Leadership for Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (L-PAHC): Establishing a Leadership Conference Curriculum

Psychologists have unique and valuable skill sets that are increasingly recognized and desired for leadership positions within academic health centers (AHCs; Kirch and Ast, in J Clin Psychol Med Settings 24:86-91, 2017). Despite this trend, there are not many specialized leadership training opportunities for psychologists employed at AHCs. The Leadership for Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (L-PAHC) Conference was conceptualized and implemented as a virtual conference offering to address this professional development need. This paper details the conference overview, target audience, content, and speakers, scheduling and implementation, and evaluation and feedback from the inaugural L-PAHC Virtual Conference. The conference was well attended (n = 97), with a range of career stages represented (41% early, 45% mid-career, 14% late career). Attendees included APAHC members (76.3%) and non-members, most of whom were already serving in leadership roles (86%). Interactive conference engagement was high, and feedback was generally positive and indicative of attainment of conference training goals (M = 4.85 of possible 5; SD = 0.36). All respondents recommended that L-PAHC should be held again and most reported that they would return. The L-PAHC Conference was well received and highly rated for addressing leadership training needs for psychologists in AHCs. Specific feedback and recommendations for future leadership training are provided.