Departments of Neurology operate at or below break-even

83% of departments are under moderate to severe financial pressure 

17% of departments are experiencing severe difficulties

80% of departments are seeing increasing numbers of patients

1/3 are spending more time in care and less in research and teaching

Only 15% generate a profit from patient care

1/3 lose nearly $40/patient per visit to general neurology

Click here to access the full PowerPoint presentation for the episode

Videos

Episode 24 of the AUPN Leadership Minute features Alissa Willis, MD, of University of Mississippi Medical Center; and Joseph R. Berger, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania. [WATCH TIME: 7 minutes]

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 24: How Much Is a Neurologist Worth: Factoring the Downstream

Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer

Lead physician for the clinical practice.

Responsibility for administration, credentialing, quality, marketing, and productivity.

Same education responsibilities as anywhere.

Episode 21 of the AUPN Leadership Minute features Alissa Willis, MD, of University of Mississippi Medical Center; and Michael Dobbs, MD, MHCM, of University of Texas at Rio Grand Valley. [WATCH TIME: 5 minutes]

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 21: Walking the Tight Rope: Balancing Multiple Leadership Roles

Numerous social media platforms are available to enable communication and engagement outside your department. A social media presence, if done well, is an invaluable tool for recruiting, education, networking, and enhancing visibility of the faculty and program’s accomplishments. A social media strategy must be intentional and dynamic.

Episode 9 of the AUPN Leadership Minute features Alissa Willis, MD, of University of Mississippi Medical Center; and Rohit Das, MD, of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. [WATCH TIME: 4 minutes]

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 15: Social Media for Chairs - How to Promote Your Dept on Social Media

Writing compelling and succinct letters of recommendation for trainees

Get to know your candidate better: meet them, they may be able to suggest important encounters or specific events for the letter, obtain CV and Statement of Purpose

The first part of the paragraph should introduce yourself and describe concrete traits about the candidate (examples: honest, clinical reasoning, ethical skills, etc.)

The second paragraph should compare the applicant to others you have evaluated in numerical terms, define performance variables (example honors) and provide a global assessment of the candidate

Episode 1 of the AUPN Leadership Minute features Alissa Willis, MD, of University of Mississippi Medical Center; and Rohit Das, MD, of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. [WATCH TIME: 3 minutes]

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 1: How to Write a Trainee Recommendation Letter

“There are clues patients can give you in your interactions with them. For example, a patient changing the way that they dress, no longer taking care of themselves, or showing up late or missing appointments.”

2019 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC)

, May 28-June 1, in Seattle, Washington, a multidisciplinary panel provided an overview of what signs, red flags, and signals that neurologists and health care providers should be on the lookout for in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) that can reveal individuals at risk for suicide.

Patients with MS face high rates of comorbid depression, with some estimates suggesting that almost half of these patients will experience major depressive disorder at some point after their diagnosis. One of the physicians involved in the CMSC panel was M. Alissa Willis, MD, a staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for MS. Willis provided some insight into what physicians can do to help pick up on the signals that patients may be going through this.

, she discussed how neurologists and health care providers can pick up on what may appear to be subtle changes in patient behavior—such as missing appointments, change in dress&mdash;and other hints that can reveal the struggles that patients may be going through. She provided some examples of red flags to be aware of in an effort to increase awareness of this often avoided challenge in comprehensive MS care.

Despite high rates of depression in MS, picking up on signs that an individual may be at risk for suicide can be difficult. The staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center discussed some of the red flags.

Alissa Willis, MD

Articles

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 24: How Much Is a Neurologist Worth: Factoring the Downstream

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 21: Walking the Tight Rope: Balancing Multiple Leadership Roles

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 15: Social Media for Chairs - How to Promote Your Dept on Social Media

AUPN Leadership Minute Episode 1: How to Write a Trainee Recommendation Letter

Alissa Willis, MD: Identifying Patients With MS at Risk for Suicide

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