Leadership Development for Future Medical School Deans: Outcomes of the AAMC Council of Deans Fellowship Program

Purpose To determine the outcomes of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Council of Deans (COD) Fellowship Program with respect to participants' achieving the goals of becoming a medical school dean and developing leadership skills, and to ascertain fellows' views about the program's value, beneficial aspects, and areas for improvement. Method The 37 COD fellows from 2002 to 2016 were invited to participate in a 2017 survey addressing demographics, training, current leadership position, and value of the program. The survey also included 3 open-ended questions. A 2018 web-based search was conducted to determine fellows' senior leadership roles since their program participation. Results The survey response rate was 73% (27/37). The majority of respondents were male (82%, 22), aged 51-70 (89%, 25), and white (82%, 22). The top 5 medical specialties reported were internal medicine, pediatrics, anesthesiology, psychiatry, and surgery. Most respondents (63%, 17) reported having a graduate degree. All reported being in leadership positions in academia and/or health care. The web-based search found that 27% (10/37) of the fellows became medical school deans (average tenure 5.6 years); 2 fellows became deans of other types of schools. Overall, survey respondents perceived the program as valuable. Respondents identified shadowing a dean mentor, attending COD meetings, and attending the AAMC Executive Development Seminar for Deans as the most valuable program components. The majority (88%, 23/26) indicated their fellow experience persuaded them to pursue being a dean; 2 (8%) indicated it did not. Respondents identified 4 key opportunities for program improvement: more sponsorship by deans, development of a learning community, enhanced mentoring, and coaching. Conclusions The COD Fellowship Program appears to be successful in preparing senior faculty to become deans and assume other senior leadership roles in academia and/or health care. Fellows' feedback will be used to inform future revisions to the program.