Program for Chairs of Clinical Services

On-Site
January 21, 2024 – February 2, 2024
$11,500

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Harvard Longwood Campus, Boston, MA

The program far exceeded my expectations because of the depth and breadth of the topics. Would recommend this program to novice and experienced Chairs alike. There is something substantive for every level.

—Kathleen Pajer, MD, MPH
Professor and Chair of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa

Program Overview
Program Objectives
Credits and Logistics
Faculty
Agenda
Who Should Apply

Program Overview

Navigating Complex Responsibilities: Role of Chairs in Clinical Departments

Chairs of major clinical departments traditionally have faced complex responsibilities because of their multiple tasks – patient care, teaching, research, and administration.

As academic health centers experience unprecedented disruption and change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, chairs are being asked to become more extensively involved in institutional decision making with regard to programs, staffing, operating and capital budgets, and other issues. These responsibilities are in addition to their traditional concerns within their own departments. At the same time, chairs have to consider to a greater degree the relationship between institutional priorities, departmental decisions, and collaboration with other services. These new tasks call for new leadership and managerial skills.

Enhancing Leadership Skills: Program for Chairs of Clinical Services (PCCS)

The Program for Chairs of Clinical Services (PCCS) brings together chairs of major clinical departments in teaching hospitals and health systems and an experienced interdisciplinary faculty for two weeks of intensive and systematic study of some of the critical leadership and management issues facing chairs, their departments, and teaching hospitals.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the program is organized around the following interrelated courses taught by a faculty experienced in executive education for physicians and other key decision-makers in the health system:

Competitive Strategy
Health Policy
Financial Analysis and Control
Innovative Problem Solving
Operations Management
Organizational Issues
Leadership Challenges

A carefully integrated curriculum permits participants to examine fundamental managerial issues from the perspective of several disciplines. A new program initiative or downsizing proposal, for example, may raise managerial problems concerning departmental and institutional strategy; the application and utility of systems analysis and quantitative analytical methods; basic economic trends and legal constraints; financial analysis and control; and organizational behavior, design, and development.

The overriding purpose for learning concepts, techniques, and skills in any of the management disciplines in this program is to understand their managerial use and limitations. For example, the course in financial analysis and control does not aim to develop expert accountants or to provide accounting skills, per se. The purpose in learning to analyze the cost and financial implications of program decisions, for instance, is: (a) to better understand the fundamental methodological issues involved, the driving factors behind any particular analysis, the limits of such analysis, and the need to blend this with clinical, strategic, and other non-financial judgements; and (b) to improve the ability of a participant both to manage staff and to interact more effectively with the fiscal affairs personnel in their hospital, health system, or medical school.

Innovative Case-Based Learning: Mastering Leadership Through the Case Method

The principal method of instruction in the program is the case method, a technique pioneered and refined at Harvard Business School. Most of the cases present actual problem situations familiar to chairs of clinical departments. Special case materials based on field studies of specific issues faced by service chairs have been and continue to be prepared by the faculty.

The case method confronts the participant with an actual management problem, halted at a point where decisions must be made, and forces the participant to choose a course of action. Participants go through a three-step study process. First, participants study each case independently. Participants then meet in small discussion groups to test their individual analyses against those of their peers. Finally, the entire class discusses the case, with the professor as catalyst and guide. The professor points out considerations the class has overlooked; elicits from participants the lessons of experience; pursues each line of investigation to its conclusion; and finally, summarizes the discussion and draws out the major lessons it has taught.

Assigned readings and guest lecturers supplement and augment the use of cases. In addition, an important part of the learning process occurs during the informal exchange of insights and experience among participants and faculty.

Program organization

Classes and discussion groups are scheduled six days a week. Preparation for classes averages six hours a day. Registration is scheduled for 3:00 – 4:00 pm on the first day of the program. The following Sunday is free except for cases to be prepared for Monday’s classes. Participants are required to free themselves of professional and family responsibilities for the period of the program so that full attention can be devoted to the educational experience.

Program Objectives

The program’s overall objective is to enhance and develop participants’ leadership abilities and effectiveness. This is accomplished by providing broader understanding of their responsibilities as leaders; perspective on some of the critical leadership and management issues they face; and understanding and awareness of concepts and techniques relevant to management.

Upon Completion of the Program, Participants Will Have Gained:

Increased understanding of their responsibilities and tasks as leaders of clinical departments and members of the leadership group of their institution
A broader appreciation of and insight into the external challenges facing, and changes occurring in, academic medical centers; the range of options and responses available; and the implications for their own institution, clinical service, and academic program
New perspectives on issues they face currently and on those which arise in the future
Knowledge of relevant concepts and techniques in several key management disciplines
New methods to analyze problems and an enhanced capacity to identify the critical questions
Greater effectiveness as departmental and institutional leaders in formulating and implementing new initiatives and managing change

Credits and Logistics

Accommodations

January 2024

The Colonnade Hotel
120 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
TEL: (617) 424-7000 FAX: (617) 424-0968
$205/night + 16.45% tax

Spacious guestrooms
Private suite for program participant use only, offering evening refreshments
Floor-to-ceiling windows that open
Complimentary Fríða* high-speed wired and wireless Internet access
Keurig® coffee and tea makers
Complimentary bottled water
Ample electrical outlets (and where you need them)
Outlet adapters
Pillow-top mattresses and high thread count linens
Dimmer lighting
In Room Safes
Refrigerators in every room
iPod / iPhone / Mobile device Cubie Blue™ alarm clock dock
Dual line speaker phone
Samsung® 55" LCD TV's with 60 HD television channels
Iron and ironing board
Boca™ Plush Terry bathrobes
5x Make-up/Shaving mirror
Five Wits by La Bottega luxurious bath amenities
Full size hair dryer
Fitness center
Complimentary Shoe Shine Service
Turndown Service upon request
Plush Dog Beds, bowls, leashes and treats via our complimentary VIPet's program
100% non-smoking by ordinance of the City of Boston

Once accepted to the program, Harvard will make your reservation for you. Room rate is not included in your tuition. The program offers a shuttle bus daily from the hotel to the program location.

The Colonnade Hotel has provided genuine Bostonian hospitality to residents and visitors for more than 40 years. A beloved Back Bay landmark whose opening launched the neighborhood’s renaissance in the early 1970s, The Four-Diamond Colonnade Hotel is home to the city’s only rooftop pool, to a host of recently remodeled function rooms and the hotel’s grand ballroom, providing the setting for many of the city’s memorable business and social events. The Colonnade Hotel is within walking distance of Newbury Street and many of Boston’s finest shops, museums, galleries, and landmarks including the Hynes Convention Center, Symphony Hall and Fenway Park, and is located just minutes from Logan International Airport. The Colonnade Hotel is a member of the Preferred Hotels' LIFESTYLE collection. Preferred Hotels represents more than 800 of the world's finest hotels and resorts with an extensive global collection in more than 85 countries

Program Location

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
FXB Building
651 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617.432.2100

The program takes place at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, located in the heart of the Harvard Longwood Campus in Boston. Public transportation is also readily available to the city’s many shopping districts, museums, and restaurants.

For directions, please click here.

Continuing Education Credit

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 42.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will grant 4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for this program, equivalent to 42.75 contact hours of education. Participants can apply these contact hours toward other professional education accrediting organizations.

All credits subject to final agenda.

All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation upon completion of the program.

Faculty

Current faculty, subject to change.