Family Medicine & Community Health Elective Course Description

Elective Description:
The goal of this 4th year, four week elective (TYPE C) is to introduce the learner to the concepts of Leadership and Professionalism.  The focus is on personal and professional development.  A range of national speakers will recruited to provide a wide ranging series of lectures.  The requirements of this elective include attendance at ALL group sessions.  Additionally, each day a variety required readings, podcasts, videos and thought provoking emails will be reviewed by the student and made part of the core day discussions.

Objectives:
By the end of this rotation, the learner will

A.  Understand the key concepts of Leadership and be motivated to improve leadership skills and to effectively lead in their personal and professional live.

B.  Learn skills and strategies that will be of value for life. 

C.  Understand methods to succeed in residency and professional life thereafter.

Faculty:

• Director: Frank J. Domino, M.D., Dept. of Family Medicine and Community Health, UMass Chan
• Sanjiv Chopra, M.D., Professor and Faculty Dean, Harvard Medical School

Others to include faculty from the region: Business leaders, politicians, and behaviorists.

Time: 
Learners must commit to 4 full days of attendance during the month of January to be in class. Some additional time may be added to the curriculum, but much of the time the learner will complete requirements on their own. Required reading list will also be developed.

Methods:
A. Key Concepts of Leadership:  The cornerstone of this course will be built upon the keynote lecture:  Leadership for the 21st Century; The Ten Tenets of Leadership, delivered by Sanjiv Chopra, M.D. Professor and Faculty Dean, Harvard Medical School.  Other didactics stemming from this lecture will include:  patient communication skills, motivation of self and of peers.

B. Skills Development for being a Leader and Professional:

        i.  Feeding the Mind.  Learners will participate in some activity to help deal with stress of a career in medicine and will be introduced to Transcendental Meditation and the concepts of Mindfulness

        ii.  Feeding the Body. Learners will participate in training in healthy approaches to eating and cooking.

        iii. Supporting a family.  Learners will discuss the many roles a health care provider plays in family life, including marriage, divorce, advocate for sick family members, End of Life and dealing with the family gathering "consultations".

All content will be debriefed on campus in group discussion and via daily completion of a Reflective/Gratitude journal.

Off Campus Work.  Each Student will select a project based upon their learning needs to address. This could include completing a research project, developing an self-directed educational component, or volunteering in some manner.