Meeting you where you are, taking you to new heights
After five years of training physician leaders, Doctors Nova Scotia (DNS) pressed pause on the PLDP and took some time to reassess. Lots of things had changed since 2018: the health system has faced innumerable challenges since then, and physician fatigue and burnout are more prevalent than ever. We wanted to ensure the PLDP could meet the changing needs of physicians. In late 2023 and early 2024, we worked with physicians, educators, the PLDP advisory committee and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), to reimagine the program while remaining true to its core leadership values. The result was a new and improved program that focuses on inclusive leadership, adapting to a constantly changing health-care system, and leading and influencing people, teams and decision-makers in today’s environment.
About the program
The Physician Leadership Development Program has been delivered in a virtual or hybrid environment for the past three cohorts. However, we’ve seen and heard the value of physician in-person connected, so Cohort 7 will be delivered fully in-person. In keeping with our mission of greater accessibility, in particular for leaners outside of Central Zone, the PLDP Cohort 7 modules will be held in each of the different zones depending on the module.
Program participants will collaborate on a physician learning project, working together to identify solutions to complex, realistic problems in collaboration with their colleagues and partner organizations (including Nova Scotia Health, IWK Health, Dalhousie Medical School and DNS). The project is an opportunity for participants to apply the skills they are learning within the program in a case study format.
Participants will:
- Practise and apply approaches to innovation and design thinking
- Learn to identify and apply different change methodologies in order to lead change effectively
- Gain coaching skills and benefit from results-driven, one-on-one faculty coaches
- Learn to effectively influence and navigate complex systems
- Learn to navigate the provincial health-care system/environment
- Gain relevant business skills, such as project management, finance, conflict resolution and marketing
- Identify and achieve individual leadership goals
- Increase team effectiveness
Investment and return
The PLDP costs $12,000 per physician participant; DNS covers $8,000 of that fee per physician, which leaves each physician responsible for covering the remaining $4,000 in program fees, plus any costs associated with travel to and accommodations in the Halifax area.
The PLDP is applicable for CPD funding. Additional professional development funding opportunities may be available to physicians. Applicants are encouraged to ask their employer, where applicable.
In return for this investment, participants will receive:
- An orientation session*
- Six in-person leadership training modules
- Six, one-hour individual coaching sessions over the course of the program
- Four group coaching sessions over the course of the program
- CPD credits
- Leadership certificate
*Participants must attend the orientation session and all six modules of the program.
Time commitment
The seventh session of the PLDP will run from September 2025 to May 2026.
| Module | Location and date |
| Orientation | Central zone (DNS office) – Sept. 19, 2025 |
| Module 1 | Western zone – Oct. 31 & Nov. 1, 2025 |
| Module 2 | Central zone (DNS office) – Nov. 28 & 29, 2025 |
| Module 3 | Northern zone – Jan. 23 & 24, 2025 |
| Module 4 | Central zone (DNS office) – Feb. 20 & 21, 2026 |
| Module 5 | Eastern zone – March 27-28, 2026 |
| Module 6 – Graduation | TBD – April 17 & 18, 2026 or (storm date) May 1 & 2, 2026 |
In addition to the six modules and the orientation sessions, participants will also:
- Complete a 360-degree leadership assessment (prior to Module 1)
- Participate in a physician learning project that requires two to five hours of work between modules
