The Surgical Leadership Program at Harvard Medical School (HMS) is designed for surgeons seeking to acquire the nontechnical, executive skills needed to step into leadership positions and excel as heads of departments, divisions, projects, and institutions.
You will learn directly from Harvard’s leading faculty across all areas influencing surgical leadership, including communication, mentoring, change management, process and quality improvement, financial management, and surgical research and technique.
Drawing from best practices across Harvard Medical School and its major teaching hospitals, as well as Harvard Business School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Harvard Kennedy School, this postgraduate certificate program offers you the opportunity to:
- Explore strategies and best practices for leadership within and outside the operating room
- Identify your personal brand, leadership style(s), and competencies
- Write compelling business plans and grant applications
- Enhance your expertise in quality, safety, and informatics
- Understand the legal and commercial aspects of innovation in surgery
- Build and manage highly productive teams
- Drive better patient outcomes through enhanced teamwork in the operating room
- Negotiate and advocate more effectively for your patients, teams, departments, and projects
- Manage change across organizational functions
- Update your understanding of new surgical technologies and techniques
Participants who achieve the program objectives are awarded a Harvard Medical School Certificate of Completion and are eligible to become Associate Members of the Harvard Medical School and Harvard University Alumni Associations.
Deadlines
- Early Application Deadline: January 14, 2026
- Application Deadline: April 1, 2026
Fees
- Early Deadline Program Fee: $19,500
- Program Fee: $20,500
- View Admissions & Fees for more information.
Program Format
This program has three required in-person workshops. You should expect to spend an average of 3-5 hours per week on coursework, viewing pre-recorded materials, attending live online lectures, reviewing sessions with faculty, and working on team assignments and your capstone.
In-Person Workshops
All three in-person workshops will be held at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.
Workshop 1:
- April 26-29, 2026 | Boston, MA
Workshop 2:
- October 13-16, 2026 | Boston, MA
Workshop 3 & Graduation: April 12–15, 2027 | Boston, MA
Program Objectives
Upon completion of the Surgical Leadership program participants will be able to:
- Facilitate transformational change and an organizational turnaround
- Apply tools and knowledge in quality, safety, and informatics to drive sustainable improvement
- Discuss data management in the context of health informatics
- Develop strategies to turn ideas into viable, scalable solutions that add value to health care systems
- Identify surgical mentors to address the technical, cultural, behavioral, and educational needs of trainees and foster their development as next-generation clinical and academic leaders
2025 Accreditation
Accreditation information for the 2026 course is not yet available.
In support of improving patient care, Harvard Medical School is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Physicians
The Harvard Medical School designates this enduring material for a maximum of 33.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Canadian Accreditation
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada recognizes conferences and workshops held outside of Canada that are developed by a university, academy, hospital, specialty society or college as accredited group learning activities.
European Accreditation
The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialties (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found on the European Union of Medical Specialties website.
