Your Professional Presence Matters

By Keith Bricking, MD, chief clinical officer, Premier Health

Most physicians and advanced practice providers did not choose healthcare to build a personal brand. We chose it to care for patients, advance our fields, and make a difference in people's lives.

But in today's healthcare environment, professional visibility matters.

Patients, referring providers, medical students, residents, researchers, and community partners increasingly look online to learn more about the clinicians they may work with or trust with their care. Often, one of the first places they look is LinkedIn.

When used thoughtfully, LinkedIn is not a platform for self-promotion. It is a professional tool that helps clinicians share their expertise, connect with colleagues, strengthen referral relationships, and contribute to important conversations shaping health care.

Across Premier Health, we have extraordinary physicians and APPs doing remarkable work every day. We are leading clinical innovation, conducting research, educating the next generation of caregivers, improving quality outcomes, and caring for patients across our communities. Yet much of that work remains invisible outside our immediate circles.

Building a professional presence allows us to change that.

A complete and current LinkedIn profile can help colleagues better understand your areas of expertise. It can foster new professional relationships, support collaboration across specialties, and make it easier for referring providers to identify the right resource for their patients. For those involved in teaching, research, or leadership, it can also create opportunities to engage with peers beyond our organization and contribute to broader discussions in medicine.

Building a professional presence with purpose is not about self-promotion. It is about making your expertise more accessible to colleagues, referral partners, students, residents, and patients. As Premier Health continues to strengthen its academic health system, visibility and connection become increasingly important. Professional networking can foster collaboration across specialties, support research and educational opportunities, strengthen recruitment efforts, and showcase the clinical expertise that exists throughout our organization. When our physicians and APPs engage professionally and thoughtfully, they help advance both individual careers and our shared mission of excellence in patient care, education, and innovation.

To support those interested in strengthening their professional presence, Premier Health has developed a new Physician and Advanced Practice Provider LinkedIn Guide (Access to this link requires a Premier Health email login). The guide offers practical recommendations for creating or enhancing a profile, expanding professional networks, engaging responsibly on social media, and maintaining compliance with our policies and professional standards.

Whether you are creating a profile for the first time or updating one that has not been reviewed in years, I encourage you to take a few minutes to consider how you present yourself professionally online.

Your experience, expertise, and accomplishments have value beyond your office, clinic, or hospital. Sharing them purposefully can strengthen professional relationships, promote collaboration, support referrals, and ultimately help connect patients with the care they need.

Providers interested in creating or enhancing their LinkedIn presence are encouraged to review the new Physician and Advanced Practice Provider LinkedIn Guide. For assistance, contact Julie Franklin, Communications Strategist, at jkfranklin@premierhealth.com.

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