This two-year fellowship trains experts in palliative care and health care leadership. Offered by the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Learn, Educate, Advocate, and Promote (LEAP) into Palliative Care Leadership program trains the next generation of physicians to improve quality of life for seriously ill patients while lowering symptom burden. It provides graduates with the core knowledge necessary to lead hospitals, health systems, quality improvement programs, and payor organizations in order to better aid the growing population of people with serious illness and their caregivers. The Brookdale Department, home of the Center to Advance Palliative Care and the National Palliative Care Research Center, has been a trailblazer for generations. Our LEAP graduates have access to innovative leaders, an array of practice settings, and high quality education. When you complete the LEAP into Palliative Care Leadership Fellowship, you will receive a certificate in leadership.
Curriculum
Icahn Mount Sinai’s LEAP into Palliative Care Leadership Fellowship is based at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and fellows rotate to several locations, including Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside. The fellowship focuses on enabling our students to develop expertise in assessing and managing the physical, psychological, and spiritual suffering faced by patients with illnesses, as well as supporting their caregivers. We emphasize developing proficiency in communication and leadership, knowledge of health care policy and delivery, and skills in program development and management. The two-year curriculum encompasses coursework and seminars. You may also be able to participate in apprenticeships or mentorships with a nationally recognized health care organization.
The first year of the program includes online courses, committee work, and participation in departmental activities. Such opportunities include:
- Committee work in areas such as graduate medical education, quality improvement, and patient care
- Monthly peer leadership group/learner lab, which offers opportunities both within the department and with Mount Sinai’s Talent, Development, and Learning division of Human Resources. Topics include debriefing of assessments, interactive classroom activities, and leadership sessions.
- Two months of scholarly time, focusing on quality improvement
- Departmental clinical meetings
- Team building and/or leadership courses
- Emotional intelligence assessments, such as the Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness Assessment, which can aid in personal development, team building, and governance training.
- Online courses offered by organizations such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the American Association for Physician Leadership. These classes address quality improvement, patient safety, communications, finance, and negotiations.
In the second year of the fellowship, students create, present, and pilot a project proposal, working closely with a mentor. Didactic approaches include small group practices, facilitated discussions, large group presentations, flipped classrooms, case studies, and experiential residencies.
This year will also include:
- Mentorship to assist in designing, implementing, and evaluating a capstone project and to provide career guidance
- External educational opportunities, such as the American Association of Physician Leadership online model, the Graduate Medical Education health care leadership certificate (developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges), and certification in clinical ethics offered in collaboration between Icahn Mount Sinai and Clarkson University
- Monthly departmental meetings on quality improvement and patient safety
- Capstone project, which you will present at Research Day
The Brookdale Department houses the Center to Advance Palliative Care and the National Palliative Care Research Center. At Mount Sinai, we were early innovators in the field of palliative care and have continued to play a leadership role in this arena. As a student in our fellowship program, you will be learning at one of the most fully developed and firmly established programs in the country.
How to Apply
The LEAP into Palliative Care Leadership Fellowship is open to those interested in academic palliative care and health care leadership. We select our fellows using the National Residency Match Program. To apply, submit your application and supporting documents though the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).