VP of physician engagement, chief academic officer, and president of GHS Clinical University
He trained as a cardiovascular surgeon, was a major in the Air Force, took care of casualties during the invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm – and was on the short list for Clemson University president. Dr. Spence Taylor came back to Greenville to work in the general residency program at Greenville Health System and now is senior associate dean for academic affairs at the USC School of Medicine Greenville. The Greenville native has spent the last few years launching the Upstate medical school and sat down to talk about his journey and what’s next.
How did you become involved at the Greenville Health System?
I was recruited to revamp the general residency program at GHS. We started with two doctors and expanded to 100. And at 39 years old, I threw my hat into the ring for chair of surgery in 1998. I helped recruit Dr. Jerry Youkey to GHS and took on additional duties as associate dean in 2008.
How were you involved in getting the medical school to come to the Upstate?
In April 2009, we started working on the medical school and presented a feasibility study in August 2009. By July 2010, I had to step down from chair of surgery to work on the medical school full time, and we worked on the accreditation process in October 2011. We put the medical school together in about two years – I’ve not really recovered since.
Was there a time when you were sure you would fail? Did it happen?
The lowest moment [in the medical school process] was in June 2010; politics were at their highest. The Legislature said it wouldn’t give state funds for a medical school and we said we didn’t want any – they didn’t believe us. People were convinced that the medical school wouldn’t happen and MUSC had hired a consultant to re-evaluate. The consultant ended up helping me pull everything together that summer for the October deadline. There were 8,000 pages of documentation we had to put together – I was getting up at 3 in the morning to work. It was nuts, but we got it done.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The patient care piece is very rewarding. When you’re operating, you’re totally present. I also enjoy working in the medical school and instructing a new generation of doctors –and essentially dozens of patients.
What was your first job?
I had a paper route in fourth grade in Chicago and later worked for my father. He owned a corrugated box business in Lexington, S.C. I began to work there at 15. He saw trouble in my eyes and he told me I had a job, but I had to show up early – at 3 a.m. – to do my paperwork and start on second shift. For four years, I worked second shift and kept asking if I could switch to first shift. Keep in mind, he owned the business, but told me there were no openings. He kept me out of trouble, out of jail and off the streets of Columbia.
Is it still a family business?
My younger brother is in the corrugated box business, older brother is an ob-gyn and my twin sister is a nurse.
What’s next for you?
I’m excited about our clinical university that pairs traditional university rivals in a shared academic health center. It give you the size, scale and scope to have a shot at transforming health care, with Clemson as our research partner, USC for clinical and Furman as undergraduate. What we’ll have on this campus in 10 years will be tremendous. I predict we will have a physician assistant school and nursing school. I still keep my hand in one day a week and see patients and still do surgery. I’ll also continue to help administer the American Board of Surgery oral exams.
What is your idea of work-life balance?
Surgery is such a vocation that it’s also your hobby. I made a commitment to my wife Marie when we had kids that I wouldn’t work 15 hours a day and then go hunting on the weekends – I would be home to help out. And that’s been the success of our marriage. I also love to play golf and go walking.
What is something that people don’t know about you?
I love to listen to music, contemporary jazz. Some of my favorites are Boney James, Gerald Albright, Michael Franks and Steely Dan.
What excites you in your field?
It was for us to put together the largest medical university in the state with the largest health care system in the state to create an academic health center (a university with a medical school connected to a group of hospitals). The real vision is around the I-85 corridor, to leverage the academic health center into an economic engine. We’ve started a research and development corporation. That will be a legacy along with the intellectual property that will come from the academic health center.
How do you motivate people?
I’m a rah-rah guy. I lead by example and I try to hire good people. If you hire leaders, then you’re going to motivate people.
