Lyles to pursue MBA in health care management
by Cindy AbolePublic Relations
Possessing knowledge and a medical background are qualities for creating a fine physician. Combine those qualities with strong communication and proven leadership skills and you have the hallmark of a model physician.
For 14 years, physician Mark Lyles’ ties with MUSC have evolved from that of student to an effective medical educator, leader and collaborator. As former senior associate dean for clinical affairs and associate medical director for the medical center, Lyles proved himself a viable leader and innovator in administrative medicine, managed care issues, and other medical leadership issues.
Dr.
Mark Lyles and fiance Robin Young admire a departing gift from the McClennan-Banks
adult primary care staff. The staff honored Lyles with a going away luncheon
on May 27.
On June 1, Lyles left MUSC with a sense of accomplishment and anticipation.
This fall, he will attend the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to pursue an MBA in health care management.
“Mark is a gifted innovator,” said Jerry Reves, M.D., vice president for medical affairs and College of Medicine dean. “He leads by example, which has been proven in programs and methods instituted around campus. His guidance and contributions toward specific health care issues, the executive health program, and medical education are examples of his effectiveness as a leader. He has made an incredible impact here through his innovation and leadership.”
A Sumter native, Lyles came to MUSC’s campus in 1989 as a burn technician volunteer. A biology graduate from USC, Lyles became a burn surgery administrative technician before entering medical school. It was not until a senior retreat that he realized how students became empowered by the rapidly changing face of medicine. Lyles submitted an abstract focusing on the lack of opportunities for student collaboration with medical practitioners and other community groups and organizations. It sparked a debate among medical educators whether students actually gained from interactive experiences. Thus, Lyles is credited with helping to start the MUSC Gives Back volunteer program.
“It's to his credit that the MUSC Gives Back Student Community Volunteer program exists today as a resource for both students and Charleston's non-profit community,” said Liz Sheridan, MUSC Gives Back director. “In December 1992, then-fourth-year medical student Mark Lyles presented a proposal to a meeting of more than 150 faculty members at a retreat sponsored by the university education committee. He cited the training advantages and learning benefits that medical students would receive by participating in community volunteer activities that support the needs of the surrounding rural and low-income areas. He suggested an organized opportunity to pay back the community and taxpayer for supporting each medical student’s education. Nearly 12 years later, MUSC Gives Back has served more than 3,465 volunteers representing all six MUSC colleges, who participated in more than 1,779 events and projects, contributing more than 105,778 hours of volunteer support to benefit non-profit agencies and community outreach programs.”
As a chief resident in internal medicine, Lyles was active in policy making and engaged in other medical issues through the National Consortium of Resident Physician Organizations. In 1997, he attended a year-long fellowship on quality management and managed care at the University of Pennsylvania, witnessing how the impact of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 affected large academic medical centers and health systems.
He served on multiple committees, from MUSC’s Faculty Senate to chairing the medical center’s pharmacy and therapeutics committee, which monitors professional drug policies and practices within the hospital.
A practicing internist, Lyles divided his time between a weekly McClennan-Banks adult primary care clinic and serving as medical director of MUSC’s Executive Health Program, established to support the health needs of individuals through personalized health assessments, evaluation, and testing.
“People realize Mark’s dynamic ability to successfully maintain and balance multiple roles on campus,” said Ben Clyburn, M.D., Division of Primary Care, McClennan-Banks adult primary care clinic.
Lyles is also regarded as a champion for quality medical services and indigent care around the Lowcountry, serving in leadership positions with the Tri-county Project Care, the Franklin C. Fetter Family Health Center, and Crisis Ministries.
Despite his schedule, Lyles managed to keep a hand in medical education. In 2002, he taught a popular elective class to senior students, featuring a business perspective of medicine. The class covered topics not traditionally addressed in the medical curriculum including non-medical collaborations, physician salaries, malpractice insurance and other issues.
“Mark is extremely knowledgeable about health care issues and their impact on patients as well as providers,” said Stuart Smith, vice president for clinical operations and executive director, MUSC Medical Center. “This knowledge, coupled with his personality and common sense approach to problem solving, make him a valuable member of the MUSC team. He will be missed.”
Friday, June 4, 2004
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