Physician Leadership Scholarship

Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a temporary freeze on receiving/approving any requests for in-person training or conferences to the Physician Leadership Scholarship effective immediately up to the end of July. Requests for online courses are still being accepted. Click here to learn more.

Purpose

To support specialists in the development of their leadership and quality improvement skills.

Sizing it Up

The Specialist Services Committee supports specialists with their leadership and quality improvement skills development. Each year the SSC, in partnership with the Shared Care Committee contributes funding towards leadership training scholarships to cover tuition and travel costs for interested physicians.

Things to Know

SSC scholarship funding is available for physicians as certificants or fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada who are actively and independently practicing in BC. Funding is provided for participation in programs with a core and primary focus on leadership or quality improvement, offered by recognized academic institutions, professional bodies and/or quality improvement organizations, with preference given to programs reflecting Canadian context where available. As part of the scholarship funding, physicians will be expected to participate in a SSC scholarship program evaluation. Endorsement is required from the Health Authority before the SSC sub-committee can approve it. Physicians should apply for scholarship funding before taking the course or conference.

Please note that further to the health authority endorsement, each application is also assessed by the SSC review panel against the scholarship criteria. Some applications may end up being rejected as a result.

Not funded:

As of April 1, 2020, retroactive applications are no longer accepted
Clinically-focused events or conferences covered through CME
Time/compensation for attendance
Reimbursement to organizations that hold or develop custom courses
Residents and physicians completing a fellowship in BC do not qualify for funding at this time.
Courses where funding responsibility rests elsewhere, regardless of whether funding for those activities is considered inadequate. Examples include:
- Courses relating to Clinical Services Transformation (CST for VCH, Providence, PHSA) or i-Health (VIHA) for physicians in health authority leadership positions tasked to lead and implement these initiatives (i.e., Cerner)
- Courses related to Just Culture and other organizational-focused training (e.g. Saegis courses)
- Courses relating to teaching in a university setting, for either medical students or residents. Physicians may approach UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Faculty Development department, to enquire about resources or supports here: https://facdev.med.ubc.ca/ and here: https://www.med.ubc.ca/person/kiran-veerapen/
- Courses that are research-focused. Physicians may approach UBC Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to enquire about resources or supports here: https://ubccpd.ca/
Physician multi-source feedback activities (360s) are not considered within scope of the scholarship.

The Shared Care Committee provides funding for General Practitioners

How to Apply

Interested physicians should download the application form then submit to the Vice President of Medicine at their respective health authority for endorsement and signature.
- Individual physician application form can be downloaded HERE
- Groups of physicians from the same health authority who are attending the same activity can download and complete a group application HERE
Endorsed and completed applications are submitted to the JCC Leadership admin team for SSC sub-committee for approval.

Money Matters

Maximum funding of up to $10,000 per physician each fiscal year (April 1 - March 31) can be applied for to cover actual tuition fees and travel costs. Only one claim can be made per course, even if the course spans across multiple fiscal years. Submission of itemized receipts and proof of completion will be required for reimbursement.