Eight cities. Four months. Dozens of clinical leaders in each room, comparing notes on the problems that keep them up at night and the solutions that are working at their hospitals.
From March through June 2026, Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG) held its annual Market Medical Meetings in Oakland, Tampa, San Antonio, Chicago, Fort Worth, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. Site Directors, Market Medical Directors, and other senior clinical leaders gathered for two days of collaboration, professional development, and candid conversation about the state of obstetric care.
Professional development close to home
The meetings, now in their third year, grew out of something simple: As OBHG expanded, clinical leaders asked for more opportunities to connect with peers who understood their work. The Market Medical Meetings supplement OBHG’s annual National Clinical Leadership Meeting (NCLM) by bringing development opportunities closer to where clinicians live and work, in smaller, more regionally focused groups.
“As OBHG continued to grow, we recognized that we had a greater need for clinician engagement and for continued development of our clinical leaders, especially because a strong clinical leader can truly be the difference between a successful program and a struggling program,” says Dr. Lisa A. Bukovac, OBHG’s Chief Clinical Officer. “Having the opportunity to learn among and network with peers is something that the clinical leaders expressed a strong interest in, and the Market Meetings, as a supplement to NCLM, has been OBHG’s answer.”
“At the end of the day, we are all trying to do the right thing for the patients that we serve. None of us can do that alone, and the community that forms helps to make it all worthwhile.”
–OBHG Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Lisa A. Bukovac
Facing critical issues as a team
Each meeting follows a consistent two-day format. The first day features presentations from OBHG leadership, while the second day is spent working with an executive coach on leadership development. Topics are chosen based on what clinicians and the business need most at that moment, drawn from customer surveys, clinician feedback, and priorities identified by senior clinical leadership.
This year, those topics reflected the realities confronting OB/GYN hospitalist medicine right now. Leaders examined the maternal health crisis head-on: the growing OB/GYN workforce shortage, the expansion of maternity care deserts affecting millions of women, and the role OBHG clinicians can play in protecting access to care. They explored what it means to lead with an ownership mindset, grounded in accountability, proactive communication, and a focus on the patients and families their programs serve.
Other sessions covered the expanding reach of Obtelecare’s maternal-fetal medicine services and how clinical leaders and OBHG’s recruiting team can work together to attract strong candidates to programs nationwide.
There were also case studies drawn from real OBHG programs, giving leaders the chance to workshop challenges around staffing, stakeholder communication, and demonstrating clinical and operational value to hospital partners. Far from hypothetical exercises, they were grounded in the actual dynamics of running an OB hospitalist program, and they gave leaders the space to think through solutions together rather than in isolation.
Collaboration beyond the agenda
But the structured programming is only part of the story. The conversations that happen between sessions, over meals, and in hallways, carry their own weight.
“We have so many talented, dedicated clinicians with great ideas,” Dr. Bukovac says.
Clinical leaders who might otherwise work in relative isolation from peers with similar responsibilities get the chance to share what’s working, ask for help, and build relationships that outlast the meeting itself.
For some, those informal conversations end up being the most valuable part of the two days.
“The best part of the Market Medical Meetings for me is the opportunity to speak with clinical leaders that I don’t connect with regularly,” says Dr. Bukovac. “It is so very important that they help me to focus on what matters to them, what they need from OBHG, just as much as I focus on what the business needs from them.”
A dedication to enhancement and advancement
The Market Medical Meetings are one element of a broader approach to clinician development at OBHG. The organization also offers the SAFE program for clinical quality, the CARE peer support program, and ongoing engagement through platforms like Ob Exchange. Together, they create an environment where clinicians are not just supported in daily practice but equipped and encouraged to grow as leaders over time.
For clinicians considering a career in OB hospitalist medicine, these meetings say something about the kind of organization OBHG is. They represent an investment in the people who lead programs, and a recognition that clinical leadership gets stronger when it is connected rather than isolated.
“At the end of the day, we are all trying to do the right thing for the patients that we serve,” says Dr. Bukovac. “None of us can do that alone, and the community that forms helps to make it all worthwhile.”