National physicians group makes key investment in helping to develop the next generation of physician leaders

Boston, Mass, November 3, 2010 – The University of Cincinnati today announced that it has received a $75,000 grant from The Physicians Foundation, a national healthcare and grant-making organization representing physician interests. The grant was announced as part of a broader effort by the Foundation to support projects that identify and train future medical leaders.

The grant is in support of the UC Academic Health Center’s Physician Leadership Program, an in-depth training program initiated five years ago for Greater Cincinnati community practice physicians. The program is intended to meet the growing demand for physician leaders who are prepared to lead in a rapidly changing health care environment requiring the convergence of business and medicine. The program’s full curriculum of expert speakers, discussions with peers and individual and group assignments helps professionals focus on the knowledge, skills, and competency areas where they feel under-prepared to manage and lead their practices.

“The demand for the program in past years has been greater than what we could accommodate, and we have turned many interested applicants away,” said Joan Murdock, PhD, Program Director of UC’s Physician Leadership Program; Director, Health Care Administration; and Assistant Professor, UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences. “This grant from The Physicians Foundation will enable us to provide the updated program to a larger cohort of physicians from a wider geographic area over the next two years.”

In recent years, The Physicians Foundation has invested significant resources into activities that promote physician leadership.

“The Physicians Foundation has made physician leadership a major focus,” said Lou Goodman, PhD, President. “Currently, there is a dearth of effective, world-class programs that provide leadership training for physicians. Our goal as an organization is to help identify and train future medical leaders in medical practice, business, government and associations. We believe that doing so will be vital to improving the quality of health care in the years ahead.”

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