Physician Leadership: Physician Leadership Academy
The Physician Leadership Academy is a shared endeavor of the Advisory Board and the nation’s leading medical centers—joined in the purpose of advancing the growth and development of physician leaders. Through its curriculum and teaching, the Academy prepares physicians for leadership roles addressing the strategies and issues affecting health systems and their medical staffs.
The Academy curriculum and services are designed to serve the educational needs of elected and appointed physician leaders in hospitals and health systems. The Academy supports a robust program to teach the leadership, business, and operations skills physician leaders need to work effectively, including representing the interests of their physician constituencies and collaborating with hospital administrators.
Curriculum
The Physician Leadership Academy’s progressive curriculum is grounded in experiential education techniques, with an emphasis on core business concepts and tactics. Course topics include:
- Breakthrough negotiations
- Competitive strategy and health care
- Elevating quality through effective physician leadership
- Financial decision making
- Leadership through vision
- Mediating medical staff conflict
- Power and influence
Application Resources
A number of resources are available to facilitate and compliment the Physician Leadership Academy’s curriculum, including:
- On-site university for physician leaders
- Physician leadership diagnostics
- Education for hospital leaders
- Dedicated faculty advisor
Delivery Method
Physician Leadership Academy partners participate in a two-year on-site university, with an option to extend for a third year of advanced curriculum.
Staffing
The Physician Leadership Academy has dedicated a full-time staff of researchers, education specialists, faculty, and facilitators to the task of developing and teaching its curriculum. In recognition of the special expertise required to engage physician leaders, the faculty includes experienced educators, clinicians, and leaders.
Boot Camp on Leadership Fundamentals for Physicians
Each year hospitals and health systems nationwide welcome thousands of physicians as leaders in their ranks—committee chairs, task force leaders, section heads, department chairs, division chiefs, and the like. However, 70 percent of executives report they do little (if anything) to prepare physicians for these roles—a short-sighted approach when you consider the negative impact of poor (or absent) physician leadership, and an acute need in light of the recent Joint Commission focus on physician engagement in performance measurement and quality and safety improvement.
Drawing from the best of corporate America, the Advisory Board Academies have created the Boot Camp, a comprehensive and motivational experience for physicians embarking on leadership roles in health systems. Using lecture, case-based training, simulations, and role-plays, this two-day event seeks to dramatically alter physicians’ perspectives on the organization and the role physician leaders can play.
To learn more about the Boot Camp, please click here.