Building Physician Leaders With a Dose of Business Acumen

• Published in: Talent Development Vol. 74; no. 11; pp. 24 - 26
• Main Author: Kennedy, Paula
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria Association for Talent Development 01-11-2020
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Alumni; Class Size; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Curricula; Design thinking; Emotional intelligence; Executives; Gastrointestinal surgery; Graduation Requirements; Group Discussion; In Person Learning; Instructional Effectiveness; Internal Medicine; Leaders; Leadership; Leadership Training; Learning Experience; Likert Scales; Managers; Mentors; Needs Assessment; Organizational Development; Physicians; Program Design; Program Development; Talent; Talent management; Teams; Values
• ISSN: 2374-0663; 2374-0671

The company also has increasingly tapped physicians for business-focused roles. [...]several years ago, leadership development programs for these highly qualified clinicians were lacking at Cigna, leaving many of them without adequate preparation for new roles. Starting with a needs assessment and working through the company's existing competency framework, the work group team determined that the physician population needed to build and enhance eight of the 14 leadership competencies. Based on the needs assessment survey results, the work group proposed to Cigna executives the creation of the Physician Leadership Development Program (PLDP)-not only as a strategic and competitive response to market volatility and physician shortages but also to expand and increase the organization's leadership pipeline by capitalizing on physicians as an untapped resource for building bench strength. A few examples from this year's pod projects include improving the experience and efficiency of peer reviews, preventing patient weight regain after bariatric surgery, and optimizing the treatment of anxiety or depression in patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease.