Leadership Development

The Institute for Physician Leadership program is designed to increase leadership, management and professional capabilities through individual physician development

Today, the role of the physician increasingly demands more highly developed leadership and management skills. Physicians may find themselves exploring roles beyond that of an active clinician at Lehigh Valley Hospital -- roles such as clinical medical program director, project leader, partner in a newly formed private practice, member of a research project team, committee chair of a governing group, director of a residency program or a board member on a not-for-profit community board.

To prepare our physicians for these and other types of leadership roles – as well as for their personal development -- Lehigh Valley Hospital offers a unique developmental opportunity through our Institute for Physician Leadership (IPL).

Department Chairs and other senior leaders nominate physicians as “IPL Fellows.” These physicians, if they accept the nomination, commit to serve a two-year program consisting of leadership development activities including Leadership Cafes, Forums, Book Clubs, and mentoring. The 2005-06 class is comprised of 37 Fellows.

A structured mentoring program is another component of IPL, pairing senior network physicians and administrators with IPL Fellows through a matching process. Currently, IPL is supported through a philanthropic grant, and there is no cost to the participating physician or the physicians’ practice aside from the commitment and management of time. Physicians also receive CME as Fellows.

The learning objectives of the Institute are:

1. Clarify informal and formal physician leadership roles
2. Understand the changing and increasingly competitive health care environment and the physician leader as a facilitative change agent in this environment
3. Broadly define how the physician leader can serve as a model for service and leadership excellence
4. Develop a deeper understanding of leadership concepts, vocabulary and organizational culture and function

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