Residents and fellows learn skills that prepare them to be tomorrow’s health care leaders

Residents and fellows learn skills that prepare them to be tomorrow’s health care leaders

Twenty-six residents completed an intense, two-week leadership course available to junior and senior residents and fellows offered through the Christiana Care Learning Institute in September.

The LEED-R (Leadership Excellence Education for Residents/Fellows) course provided an opportunity to learn from more than 40 volunteer teachers from Christiana Care’s executive leadership team, medical and surgical faculty and other enthusiastic experts.

This year’s class, the third since 2013, concentrated a substantial amount time on the current state of health care delivery and implications of moving toward a population health model, a hot topic that generated some “vibrant discussions,” said Dan Elliott, M.D., medical director, Christiana Care Quality Partners.

“We spent a lot of time talking through the distorted financial incentives that currently exist and identified some of the decisions and programs that are using reform of payment models to drive changes in health care delivery,” Dr. Elliott said. “The residents were engaged and were quick to identify systemic inefficiencies that they see every day in clinical practice.”

This year learners from 12 residency and fellowship programs were selected for LEED-R, including one from Nemours/Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children.

“It is truly an honor to help develop the next generation of physician leaders while they are still learning in residency and fellowship,” said Allen Friedland, M.D., FACP, FAAP, program director, Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program.

Dr. Friedland is co-director of LEED-R with Barbara A. Monegan, MA, FABC, director, Talent Management and Leadership Development, and director of the Center for Transforming Leadership in the Christiana Care Learning Institute.

Residents and fellows are now more aware that emotional intelligence is as important as IQ as a physician leader, Monegan said.

A highlight of the curriculum was the LEED-Rship Cafe, where learners had the opportunity to meet 25 leaders one-on-one and ask any questions they wished, such as “How did you know you were interested in leadership?” and “Would you recommend getting an MBA?” within the confines of a nine-minute time limit per table.

Learners also worked to identify their strengths and blind spots through self-awareness exercises and assessments. They engaged in team-building activities and negotiation scenarios, and they underwent the Herrmann Brain Dominance Inventory assessment, which examines thinking style.

Dr. Friedland believes LEED-R benefits the overall health system, as well as the learners. Learners developed ongoing leadership projects to take place over the academic year. A few examples are: improving access to prescription medications for patients discharged after hours; highlighting the value of graduate medical education; using an interdepartmental education platform for a new protocol (HEART score) for chest pain patients in the ED; showing how residents and students can complete five easy tasks a day to improve the patient experience and use The Christiana Care Way; expanding LEED-Rship Essentials to all residents/fellows; and promoting health and wellness to our patients and employees.

“There is a great deal involving health care that we are not exposed to both in medical school and the day-to-day business of our rotations,” said Charlie Fedele, M.D., chief resident, Radiology Residency Program, one of the LEED-R 2015 participants. “This course allowed us to spend a good deal of time discussing the flaws of our changing health care system in an interdisciplinary setting. We were able to get the different perspectives of our peers across numerous programs, which I feel is invaluable.”

Photo gallery: LEED-R

Top