Workforce Management
Behind the Hires: Li Ern Chen
From pediatric surgeon to healthcare workforce leader, Li Ern Chen shares her journey, outlook on physician burnout, and why better systems matter.
March 26, 2026
Li Ern Chen is the Market Leader for Physicians Workforce Solutions at Korn Ferry.
Job Description: “I stitch together teams of our experts in search and recruiting, compensation, leadership development, organizational design, and others, to provide solutions to the problems that clients are surfacing. I feel like an orchestra conductor.”
Clinical Background: Pediatric surgeon. “I loved helping children and families restore a child back to health, so they could play and enjoy life again. It’s a special feeling when you save the life of a newborn, or when kids come in for emergency surgery, and return to the clinic for a follow-up in their soccer uniform.”
Origin Story: “I grew up in Singapore. When everyone else was playing house with their dolls, I was doing imaginary surgery on my Care Bears.”
Reason for Being at Korn Ferry: “Health systems can be so much better when deliberate process and thought are put into their operations and talent oversight. The question is, do we do it intelligently as a community, or do we piecemeal it together, which is inefficient and less effective.”
Best Part of Korn Ferry: “The massive capabilities and talents that exist here are more mind-blowing than I expected.”
Ask to See Her: Figure skate! “My son bailed on lessons, and I asked our coach if she’d be willing to teach a grown-up. The nice thing about being a beginner at this age is that there are few competitors in my age group.”
Industry Outlook: “Our physician burnout situation is absolutely unsustainable. We’re facing a shortage of doctors and nurses, and the current solution—pumping more out into a bad system—is not going to help. Let’s fix our systems so people can have fulfilling careers and enjoy their day-to-day work, and practice medicine for the reasons they went into it.”
If She Could Wave Her Magic Wand: “I’d shift healthcare’s focus to keeping people healthy. We’re so focused on treating illness today, and that’s where all the resources go. The incentives don’t align with health, and that’s why it isn’t a priority.”
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