January 18, 2023 – The Ruderman Family Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have today launched the first cohort of ELEVATE, a groundbreaking program that helps skilled, passionate, and dedicated clinicians grow into the next generation of leaders in medicine.
Thanks to a $3 million grant from the Boston-based Ruderman Family Foundation last year, the hospital has expanded and evolved its leadership training infrastructure through ELEVATE, a 12-month mentorship and scholar program for junior faculty members who have displayed notable leadership potential and interest.
By collaborating on this much needed program, the foundation made it possible for ELEVATE to kick off its journey with the inaugural 15-member cohort in a three-day intensive offsite meeting, starting with an opening dinner on January 19. Participants will delve into a comprehensive curriculum developed and led by internationally acclaimed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) lecturer Aithan Shapira, MFA, PhD, who has pioneered progressive curricula at the edge of leadership and skills retraining at MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Innovation Labs, Stanford University, and the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship.
The Mass General program’s launch comes at a fateful crossroads for healthcare leadership nationwide, as workers spend 34% less time on training per year than professionals in other industries, according to the Association for Talent Development. The seismic events of recent years — most notably the strain on the healthcare system that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic — have highlighted that for medical professionals, the current way of working is not sustainable, and that transformative developmental change must come from the clinicians themselves.
ELEVATE cultivates within clinicians the maturing communication skills, growing emotional intelligence, change and leadership management practices, and self-directed new initiatives that are needed within the healthcare system now more than ever. The program’s curriculum leverages expert facilitation and guidance to develop an effective learning environment for these high-performing professionals. This includes dedicated time to reflect and experiment together with new skills and models, while individually and collectively integrating new skills into practice to become better leaders. ELEVATE places participant challenges and leadership at the center of all learning. The closed, confidential, and safe nature of the cohort will directly support the transformational learning that the program aims to achieve.
The program features intensive seminars, practice groups, coaching and mentorship, and a capstone project.