Monica Hum, MD, grew up wanting to be a physician — or that was at least one of the expectations her Chinese family had of her that she happily adopted. But she never imagined she would eventually hold two different C-Suite titles — especially after a college counselor told her she would never even get into medical school.
But she did, and went on to become the chief resident during her medical residency at the University Hospital of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.
So when Atlanta-based Piedmont Health promoted her from chief medical officer to CEO of 161-bed Piedmont Rockdale Hospital in Conyers, Ga. in May, Dr. Hum told Becker's the feeling was "incredible" and that it shows how support for medical staff and medical staff themselves are changing, becoming more diverse.
"In general, my experience is that healthcare is incredibly supportive of women, even across the C-suite level," Dr. Hum said. "There are five CEOs that are female at Piedmont Health out of 14 CEOs across the system and three of the CEOs across the hospital system are also doctors. It is very physician-centric. So I've felt very supported. I've always felt like nobody has ever put us down. We're very well heard here, and I think that's important."
Leadership in unlikely places
Dr. Hum first joined Piedmont Health in 2003. During her early years at the system, she said one of the hospital CEOs told her she was great at leading and should really consider an MBA, because one day she might be running things herself. A stark contrast to what she was told by that college counselor years ago.
After thinking it over, she decided to pursue her MBA and finished it in 2017. In 2020, Dr. Hum became the first female president of medical staff at the health system's Atlanta hospital. A year later, she was selected by her peers to become the hospital's chief medical officer, something she said was a true honor.
"After I became chief medical officer, we used to joke that the poor physicians who founded Piedmont Health in 1905 would be rolling in their graves with a woman at the helm," she joked.
Dr. Hum loved the stimulation from the business side of the C-suite and said moving into the CEO seat felt like a natural progression in many ways, she said.
"Transitioning into the CEO part of the journey is really tying it all together," she said.
The Venn diagram where CMO meets CEO
While there are some definitive contrasts, the easiest part of the transition from her role as chief medical officer into her new capacity as CEO was maintaining quality and drumming up resounding support.
"It was really setting the expectations of 'this is the standard of quality that I've always held' and 'this is also the quality that I expect out of all the physicians' that was the easy transition for the CMO part," she said. "And then seeing the buy-in and the support from the team to also then say, 'Okay, we like what you're doing, how do we spread it to nursing and all departments?' as a team approach that has helped tie it all together as CEO."
Of course moving into the new role has also come with obstacles and new challenges, something Dr. Hum reiterates could not be done without the support of everyone behind her. The hardest part so far, she said, has been learning to slow down and ask the right questions.
"You really can't go head on without a lot of help and guidance," she said. "The healthcare system and all my colleagues have been so supportive. I've been working to learn more about the 'whys' and slowing down to understand what is their True North and how it affects everybody. Slowing down and asking the question of, 'how is that right for the patient?' at different points has been key."
Looking ahead, Dr. Hum said she is eager to hire top, diverse candidates in other leadership roles at the hospital and really connect to the surrounding community to improve all relationships with prospective patients and beyond.
Editor's note: This article was updated June 29 at 10:33 a.m. CT.