Donald J. Palmisano, M.D., J.D., FACS, a New Orleans native, is the principal of Donald J Palmisano Consulting. He is a frequent speaker on leadership, risk management, patient safety, and how to give a memorable speech.
He is widely quoted on leadership principles, medical liability reform, and patient safety. He trains executives, professors, and medical students on effective speeches with lessons learned from extensive personal experience. Dr. Palmisano served as American Medical Association (AMA) President in 2003-2004 and President of the Louisiana State Medical Society from 1984-1985 where he was inducted into its Hall of Fame. Dr. Palmisano has served as a member of the Board of Governors of The Doctors Company in Napa starting in 2004 and was term-limited in July of 2019 after 15 years of service. He also served on the boards of the Joint Commission On Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO/Joint Commission) and the National Patient Safety Foundation. A general and vascular surgeon in private practice since 1970 after his service in the USAF, he retired from private practice following Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Palmisano is a adjunct professor of surgery and clinical professor of medical jurisprudence at Tulane University School of Medicine where he received his medical degree in 1963 and completed his surgery residency in 1968. He received a law degree from Loyola University School of Law in 1982 and was awarded the Loyola University President’s Medal in 2005. In 2013 he was selected as Tulane Medical Alumni Association’s Outstanding Alumnus. Dr. Palmisano is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and in 2019 he was designated a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow. His books On Leadership and The Little Red Book of Leadership Lessons remain popular. See https://onleadership.us. His latest book is A Leader’s Guide to Giving a Memorable Speech.
On January 24, 2020 during the annual meeting of the Louisiana State Medical Society in Baton Rouge, Dr Palmisano was the 2019 recipient of the LSMS Dave Tarver Distinguished Service Award; an award that’s only been bestowed previously on 17 occasions since the inaugural award in 1970.
Delivering memorable and impactful speeches comes from Dr. Palmisano’s popular seminar he teaches to medical students and faculty at Tulane University School of Medicine. It is filled with lessons learned from over 1000 speeches and interviews. The interviews include ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today Show to discuss patient privacy and medical record confidentiality. He has been featured on CNN’s The Capitol Gang as the newsmaker of the week and appeared on ABC’s Nightline to debate the medical liability crisis. Dr. Palmisano was the newsmaker at the National Press Club on July 9, 2003, which was covered by C-Span, and has appeared on multiple additional televised news programs including ABC’s World News Tonight, CNN’s Talk Back Live, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, CNN’s Crossfire, ABC’s Nightline, John McLaughlin’s One on One, Fox News with Tony Snow, Aaron Brown’s NewsNight, and the Wall Street Journal’s The Journal Editorial Report with Paul Gigot.