The 2016–2017 ASCO Leadership Development Program recently welcomed 16 new participants to its ranks. The Leadership Development Program is a yearlong program designed to shape future leaders by teaching them valuable leadership skills and providing them with networking and mentorship opportunities with ASCO leaders.
The Leadership Development Program welcomes mid-career professionals who participate in sessions that include interpersonal effectiveness and teamwork, media communication, and conflict management. By harnessing these skills, ASCO hopes the participants can become effective leaders in their own institutions and in oncology associations and national organizations such as ASCO.
As part of the program, Leadership Development Program participants are given projects to work on as teams. The 2016–2017 class has been assigned projects that explore various engagement-related issues and challenge them to develop solutions that address these issues. This year’s projects follow:
Increasing Diversity of ASCO Membership and Volunteers
Leadership Development Program participants are developing a plan for increasing the diversity of ASCO members and volunteers. The project aims to boost engagement and participation among underrepresented populations in medicine, and to increase the representation of underrepresented members on Society committees and in leadership positions.
Mentor: Lori Pierce, MD, FASCO, University of Michigan Health System
Participants: Neelima Denduluri, MD, US Oncology; Rachel Freedman, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Rodney Rocconi, MD, University of South Alabama; Tiffany Traina, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Mentorship
Various members of ASCO departments and committees have noticed a growing desire among ASCO members for mentorship and have suggested that ASCO develop formal mentorship programs. The Leadership Development Program participants are investigating how best to create a mentorship program that takes advantage of ASCO’s talented members and meets the highest standards.
Mentor: Lillian Siu, MD, FASCO, Princess Margaret Cancer Center
Participants: Julie Bauman, MD, MPH, University of Arizona; Robert Canter, MD, FACS, University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center; Gilberto de Lima Lopes Jr., MD, MBA, University of Miami; Glen Weiss, MD, MBA, Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Awareness of ASCO Offerings
Many ASCO members are actively involved with the Society’s events and committees; however, the growth of the number of full members has been static in recent years. The Society has asked its Leadership Development Program participants to develop a plan to engage its broader membership about all the benefits of membership and ways to be actively involved in the Society.
2016–2017 Leadership Development Program class.
Mentor: Mark Kris, MD, FASCO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Participants: Manmeet Ahluwalia, MD, FACP, Cleveland Clinic; Bradley McGregor, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Sumanta Pal, MD, City of Hope; Eddy S. Yang, MD, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Engaging Oncology Practices
ASCO recognizes the growing importance of engaging oncology practices, which are playing an increasingly key role in the changing health-care landscape. ASCO has already begun to partner with practices through its policy work and programs such as CancerLinQTM; however, it has asked its Leadership Development Program participants to develop a strategy to better engage practices without losing sight of individual members.
Mentor: John Cox, DO, MBA, FACP, FASCO, Parkland Health System/University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Participants: Suzanne Cole, MD, FACP, Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City; Leora Horn, MD, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center; Benjamin Levy, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital; Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center
Learn more about ASCO’s Leadership Development Program at www.asco.org/leadership. ■
© 2017. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
