TRAINING FUTURE LEADERS OF ACADEMIC MEDICINE - INTERNAL PROGRAMS AT 3ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTERS

The authors review the need for internal programs for leadership train ing at academic health centers and then describe in detail three progr ams of this type that have operated during the 1990s: (1) the Alleghen y Leadership Institute, founded by the Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; (2) the Physician Exec utive Management Development Program (PEMDP) of Saint Louis University School of Medicine; and (3) the University of Nebraska Medical Center Leadership Institute. Educational elements common to these programs i nclude having a small class size and participants from many areas of a cademic medicine and health care, focusing on educational strategies t hat draw on participants' experiences and training, conducting the tra ining away from the participants' institutions, having short sessions, using faculty from both within and outside the participants' institut ions, and creating strategies to reinforce learning, Lessons learned r eflect the unique context of each institution,the authors list the maj or lessons learned by each of the three programs they surveyed (e.g., leaders of the Saint Louis University PEMDP program believe that it is important to help participants implement desired changes in their wor k areas once they return to work, and are investigating how to do this ). The authors conclude with an extensive list of recommendations to o ptimize the effects of leadership development training carried out in AHCs' internal programs (e.g., ''Focus on specific skills that can be learned, and link the learning experiences to real work situations in health care and higher education'') and explain why they think interna l leadership institutes have at least three distinct advantages over e xternal programs.