Program Overview

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.

Participants 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. 

Dr. Sayeed Malek explains the Surgical Leadership Program.

Program Director Dr. Sayeed Malek and Co-Director Dr. Fiona Myint share an overview

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  • Program Objectives

    Upon completion of the Surgical Leadership program participants will be able to:

    1. Facilitate transformational change and an organizational turnaround
    2. Apply tools and knowledge in quality, safety and informatics to drive sustainable improvement
    3. Discuss data management in the context of health informatics
    4. Develop strategies to turn ideas into viable, scalable solutions that add value to health care systems
    5. 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

  • Accreditation

    The Harvard Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

    The Harvard Medical School designates this enduring material for a maximum of 30 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

    Credits can be claimed only for the on-demand video portion of the program. 

Workshop Dates

Harvard Medical School is monitoring the ongoing conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to work with learners to ensure that you safely and successfully complete your program while we deliver a transformational HMS learning experience. The next program's first workshop will commence with in-person workshops in Boston. Workshops are on the following dates: 

Workshop 1: 

  • March 18-21, 2023 | Boston, MA 

Workshop 2:

  • October 13-16, 2023 | Boston, MA

Workshop 3 & Graduation:

  • March 4–7, 2024 | Boston, MA
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