A workshop on leadership for senior MD–PhD students

Leadership skills are essential for a successful career as a physician-scientist, yet many MD–PhD training programs do not offer formal training in leadership. The Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) previously established a 2-day leadership workshop that has been held biennially since 2006 for students in the first and second years of the graduate school portion of combined MD and PhD training (G1/G2 students). Workshop attendees have consistently rated this workshop as a highly effective experience. However, opportunities for structured training in leadership competencies during the subsequent 3–5 years of MD–PhD training are limited. Given the success of the G1/G2 leadership workshop and the need for continuity in this model of leadership training, we developed a half-day workshop for MSTP students in the clinical years of medical school (M3/M4 students) to foster continued training in leadership. Our workshop curriculum, based in part on original cases drafted by Vanderbilt MSTP students, provides concrete strategies to manage conflict and navigate leadership transitions in the physician-scientist career path. The curriculum emphasizes both short-term competencies, such as effective participation as a member of a clinical team, and long-term competencies, such as leadership of a research team, division, or department. Our inaugural senior leadership workshop, held in August, 2015, was judged by student participants to be well organized and highly relevant to leadership concepts and skills. It will be offered biennially in our training curriculum for M3 and M4 MSTP students.