Program for Chairs of Clinical Services

The program’s overall objective is to develop participants’ leadership abilities and effectiveness. Program for Chairs of Clinical Services does this by providing increased understanding the critical leadership and management issues they face and key concepts and techniques that will drive their success.  

Innovative Case-Based Learning: Mastering Leadership Through the Case Method

The principal method of instruction in the program is the case method, a technique pioneered and refined at Harvard Business School. Most of the cases present actual problem situations familiar to chairs of clinical departments. Special case materials based on field studies of specific issues faced by service chairs have been and continue to be prepared by the faculty.

The case method confronts the participant with an actual management problem, halted at a point where decisions must be made, and forces the participant to choose a course of action. Participants go through a three-step study process. First, participants study each case independently. Participants then meet in small discussion groups to test their individual analyses against those of their peers. Finally, the entire class discusses the case, with the professor as catalyst and guide. The professor points out considerations the class has overlooked; elicits from participants the lessons of experience; pursues each line of investigation to its conclusion; and finally, summarizes the discussion and draws out the major lessons it has taught.

Assigned readings and guest lecturers supplement and augment the use of cases. In addition, an important part of the learning process occurs during the informal exchange of insights and experience among participants and faculty.

The program is designed for chairs of major clinical departments in teaching hospitals whose responsibilities require them to allocate resources, develop policies, make difficult decisions in times of great uncertainty, and provide leadership. Potential participants report directly to the CEO/Dean and include heads of major departments of medicine, surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, anesthesiology, pathology, and radiology. Participants will be selected with a view to ensuring an appropriate mix and balance in the class.  

Jeff Levin-Scherz (Program Director)

Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management

Current faculty, subject to change

Upon completion of this program, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Chan Advanced Learning Academy.

This program also contributes to the Senior Executive Leadership in Health Care Certificate of Specialization. While each program can be taken independently, completing multiple courses in our portfolio earns the Certificate of Specialization.

The priority application deadline is August 1, 2026.

Early application is encouraged. Qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis, and programs often fill early. We will continue to accept applications until the program reaches capacity. No payment is due at the time of application. Applicants who are admitted to the program are required to pay the program fee to reserve their place.

Please note: Because this is a full-time, residential program and because of the cumulative and interactive nature of the educational experience, applicants who are accepted must plan and agree to attend and participate in all sessions of the program.

How to Apply

For your convenience, you may review the list of application questions for the program. We advise applicants to prepare their answers in a word document and then cut and paste them into the online application in order to avoid losing their work in the unlikely event of technical difficulty. Once your answers have been prepared and you are ready to continue with the application process please click the “apply now” button. Thank you for your cooperation, we look forward to reviewing your application.