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Alumni Spotlight - Paul Glisson 

College of Sciences and Mathematics alumnus and physician Paul Glisson regularly interacts with large groups of medical professionals and staff. He actively works toward making a difference in the lives of   his patients by ensuring quality metrics in the health care system are met and conform to federal regulations.

He is chief medical officer at Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Florida, a role that requires Glisson to exercise exceptional communication and negotiation skills. An essential part of his job requires a high EQ.

While IQ is a measure of intellect, EQ calls for a high degree of emotional intelligence. Essentially,  Glisson’s job is to read people.

“Health care is no longer a solo occupation,” said Glisson. “It requires high-functioning teams to set high standards and then hold themselves to it … reading the crowd, sensing personality issues, and then being able to coach staff on both ends of the spectrum to work together for one goal only—giving great care to our patients.”

Glisson said a recent, major accomplishment was joining with his peers to declare a war on sepsis as part of a national “Surviving Sepsis” campaign.

“As a system, the data told us that we were average, at best, in recognizing and treating sepsis, which is a major cause of mortality in the U.S.,” said Glisson.

Glisson helped form a large network of physicians and medical staff to improve the practices for recognizing and diagnosing sepsis.

“We focused on treatment guidelines that were aggressive, but consistent with the latest research,” said Glisson. “After 18 months of working on this plan, we have seen a drastic reduction in recognition, treatment, and mortality from sepsis.”

When reflecting back on his time at Auburn, Glisson said the amount of self-discipline needed to succeed in COSAM was high, but ultimately rewarding.

“COSAM taught me to study as hard as possible, and then double it,” said Glisson. “I had no idea what hard work was when I arrived on campus. It only took one semester to realize that my best wasn’t going to be good enough.”

While at Auburn, Glisson was involved with Auburn’s Basketball Pep Band. He also performed in musicals with the Department of Theater, and he said the social networking and atmosphere was much different in the theater than with COSAM students.

“It’s important to mix the academics with the arts,” said Glisson. “You end up being much more well-rounded if you take time to be creative in life.”

Glisson said the combination of hard work and social networking at Auburn paid off and gave him an edge when finding his place in medicine.

For Auburn students today, Glisson advises to “think backwards” on the goals they might have. “By that, I mean don’t plan to be a physician, but plan to have your medical school interview,” said Glisson. “What grades do you want to show the team interviewing you? What parts of your life do you want to share with them? Set yourself up for success in the future. If you don’t plan, then the future is what is given to you.”

Glisson received a bachelor of science in chemistry from Auburn in 1992 and a master of business administration in 2008. A native of Mobile, he currently resides in Fairhope.

Last Updated: 10/12/2018