A long-term follow-up of a physician leadership program

Physician leadership programs serve to develop individual capabilities and to affect organizational outcomes. Evaluations of such programs often focus solely on short-term increases in individual capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to assess long-term individual and organizational outcomes of the Stanford Leadership Development Program.

There are three data sources for this mixed-methods study: a follow-up survey in 2013-2014 of program participants (n=131) and matched (control) non-participants (n=82) from the 2006 to 2011 program years; promotion and retention data; and qualitative in-person interview data. The authors analyzed survey data across leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes as well as leadership titles held, following program participation using Pearson’s χ² test of independence. Using logistic regression, the authors analyzed promotion and retention among participants and non-participants. Finally, the authors applied both a grounded theory approach and qualitative content analysis to analyze interview data.

Program participants rated higher than non-participants across 25 of 30 items measuring leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and were more likely to hold regional/national leadership titles and to have gained in leadership since program participation. Asian program participants were significantly more likely than Asian non-participants to have been promoted, and women participants were less likely to have left the institution than non-participants. Finally, qualitative interviews revealed the long-term impact of leadership learning and networking, as well as the enduring, sustained impact on the organization of projects undertaken during the program.

This study is unique in its long-term and comprehensive mixed-methods nature of evaluation to assess individual and organizational impact of a physician leadership program.