Each fall and spring, Fellows come together for mandatory onsite intensive leadership development retreats. The fall retreat location will vary each year and is held in conjunction with the three other Change Leadership Programs in the RWJF Culture of Health profile of programs. The spring program is held at the state-of-the art executive education facility, The Rizzo Center, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These 4- to 5-day programs provide opportunities for in-depth work with recognized experts, simulations, leadership assessment feedback, cultural and health disparities training, and networking to promote maximum learning. This program capitalizes on ten of the most respected psychological assessment instruments, which lay the foundation for a deep understanding of personality structures, human motivation, change management, conflict, emotional intelligence and organizational behavior. Fellows will work and learn both as teams, as individuals and in groups during these intensive trainings.

The capstone experience for Fellows in the Clinical Scholars program is a team-based impact project addressing a Wicked Problem in one’s home community. These projects can address any issues which are crucial to achieving a culture of health; including, but not limited to, housing, urban design, violence, environmental health, animal-human health interface, etc. We are looking for Clinical Scholars who will think BIG and are ready for the challenge of thinking and working outside of traditional silos. Projects will include fiscal analysis as well as evaluation of process and impact measures. Many of the skills developed in the Clinical Scholars onsite intensives and distance-based sessions will be exercised in the design, implementation and evaluation of each Team’s WPIP project.

In this program, Clinical Scholars develop a structured set of personal goals for furthering skills in the core areas of the program: individual leadership, team leadership (managing people and organizations), and skills for reducing health disparities through focusing in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. These goals will guide the personal, private Executive Coaching sessions and will inform Peer Coaching sessions.

Each Clinical Scholar will be followed by an experienced Executive Coach. Our coaches have doctoral-level training and represent a variety of health professions. Coaching sessions will cover understanding and interpretation of leadership assessment instruments as well as a variety of leadership and management issues that are of critical importance to the participant. Sessions are guided by the Individual Development Plan (IDP) but are driven by the Scholar’s emerging needs and issues during the program. All sessions are privileged and confidential.

Clinical Scholars will have access to an online anywhere/anytime library of twenty-five web-based asynchronous programs that provide leadership and management training on the most requested topics. The general format of these modules is “invest about 30 minutes, learn about 10 skills for leadership”. This format offers a unique opportunity to further customize learning and to revisit complex skills while working on leadership development.

Clinical Scholars benefit both by being a Mentor and a Mentee. The program works with participants on how to nurture and develop relationships with Mentors and then asks the Clinical Scholars to identify an external mentor. Internally, Clinical Scholars connects participants with a program “Little Sister/Little Brother” in the following cohort to serve as an "upper classmate," navigator, and mentor in the program.

Each fall and spring, Fellows come together for mandatory onsite intensive leadership development retreats. The fall retreat location will vary each year and is held in conjunction with the three other Change Leadership Programs in the RWJF Culture of Health profile of programs. The spring program is held at the state-of-the art executive education facility, The Rizzo Center, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These 4- to 5-day programs provide opportunities for in-depth work with recognized experts, simulations, leadership assessment feedback, cultural and health disparities training, and networking to promote maximum learning. This program capitalizes on ten of the most respected psychological assessment instruments, which lay the foundation for a deep understanding of personality structures, human motivation, change management, conflict, emotional intelligence and organizational behavior. Fellows will work and learn both as teams, as individuals and in groups during these intensive trainings.

This web-based skills inventory self-assesses competence in the major learning objectives of the program following a powerful method known as the Behavioral Event Interview (BEI). The Online Leadership Log gives Clinical Scholars practical experience in developing behavioral statements related to performance of the top 25 competencies taught in the various parts of the program. Completing this portion of the program helps participants to become better communicators, stronger interview candidates, as well as be more effective in interviewing and hiring others.

The Clinical Scholars build their leadership and health equity libraries through books and articles given at each intensive onsite development experience.  Book clubs are group discussions led by the program participants for most of the books given.

A series of monthly webinars offers another opportunity for Clinical Scholars to customize learning.  A variety of topics are addressed through each program year—sessions are intended to be of broad interest to the program participants.

Monthly conference calls give Clinical Scholars access to speakers and key individuals in the field using a low-tech, informal, and yet highly personal approach. The Clinical Scholars choose which topics to attend and thus further customize learning. We encourage participants to request speakers and topics.

This web-based skills inventory self-assesses competence in the major learning objectives of the program following a powerful method known as the Behavioral Event Interview (BEI). The Online Leadership Log gives Clinical Scholars practical experience in developing behavioral statements related to performance of the 25 competencies taught in the various parts of the program. Completing this portion of the program helps participants to become better communicators, stronger interview candidates, as well as be more effective in interviewing and hiring others.

Each Clinical Scholars team has the ability to send one team member to an AcademyHealth policy training course and to the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health trainings in community-based work and community-based participatory research.

Each Clinical Scholars team has the ability to work with a consultant, to bring specialized expertise or training that may be needed to further the goals of the project. The Team Facilitator, the Deputy Director for Distance Education and the Executive Coaches will help teams connect with these consultants.

Team Coaching sessions happen every 6-8 weeks via distance technology with all Wicked Problem Impact Project (WPIP) team members and the Clinical Scholars Team Coach. The sessions provide opportunities for the Team Coach to provide support and assistance in moving the work of the WPIP forward.

Every 18 months, Clinical Scholars review their skill level on the 25 competencies focused on in the program. This helps guide executive coaching and self-directed learning in the Continuous Learning System.

Applicants to Clinical Scholars form interdisciplinary teams and take on a Wicked Problem Impact Project (WPIP). To give an example of what this might look like, the program developed these snapshots. This is just a start—teams include clinicians from every discipline, and there is no end to problems they could tackle.