Clinical Leaders and Academic Scholars Fellowship (CLASS)
Program Overview Heading link
Early career physicians often aspire to leadership positions that will enrich their professional careers, complementing outstanding clinical practice: program directors, associate deans of medical education; chief medical officers; or principal investigators/co-investigators on clinical and health services research projects. Residency training provides only limited preparation for leadership in medical education, clinical services delivery, or research, and yet clinically trained leaders in each of these areas are in high demand. The CLASS fellowship is designed to provide concentrated preparation in each of these areas by combining mentoring, for-credit education and training, and practical experience on a substantive project in one of four tracks: Clinical Services Leadership (one year), Educational Leadership (one year), Research (two years), or VA Research (two years). Graduates of this fellowship will not only have a competitive advantage at being selected into career launching positions in one of these three areas, but will bring a set of valuable skills and experience that benefit the programs and institutions they join.
The goal of the Clinical Leaders and Academic Scholars fellowship is to graduate collaborative and self-directed continuous learners who identify and respond to the most significant clinical, research and educational challenges in the organizations and/or disciplines they serve. The fellowship is designed to develop a set of core competencies, complemented with specialized expertise depending on the track. It is open to graduates of any ACGME accredited program across all specialties.
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Curriculum Heading link
All fellows participate in curricula and activities designed to foster core competencies in negotiation, conflict resolution, self-assessment, peer assessment, project management/personnel management, time management, becoming independent, working with the media, writing a manuscript for peer review, preparing a curriculum vita, and team science.
Core competencies are developed primarily through seminars, peer-to-peer learning and mentored activities: One seminar features external speakers who have expertise in specific areas, and who then facilitate discussion. Another is intimate and small, with a requirement that fellows attend all sessions and respect confidentiality. The focus is on peer supported discussion about the challenges fellows face on topics such as time management and individualized career planning.
In addition to the core competencies, each fellow will acquire extensive specialized competencies in one of the three tracks.
Fellowship activities consist of the following:
- Participation in two required recurring workshop/seminar series
- A for-credit certificate or master’s degree in their designated track
- A mentored project specific to track
- Clinical service, typically as a clinician educator, not to exceed 25% of the time
- Regular interaction with a faculty advisor and a project mentor
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Competencies, coursework and projects
In the last several years, medical education has embarked on a transformation, increasingly adopting evidence-based, experiential learning environments focused on achieving specific, measurable, practical outcomes. Furthermore, a substantial number of community-based medical schools have emerged, with many new community-based clinicians taking on teaching roles for the first time. Curricula are rapidly moving away from traditional passive to engaged instructional methods such as Problem Based Learning and Team Based Learning. And patient care education is moving into community based practice settings. While these changes are welcome, their success depends on medical school faculty, including a large number of community based faculty, with the knowledge and skill to support recent innovations.
Competencies
The educational leadership track seeks to build competencies in applied knowledge of curriculum development, student and program assessment in the health professions sufficient to identify unmet learner needs, the content and optimal instruction methods to respond to those needs, and the tools for measuring the educational program as defined by learner outcomes.
Coursework
Certificate in Health Professions Curriculum Design and Assessment. Fellows complete a 10 credit hour curriculum that is either entirely online, or combines online with classroom course work, consisting of courses selected from the Master’s in Health Professions Education program, including MHPE 502 Instruction and Assessment in Health Professions Education, and MHPE 503 Curriculum and Program Evaluation in Health Professions Education.
Mentored Projects
Drawing on the expertise they acquire in curriculum development, and learner and program assessment while taking classes in the Department of Medical Education, fellows will identify a clinically significant learning gap at the undergraduate or graduate medical education level, and work with a faculty education leader, e.g. a program director, clerkship director, assistant/associate dean for curriculum in the College of Medicine to develop and implement a curricular intervention with tools for assessment.
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Competencies, coursework and projects
Since the National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine), released a series of reports, beginning in 1999, on error prevention, and quality and patient safety in health care, there has been a growing demand for the requisite leadership skills among chief medical officers, clinical directors and executives who shape the culture and guide the operations of health systems.
Competencies
The Clinical Services Leadership track seeks to build knowledge and experience in implementation science and project management to critically evaluate and translate evidence into practice and process improvement, and the skills to design and implement a comprehensive error science management plan.
Coursework
Certificate in Patient Safety, Error Science and Full Disclosure: Fellows complete a three course 12 credit hour curriculum that is entirely online and asynchronous, and consists of three courses, each eight weeks, and requires approximately 18-22 hours of work/week per course. It takes approximately 1 ½ semesters to complete.
Mentored Projects
Fellows will be assigned specific process improvement projects and serve as clinical champions for designated priority projects under the supervision and guidance of a medical center leader.
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Competencies, coursework and projects
The research track incorporates completion of a master’s degree in Clinical and Translational Science, and preparation of a proposal for submission for a federally funded career development award. In some respects, this track is similar to a traditional clinical research fellowship. However, it differs in that fellows will be cross-disciplinary, meaning they may come from any clinical discipline. Second, they will participate in the same seminar series and mentoring activities as fellows in the clinical leadership and educational tracks, designed to foster essential competencies for career development.
Competencies
The research track seeks to build competencies in the identification of clinical & translational research questions, literature review and critique, study design, best research practices, statistical approaches to study design and data analysis, scientific communication, translational teamwork, and community engagement.
Coursework
MS in Clinical and Translational Science: Fellows complete a 32 credit hour degree program. About 26 credit hours are online and 6 are in the classroom. It includes a mentored project that culminates in writing a K award proposal.
Mentored Projects
Fellows will work on a research project with a senior scholar. They will also generate an independent research question and research plan preparatory to writing a career development award. Mentors may come from any department if appropriately prepared, including the VA via the Center for Innovation for Complex Chronic Health Care. This component of the fellowship will be closely coordinated with the MS in Clinical and Translational Science such that the mentored project, culminating in the K award proposal will meet the requirements for MS as detailed above.
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VA Research
The VA Research Track for CLASS fellows is a partnership between the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (JBVA), and the VA Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare (CINCCH) to prepare residency-trained, board eligible/certified physicians to conduct health systems research within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The VA Research Track is similar to the standard two year CLASS Research Leadership Track in that trainees complete the 32 credit hour MS degree in Clinical and Translational Science, commit 25% time to clinical care, and complete a mentored project. VA Research Track fellows provide clinical care to Veterans at JBVA, where they are credentialed as attending physicians.
Competencies
The VA research track seeks to build competencies in identifying VA-specific health systems research questions that are concordant with VA priorities, working with VA’s facility level and national administrative data resources, developing essential partnerships with VA operations offices, and effectively pursuing funding within the VA ecosystem.
Coursework
A distinct feature of the VA Research Track is a supplementary CINCCH senior research staff-administered curriculum that is designed to supplement the CTS MS program. Fellows receive enhanced training in implementation science, learning health systems and embedded research, policy and program evaluation, and health equity within the VA context, and in VA specific data privacy and security standards and processes for institutional review board (IRB) approvals of human subject research.
Mentored Projects
Fellows will work on a research project with an experienced VA funded investigator. They will also generate an independent research question and research plan preparatory to writing a career development award, culminating in the completion of a proposal for submission of a Career Development Award (CDA) to the VHA Health Systems Research (HSR) Office.
Download the Fellowship Application (DOC 79 KB)
Program Administration Heading link
Saul J. Weiner, MD is professor of medicine, pediatrics and medical education. He served for 11 years as program director of the combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics. He has also served as senior associate dean of educational affairs in the college of medicine and as UIC vice provost for planning and programs. He is currently senior advisor to the provost. Dr. Weiner has an extensive research portfolio, currently with both RO1 and Merit funding. He continues to see patients and supervise residents in both the internal medicine and pediatrics ambulatory care clinics.
Contact Us Heading link
For additional information and assistance, please contact our program coordinator Milan Albakri-Micou, and/or program director Saul Weiner, MD.