Institute Information

Program Overview
Physicians often find themselves in positions of leadership – within their practices, their health systems, their communities, and the larger health arena. While medical school prepares physicians to successfully overcome a wide variety of clinical challenges, it is unlikely to have supplied the basic principles and practices of effective leadership. The Medical Society of Virginia Foundation (MSVF), through a five-year grant from the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation and with support from HCA Virginia and the Herndon Foundation, established the Claude Moore Physician Leadership Institute in 2006. This program is one of only a handful in the nation that is devoted to providing physicians with formal, ongoing, state-specific leadership training. The goal of the Institute is to produce a network of physician leaders who work individually and together to effectively advance health and health care in Virginia.

The Institute offers practical leadership training conducted by respected local, state, and national speakers on a variety of leadership topics. The training is complemented by learning experiences which take advantage of national and state educational offerings, and local experts that guide participants through focused leadership action efforts. The Institute is a participatory continuing education experience and requires each participant’s commitment to actively contribute, both receiving and producing content on physician leadership. Once a participant completes the Institute, an Alumni Program sustains graduates to facilitate ongoing support for physician leaders as they address daily leadership challenges.

The Institute employs a collaborative learning approach to deliver a sequence of educational experiences to twenty physician leaders selected from a competitive application process each year. This activity is approved for AMA PRA credit. On average, participants earn an average of 80 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for their yearlong coursework. Four live quarterly educational sessions are held throughout the year - a two-day Opening Session in September; an Institute legislative day in January; a one-day interactive session in May; and a one-day Closing Session the following September concludes the Institute. Some of the core leadership topics to be presented throughout the year include: Successful Physician Leadership; How to Run an Effective Meeting; Creative Problem Solving Skills; State Health and Finance Perspectives; Influencing the Public Policy Process; Thinking Like a Leader; and Winning at Change.

In addition to these live sessions, participants are expected to identify a leadership project, create an individualized Leadership Action Plan, and begin implementing this project. Leadership action plans are blueprints for action, not contracts, and so it is anticipated that the plans will change as circumstances arise. During the year, each participant also selects one additional specialized leadership training option to round out the Institute experience. These workshops are intended to provide additional content in leadership interest areas such as executive management, health systems improvement, or legislative advocacy. The Institute Extranet supports all of the participants, providing a wealth of leadership articles, tools, and resources. This virtual networking leadership community offers knowledge mobilization by integrating participant’s objectives, training, consulting, peer-learning, and web-based resources.

Finally, the Institute’s Alumni Program sustains physician leaders once graduated from the Institute, offering educational and networking events for physician leaders. The program offers web-based resources and live educational forums to support peer-to-peer interaction amongst Institute graduates and deliver continuing education in leadership strategies and skills. It is anticipated that the alumni program will grow into a large network of graduates who not only support each other in their leadership efforts, but also provide support to newly trained leaders participating in the Institute.

Applicant Eligibility

• Applicant must be a licensed physician working in Virginia.
• Applicant must be a member in good standing of the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) prior to application submission. For MSV membership information, please contact Kathleen Bozis, Membership Coordinator, at or 800 | 746-6768, ext. 1042, or by e-mail (click here). 
• Applicant must be nominated by a medical society or association (national, state, local, specialty) or a paid or unpaid “supervisor” familiar with your work (Hospital CEO, Free Clinic Medical or Executive Director, etc.).

Participant expectations

MSVF is seeking participants who are committed to learning and self-motivated to do the work, are ready to expand beyond their practice focus, and want to embrace the challenge of thinking “outside the box” to seek improvements in Virginia’s health care system. MSVF expectations include:

• Participant must commit to attend all required meetings and activities of the Claude Moore Physician Leadership Institute (see 2010-11 Institute Schedule).
• Participant will submit a one-time tuition fee of $1,000 to MSVF upon acceptance to the program.
• Participant is responsible for Institute-associated travel and lodging costs.
• Participant agrees to identify and attend a specialized leadership training seminar during the course of the year (for some suggested options, please refer to the 2010-11 Specialized Leadership Training Options).
• Participant agrees to purchase all required Institute texts (estimated cost $150 total).
• Participant agrees to cooperate with all Institute reporting requirements.
• Participant agrees to participate in future Institute Alumni Program activities as appropriate.
• Participants should be proficient in using email and the internet to communicate with MSVF staff, faculty and peers. 

Please contact Katy Sawyer, Interim Executive Director of the Claude Moore Physician Leadership Institute, at 804 | 377-1004 if you have additional questions.