My project has been to create a physician leadership program called Site Medical Director University (SMD-U) at AltaMed Health Services, the largest Independent Federally Qualified Health Center in the nation. With clinics throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties, our current leadership structure consists of a Chief Medical Officer, 3 Regional Medical Directors, and 15 Site Medical Directors (SMDs) that oversee each clinic. Thus, the SMDs are the functional leaders supervising over 250 Providers. I chose to focus on this group based on their crucial role in leadership, my own experiences as a former SMD, and the fact that SMD positions have the highest turnover of all providers in the organization.

In the past six years, 16 SMDs have left this position to either return to a non-leadership role in AltaMed or leave the company altogether. The reasons for leaving were a lack of time, proper training, and support.

SMD-U aims to provide current physician leaders an opportunity to grow in their positions as clinic leaders, build a sense of ownership and camaraderie, and provide practical leadership skills to support the most common daily issues. This CHIP aims to reduce SMD turnover while improving wellness, motivation, and work satisfaction through a sense of ownership, camaraderie, and leadership growth