WMA/INSEAD Leadership Program, Singapore, Jan 11, 2013

Last week I talked about the new year as a time to assess the importance of leadership and look for ways to grow in that role. Tomorrow (Friday) I will be traveling to Singapore to participate as a faculty member in the annual WMA/INSEAD Leadership Communications and Medical Advocacy Program. Students at the weeklong course will include thirty physician medical association leaders from 20 countries and six continents.

This program has its roots in a WMA initiative, Caring Physicians of the World (CPW), established in Helsinki, Finland at the 2003 annual meeting under the leadership of WMA President Yank D. Coble, MD of the US.  The CPW initiative was designed to restore enthusiasm and optimism in the field of medicine, through medical and social leadership based on the enduring traditions of the medical profession.

One of the original goals of the CPW initiative was to address the emergent need for development of physicians’ advocacy and leadership skills. Therefore, in 2006 the WMA, in collaboration with INSEAD one of the world’s largest graduate business schools, and with the partnership of Pfizer, Inc., developed the WMA/INSEAD Leadership Course.

The program focuses on developing physicians’ leadership and advocacy skills and enhancing their ability to advocate more effectively for medical care, education, research, ethics, and the medical profession.

The program includes modules on the Value of Medical Diplomacy and Traditions, Global Healthcare Systems, Physicians Perceptions of the Profession, Individual Judgment and Group Decision Making, Conducting Business Across Cultures, Effective Leadership Styles, the Art and Practice of Lobbying (Advocacy), Defining and Achieving Negotiation Success, Multiparty Negotiations, Coalition Building, Improving Cross Cultural and Virtual Communication, Navigating the Media Environment, and Media Training.

The first and second courses were held in 2007 and 2008 at the European campus of INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.  The third and fourth were held in 2010 and 2011 at the INSEAD Asia campus in Singapore. Participants must be nominated by the leadership of their national medical association.

I look forward to being a part of this most important endeavor; and, as always, meeting outstanding members of the medical profession from around the world.