AAPL, ACP Partnership Program Graduates Its First Class

The first cohort, a class of eight, received the Certificate in Physician Leadership for Hospital Medicine.

Two years ago, the American Association for Physician Leadership and the American College of Physicians entered a partnership to launch a physician leadership education program for ACP members. AAPL provided the classes, and ACP facilitated the courses.

In January, the program’s first cohort received the Certificate in Physician Leadership for Hospital Medicine. From an original group of 31 that began in July 2016, the graduating class of eight completed online classes totaling 43.5 CME credits. They included core categories of leadership, communication and quality, and culminated with a 12-month capstone project and webinar presentation.

"The capstone project portion of the program allows participants to apply their learned leadership skills in a practical and meaningful way in their own practice or health care system in the context of their daily work," says Philip A. Masters, MD, FACP, vice president of membership for ACP.

“The quality of the work is fantastic,” adds Susan Koger, ACP’s manager of membership programs, regarding the capstone projects. “They’ve all been reviewed by physicians on staff, and we’re very excited about it.”

Launched as a pilot program, the initial cohort intentionally was kept small. More widely promoted since then, subsequent cohorts have attracted larger numbers, including 50 and 85 participants in each of the last of two in-progress groups.

A second track designed for general internal medicine is scheduled to begin in July and run concurrent with the hospital medicine program. The format for both will be the same, but with curricula, online discussions and capstone projects specific to each respective track.

Despite the benefits of advanced leadership training, Masters acknowledges that clinical obligations and life commitments can make it difficult for physicians to pursue educational ambitions.

“This program … was created specifically for physicians facing these challenges,” he says, noting that the work done as part of the certificate program is applicable to eventual Certified Physician Executive certification.