Physician Leadership Program

Program structure

The OMA Physician Leadership Program is a comprehensive learning experience for members that includes both independent and group sessions. The sessions will be held in person in Toronto at the OMA offices at 150 Bloor St. W. and the Rotman campus at 105 St. George St. The program duration for each annual cohort is approximately 10 months.

The 10-day program will be delivered in four modules, 2.5 days each on the following days:

Co-consulting teams

The co-consulting teams help participants develop answers to their problems and issues based on their individual and collective expertise. The co-consulting team, which is formed among participants, is designed to create trust and respect between members and provide an additional way in which they can connect and support one another.

Action learning projects

Participants will be asked to come to the program with a proposed transformational change initiative, providing an anchor for the program and individual course work that will be applied throughout the program. Participants will work to apply what they have learned and develop a plan to address an interpersonal, organizational or system challenge.

Action learning projects (ALPs) need to be actionable and achievable in scope before Module 4.

The ALPs vary considerably in nature, scope, timeline and, in some cases, sensitivity/confidentiality. There will be time during the program for you to discuss your ALPs with your consulting group (formed in Module 1).

As an endpoint to keep in mind, and for purposes of the program and Module 4, specifically, the aim is to create a poster that:

1. Describes the problem or opportunity (the “issue”) that it has evolved to. This may be different than your initial program application proposal
2. Your approach or process to addressing the issue (e.g., data, interviews, research about other systems or industries, etc.)
3. Stakeholders engaged
4. Your end-state recommendation(s) and expected benefits
5. The change or implementation process (what you did or would recommend be done)
6. Your personal reflections (e.g., what you learned, did you change your approach mid-way, what you wish you would have known earlier, what you would have done differently, etc.)

ALPs proposed in your application must describe the following:

• The problem or opportunity you are trying to solve
• The ideal future state and the anticipated benefits of your recommended change
• The stakeholder(s) who can affect or be affected by your change initiative
• The impact or reach of your project
• The relevance of your proposed project in achieving the five goals: better outcomes, lower costs, improved patient experience, improved provider experience, health equity
• The efforts you have made to solve the issue
• The obstacles, barriers or risks you have encountered or anticipate

Action learning projects will be evaluated through a lens that considers the five following goals: better outcomes, lower costs, improved patient experience, improved provider experience and health equity.

Additional program features

Fireside discussions with leaders

Participants will be offered the opportunity to engage with the program’s curated panel of health-system leaders between modules. Leaders will host a series of one-hour, small group coffee chats at regular intervals. The coffee chats are informal conversations, led by questions from the participants to provide insight into leadership challenges they are facing. Topics can also be related to roles, career options, skills, competencies or any other challenge. 

Learn more about the program’s faculty.

OMA Physician Leadership Advisory Network

The leadership network and the supported platform provide participants with the opportunity to connect with advisers who might otherwise be difficult to access. It helps participants consider and plan for their possible leadership role(s) over the course of their careers. The OMA Physician Leadership Network will be available to participants following the completion of their programs, allowing them continued access to advisers as well as their peers in the other OMA-Rotman cohorts.

Program fees

OMA members value leadership training and look to their association to help facilitate access to these new skills. To ensure Ontario’s doctors have access to leadership and professional development opportunities and will be at the table to inform and shape the health-care system of the future, the OMA will be subsidizing a portion of the fees for this program.

The Canadian Medical Association, working together with the OMA, is also providing funds for this program as part of a joint commitment focused on creating a meaningful impact on the health of Canadians and to the overall advancement of the medical profession.

Members who are selected for the Physician Leadership Program will be required to provide a personal co-payment of $3,500. This represents a significant savings to members relative to what they would have paid for individual registration in these courses. The OMA will reimburse most additional costs incurred in attending the program, including travel and accommodation.