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Harvard Ortho Resident David Bernstein Named a 2022 Presidential Leadership Scholar

David Bernstein, MD

David Bernstein, MD, MBA, MBI

Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program

On January 18, I was honored to be named to the 2022 Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) program.

PLS is a highly selective leadership development program run through four U.S. Presidential Libraries (Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Lyndon Baines Johnson).

During the program, my fellow scholars and I learn from former presidents, key former administration officials, and leading academics. We were selected via a strenuous application process “based on [our] leadership growth potential and the strength of their personal leadership projects aimed at improving the civic or social good by addressing a critical challenge or need in a community, profession, or organization.”

Scholars come from a wide variety of backgrounds and include not only physicians but also business professionals, veterans, educators, non-profit entrepreneurs, public servants, among others. In total, 60 scholars from across the U.S. are selected for this life-changing experience.

Pursuing health care transformation

My work will focus on the ongoing value-based health care transformation, including the implementation of bundled payments and routine collection and use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to ensure equitable and high quality of care for all seeking musculoskeletal care.

At the same time, I want to ensure that the use of these outcome instruments and alternative payment models do not inappropriately penalize or hinder care provided by orthopaedic surgeons. Ultimately, the goal should be to align incentives across stakeholders to “fix” health care delivery.

A resident looks ahead

My career goals include taking on leadership roles within orthopaedic surgery and academic medical centers at the local/department levels and extending more nationally and even internationally, if possible.

I am inspired by some of the amazing mentors I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from, including Drs. Judy Baumhauer, Kevin Bozic, Mitch Harris, Tamara Rozental, Warren Hammert, and Addisu Mesfin.

David Bernstein, MD, MBA, MEI is an orthopaedic surgery resident physician in the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program / Massachusetts General Hospital. 

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