Program Overview & Curriculum

About the Fellowship

The Linde Family Primary Care Fellowship Program is designed to develop the next generation of primary care leaders by equipping early and mid-career physicians with the skills and competencies required to promote good practice management, drive care innovation and deliver exceptional health care to patients.

How to Apply

Goals of the Fellowship

The overall goals of the fellowship are to enable physician leaders to:

  • Build core leadership competencies
  • Prepare to take on greater leadership roles in primary care practices
  • Develop the skills to lead innovation and transformation within and beyond their practices
  • Serve as role models and mentors to residents and students seeking careers in primary care
  • Contribute to Beth Israel Lahey Health's goal of an expanded pipeline and community of leaders with common language, values and shared goals for health care delivery
  • Serve as initiators and leaders of change through analysis, planning and resource allocation

Specific learning goals focus on building participant capacity to:

  • Lead a project in primary care including project scoping, team building, data management, conducting a stakeholder analysis and instilling accountability
  • Develop leadership skills to include managing difficult conversations, negotiating/influencing, leading change and meeting management
  • Understand the systemic policy, financial and regulatory forces facing primary care practices in today's health care environment
  • Learn the technique of behavior-based interviewing, and how to manage employee relations
  • Learn strategies to facilitate work teams, set goals and manage projects, and lead meetings

Fellowship Content and Structure

Program participants must commit approximately 20 hours per month, which will include a variety of program-related activities outlined below:

  • Linde fellows complete several individual assessments (e.g., 360-degree feedback, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Hogan Personality Inventory) and work with a leadership coach to create individual development goals based on results from the assessments.
  • Linde Fellows meet regularly with their leadership coach, who serves as a sounding board, offers real time feedback and helps the Linde fellow stay focused on their goals.
  • Participants attend workshops led by key leaders in the fields of medical management and leadership. These workshops often include participants from other leadership programs at BIDMC. The curriculum covers a broad spectrum of contemporary issues related to leadership in primary care medicine practice such as driving innovation, change management, negotiation and strategic leadership.
  • Action learning is a critical aspect of the fellowship. Linde fellows identify a change project in their home practice site. Linde fellows work closely with their immediate manager and clinic team to implement their project.
  • Linde fellows form a peer-learning group, meeting regularly to serve as advisors for each other in both projects and leadership growth.
  • Fellowship graduation requirements are satisfied by workshop preparation, attendance and participation, meeting regularly with the coach, and completion of the action-learning project.
  • Fellows will participate in two to three meetings with their sponsor, the faculty director and coach to review leadership development goals and project implementation.

Workshops

Participants attend workshops led by key leaders in the fields of medical management and leadership. The curriculum covers a broad spectrum of contemporary issues related to leadership in primary care medicine practice such as driving innovation, change management, negotiation and health policy.

Self-Assessments and Participation

Linde fellows complete several individual self-assessments (e.g., 360-degree feedback, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and create individual development goals based on results from the assessments. Additionally, fellows form a peer-learning group, meeting regularly to offer input and feedback on individual learnings and progress on projects.

Coaches

Fellows meet regularly with their assigned coach, who serves as a sounding board, management consultant, offers real-time feedback and helps the Linde fellow stay focused on their goals.

Action Learning

Linde fellows identify a change project in their home practice site. Linde fellows work closely with their immediate manager and an assigned physician leader who acts as a mentor and coach to help guide their action-learning project.

Participation Requirements & Financial Support

Linde fellows should plan to commit 15 percent of their total work effort to the fellowship program. All applicants must submit a letter from their division chief or practice director indicating a commitment to provide dedicated time (15 percent FTE) to attend the seminars, meet with a coach and complete the fellowship project as described above.

The Linde Family Institute for Primary Care provides a stipend of 10 percent salary support (at the HCA clinical FTE rate); an additional five percent matching support is expected to come from the faculty member's home practice site. The Linde Family Institute for Primary Care disburses the stipend to the fellow's divisional or practice budget in remuneration for the fellow's time to participate in the program.