In this episode of Women Leaders in Psychiatry, Dr. Anjali Gupta speaks with Dr. Marketa M. Wills, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, during a live meeting of the Women Psychiatrists Caucus. Dr. Wills reflects on her path into psychiatry, the mentors who shaped her career, and how her medical, business, and consulting background informs her leadership. She also discusses her vision for APA, the most pressing challenges facing psychiatry today, the importance of integrity in leadership, and the role psychiatrists must play in shaping technology, AI, access to care, and the future of the field.
Transcript
Dr. Anjali Gupta (00:00) Welcome to season two of the Women Leaders in Psychiatry Podcast by the American Psychiatric Association's Women Psychiatrists Caucus. I am Dr. Anjali Gupta, president of the Women's Psychiatrists Caucus, and I will be interviewing women psychiatrists across the country who lead in a variety of ways so that we can hear their stories and learn from their insights. I'm thrilled to be here today with Dr. Wills and members of our Women's Psychiatrists Caucus. For our listeners, we are recording this podcast episode live from our Women's Psychiatrists Caucus meeting. We are so grateful to Dr. Wills for joining us. Dr. Wills is the CEO and medical director of the APA. She stepped into this role June 1st, 2024, as APA's eighth CEO. She is the first woman and the first black American in the history of the American Psychiatric Association to be CEO. So a hundred and eighty years. Doctor Wills, thank you so much for being here.
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (01:07) Thank you so much for the invitation to be here. It's wonderful to be here with you all.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (01:13) So to start out, ⁓ tell us a little bit about your journey and how you got into psychiatry.
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (01:21) Sure, I'd love to. So I I have to start out by saying I never really knew if I wanted to be a doctor or not. I was good in math and science. And my parents sort of spoke that over me for as long as I can remember. ⁓ that was their vision for me. And they were like, she's going to medical school, she's going to medical school. and so all through undergrad, I just marched through, took my prerequisite classes, ⁓ and was on that path. and I took a year off between undergrad and med school to do research and was applying to medical school that year. And I got into Penn and I said to myself, I am going to go Penn. Because I'm dating myself here. At the time, Wharton and Pen Med were it was the first and only combined degree MD MBA program. And I was like, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go to med school, take that off for my parents, but I'm gonna get that MBA. That's what I really wanna do. I'm not gonna do a residency and I'm gonna end up being a hospital administrator. That was my 22-year-old plan for myself. ⁓ so I I I I got into the med school and I was planning on applying to the B school, took the GMAT, all of that. And then my mom took sick. And I ended up taking a year out of medical school. and ⁓ when I got back, sort of dispirited, I was kind of like, ⁓ B school, schmee school, was going through my rotations, and Dr. Cabrina Campbell was my third year. Psychiatry clerkship director. She's a black woman. And she said to me, Marquito, you're actually good in psychiatry. She was like, you know, all my other students, and we were at the VA in West Philadelphia. She's like, all my other students are trying to try to get out of here at 4:45 p.m. And I can't get you out of here before 8 p.m. You're actually good at this. and it was The power of a mentor, like representation, seeing something in me that I couldn't see in myself. and I was like, well, maybe psychiatry. And that's when I decided to pursue that. so I d went and did a residency at the MGH McClain program in Boston in psychiatry. ⁓ and again, to this day, Cabrina ended up being the residency director program, residency training director program at Penn. She just retired as ⁓ endowed chair professor there. She continues to be a mentor and a champion of mine to this day. and ⁓ after I finished my residency, by that time I had sort of gotten through the pain of losing my mom during medical school. And I was like, you know what? I always wanted that MBA. So I did do the combined degree, but after residency, I went back down. Got the MBA, ⁓ and then crafted a career at the intersection of medicine and management from there.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (04:45) But how do how do you think that your MBA influences your approach to psychiatry and leadership?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (04:55) Interesting question. I think, you know, for me, it was not only the MBA, it was almost also my experience as a healthcare consultant at McKenzie and Company. ⁓ for me, med school is to residency as business school is to McKinsey. It was the place where I consolidated those principles and learnings. And that was a really tough decision for me because that by that time, I was. Fully trained in psychiatry. I was board certified because I got my board certification during business school. ⁓ And I was deciding: do I go into clinical practice or do I do ⁓ do I go to the firm? And so for me, learning the principles of how to think about an organization, how to think about strategy, how to think about operations, how to think about marketing, and also leadership, learning leadership. Those were important things that I knew that I wanted to learn more about and I feel privileged to be able to use those skills that I was just really excited to learn in a ⁓ healthcare space, in a space that I care so deeply and passionately about.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (06:13) So then what inspired you to take on this role of CEO and medical director of APA?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (06:22) Question. ⁓ I think for me, ⁓ it is just so aligned with how I see my own personal mission and purpose while I get to be here on this earth. ⁓ it just aligns so perfectly with me advancing ⁓ our mental health care infrastructure on behalf of my colleagues. It is the privilege of a lifetime to be able to serve my colleagues in this way. ⁓ and so together, harnessing the power of the 39,000 of us to make change, to improve the system, and to leave the earth a better place than what we all collectively found it. That's what made me say when I got the call to explore this role. Yep, I'm throwing my name in the hat for that one.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (07:18) What is your vision for the APA under your leadership?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (07:24) Great question. Great question. Right now, our vision is to be the premier psychiatric organization on in the in the world. And I honestly think we're already there. That vision's not big enough for us. We've outgrown that vision, if you want to ask me. I think that's who we are, undeniably, unquestionably. And it's time for us to expand our vision. ⁓ our vision in my mind needs to be bolder and bigger around how we transform healthcare. And I think now's the time to do it when there's so much excitement understanding ⁓ around what mental health care is, even more so than 10 years ago, as we all know. I think COVID really unlocked and unleashed a global understanding. I just got back from India and they were saying the exact same thing there that mental health. was ⁓ so much more talked about and accepted. ⁓ and so my vision ⁓ is to make sure that we ⁓ who were the first medical professional organization founded 181 years ago, my vision is to make sure that we are here 180 years from now as well. ⁓ and to make sure that we're pointed in the right direction. That we are on the right side of history in terms of advocacy, on the right side of history in terms of caring for vulnerable populations, ⁓ and on the right side of history in terms of how we finance mental health services for all of our communities across the nation. ⁓ and also for science, also representing science, research, and education. ⁓ so I think we've got a long way to go to get to that special place of parity. I think that's another big part of the vision. ⁓ and making sure that we do so with integrity and building leaders for the next generation to come.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (09:34) So you started, I think, touching on some of this. ⁓ but what do you see as the most pressing issues in psychiatry today?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (09:45) Yeah, there are a lot. There are a lot. ⁓ for me, some of the most pressing ones are around access, making sure that we've got an infrastructure that truly can take care of those who need it. ⁓ we all know the stories of adults and children sitting in emergency rooms for way too long because of the bed shortage. ⁓ that we have. It's a crisis. ⁓ and so ⁓ that to me is one of the most important pieces, making sure that we're thinking about how to take many of the folks who have mental health issues, substance use disorder issues that are currently sitting in incarcerated. How do we find more therapeutic places for them to serve? Likewise, ⁓ our undomiciled population. How do we treat those who are living with mental illness on the streets in our communities? And in many ways, these become public health issues. For me, those are some of the most pressing issues that we have. So access to care, ⁓ et cetera. In terms of our profession, I think innovation, collaboration, technology, And making sure that we as psychiatrists have a leadership voice in those areas, that's very important to me and is a pressing issue as well. ⁓ Likewise, scope of practice issues. That's a safety issue for our patients. ⁓ Making sure that ⁓ we are practicing at the top of our license and are leading cross-functional teams in responsible ways. That's definitely very important. ⁓ and growing our pipeline as I discussed before. So making sure that there are enough psychiatrists. ⁓ and so ⁓ making sure that we increase those residency match slots, those GME slots that are appropriated by Congress.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (11:57) So I know we have a number of early career psychiatrists at this meeting today. As the first female CEO, what advice would you give women early in ⁓ their career?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (12:16) The ⁓ best advice that I always give is there is only one you on this planet. So do you. Do you. ⁓ there are many times when people don't understand everyone else's career path and career journey. ⁓ but I do believe that everyone knows in and of themselves what it is that stimulates them, what motivates them, and to listen to that inside voice. ⁓ obviously getting mentorship as we go through various transitions is of critical importance. But you can't do everybody else. You have to do you. So getting clear about what your passions are, building relevant skills in those areas, ⁓ writing it down. And then I always say dream as big as you can dream. ⁓ because limiting yourself is not. Going to be helpful in terms of making the changes that you want to make in whatever domains you seek. And believing in yourself.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (13:25) What are do you see as critical skills for future leaders in psychiatry?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (13:33) Yes, you know, the the issue of leadership in psychiatry is a is a very important one. ⁓ and I'm my understanding as I've stepped into this role is that, you know, sometimes people want to be leaders and sometimes people don't. And so I think that's the first thing is to sort of say, you know, as a psychiatrist, do I want to be a leader? ⁓ I think ⁓ we always assume that people want to be a leader. ⁓ but I think that's a question. Sometimes people want to be part of a team and don't necessarily want to lead. So I think there's a question there. But for those of us who are called to lead, and that's okay. I want to normalize that, right? Too, that that's okay. but for those of us who are called for leadership, ⁓ for me. The number one thing, two thing, three thing, four thing, five thing is integrity, integrity, integrity, integrity, integrity. And what I mean by that is doing what you say you're gonna do, ⁓ admitting when you're wrong, ⁓ learning from your mistakes, staying humble, ⁓ and deeply listening to others and deeply taking in what it is that. ⁓ others have to say. At the same time, you know, when you step into a leadership role, you also have to understand we have 39,000 members. And I fully recognize that I'm not going to be able to make 39,000 people all happy at the same exact time. But if I'm fair, if I'm consistent, and if I have integrity, that shows I can't make all 30 people on my board. all happy with everything that I do at every moment. I can't make all 205 of my employees, staff here at the APA ⁓ happy at the exact same time. But if you're fair and you're consistent and you show that you have values, I think that's very important and that goes back to that integrity.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (15:48) So I'm going to shift to technology ⁓ and AI. What do you envision for the field of psychiatry and how can psychiatrists navigate and integrate these modalities while maintaining patient-centered care?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (16:06) Yeah, great question. And this is this with the proverbial, what keeps you up at night? This is the question. ⁓ and I I know Gabrielle is probably smiling right now because every time I see her, she says, Marquita, we got to get going on this. We got to get going on this. And I 100% agree ⁓ and am excited about this as well. So for me, it it there's a lot of things with technology. ⁓ promoting safe telemedicine while improving ⁓ access. I also think that we, ⁓ as medical societies, with our flagship journals, such as American Journal of Psychiatry, Green Journal, and all of our other intellectual property that we enjoy, we are well pos and also our reputation, our credibility as scientists, we are well positioned as curators of that scientific content and that data. To be able to leverage that through technology. ⁓ And AI is a tool that will allow us to do that. ⁓ AI continues to evolve as we know rapidly. Lots of advancements, lots of improvements. And that's one of the things that I am just so excited and ready to get going on for our organization is leveraging technology for the future. I think we're also in a unique position as clinicians to be able to parse through the very, very crowded market space. ⁓ I heard a statistic the other day that private equity dollars are advancing in behavioral health technologies more than in any other space in the field of medicine. And so it's very important that we as psychiatrists have a voice in that. Crowded, very ever crowded technology space to be able to parse through and have a leadership role in defining that for the future. So those to me are some of the opportunities that we have as a professional society in leveraging technology for the good of all.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (18:27) Yeah, thank you so much for sharing all of that. You know, it it it's such a changing, rapidly changing area. It it sometimes feels daunting and just how to keep on top of that. So I I'm so ⁓ glad to hear that that you and the board are thinking about this in this cutting edge way. ⁓ we can't wait to s can't wait to see what comes of all of that. So when you think about your own career, what is some of the best advice that you've received along the way?
Dr. Marketa M. Wills (19:07) Hmm. When I think about my career, some of the best advice that I've received along the way. Back to that integrity. Just being truthful, being honest, putting people first, always putting yourself in the shoes of others and making those decisions ⁓ from a conviction, from a place of conviction, ⁓ and a c and a place of doing well and doing good for others.
Dr. Anjali Gupta (19:40) Okay, well thank you so much ⁓ for sharing so many so many pearls of wisdom with us.
(19:51) The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual speakers only and do not necessarily represent the views of the American Psychiatric Association. The content of this podcast is provided for general information purposes only and does not offer medical or any other type of professional advice. If you are having a medical emergency, please contact your local emergency response number.