Table 1 Elements of LDC that reflect “Best Practices” of effective leadership development courses*

Reinforce a supportive culture

• Involve residents and key faculty stakeholders in course’s development.

• Course timed to support significant transition for residents.

• All course discussions are strictly confidential.

Ensure high-level sponsorship and involvement

• Early, conscious effort to cultivate support from key departmental and hospital leaders.

• Key stakeholders involved in course design, received routine progress reports.

• Course received seed funding from department.

• Faculty, including Chief of DOM, taught course.

Tailor the program’s goals and approach to its context

• Course’s goal: Help residents to build clinical leadership skills necessary to excel in upcoming supervisory roles.

• Case study method is interactive, and simulates real life decision-making.

• Course taught during “lighter,” outpatient rotation; limited outside preparation.

• Case discussions led by internal clinicians-leaders familiar with work environment and residents’ development needs.

Target the program towards specific groups

• Targeted towards Internal Medicine (IM) residents during transition from intern to junior year.

• Resident input into curriculum development helped to ensure relevant, practical, and engaging content.

Integrate all features of the program

• Course material (case studies, large group meetings, small group exercises, supplementary reading material) organized by discrete sessions focusing on individual leadership styles and building to leadership within teams.

• Each course session included, and reinforced, iterative process of experience, reflection, and feedback.

Offer extended learning periods with support

• Faculty was available for follow up discussions after course’s conclusion.

• Course’s developers offered to provide residents with additional learning materials at their request.

Employ multiple learning and teaching methods

• Course participants learned through reading relevant literature, reading and discussing case studies, self-reflection, didactic teaching, and role plays.

Encourage ownership of self-development

• Participants informed during first session that course’s success, and their individual and group learning, was dependent on participation and engagement.

A commitment to continuous improvement

• Multimodal course evaluation strategy that is assessing many different outcomes.

• Post-course survey data being used to revise course syllabus.

• Needs assessments to be administered to all interns each year to gather information about specific leadership development needs.