Guest Blog: Introducing RIPPLE, FPS’ Brand-New Leadership Program for Chief Residents

As part of PRMS’ ongoing commitment to behavioral health, we are pleased to feature Florida Psychiatric Society’s (FPS) Kendra Adams, Executive Director, and Yasmin Khan-Hohensee, MBA, MSW, Assistant Director, as guest bloggers this month to share more information about the new FPS leadership program for Chief Residents, RIPPLE. 

In addition to impacting performance, Chief Residents serve as role models, impacting the attitudes, behavior, and organizational culture through almost every interaction they have with their peers and others.  

With the support and facilitation of one of our incredible members, Dr. Daniel Castellanos of the Florida International University (FIU), FPS welcomed our inaugural leadership training program specifically for psychiatric Chief Residents. RIPPLE, short for “Residents in Psychiatry Programs: Leadership Experience,” is designed to equip Chief Residents with tools and experiences to help them succeed in leadership positions and as psychiatrists. The first session kicked off in mid-June.  

Over the course of three sessions, Chief Residents will participate in engaging small group exercises and modules via both in-person and video conferencing formats (with consideration given to safe pandemic practices) that will allow participants to learn from psychiatry Chief Residents across Florida, as well as a diverse group of faculty members. Faculty members include Daniel Castellanos, MD (RIPPLE Program Director), Omair Abbasi, MD, Ludmilla Barbosa deFaria, MD, Carolyn Drazinic, MD, PhD, MBA, and Audrey La Noce, DO.  

Under the leadership and support of these skilled faculty members who represent a diverse area of backgrounds and scopes of practice, it is our goal and expectation that Chief Residents graduate from the program with the following: 

• A certification of their leadership credentials. 
• Foundational skills for creating effective and lasting impact in their leadership role. 
• Hands-on practice for identifying challenges and creating development plans. 
• Opportunities to network with mentors and peers from other residency programs. 
• An understanding of the framework of the Florida Psychiatric Society. 

Daniel Castellanos, MD, who serves as Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, in addition to being past president of FPS said: 

“Psychiatry involves leadership. We know nearly all physicians take on significant leadership responsibilities over the course of their career, but unlike other professions where leadership and management skills are important, physicians are rarely taught how to lead, nor are they typically rewarded for good leadership.  

Over the past 10 years we have witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of psychiatric residency programs in the state of Florida. RIPPLE, Residents in Psychiatric Programs: Leadership Experience, was designed to specifically assist Psychiatry Chief Residents in developing their leadership skills. Chief residents oversee more junior residents, as well as lead teams of other clinicians, typically with minimal or no formal training or experience in how to manage teams.  

I am excited we have been able to launch this program. RIPPLE is more than helping Chiefs develop management and leadership careers, but it helps reinforce that to be a physician is to lead. Sponsored by the Florida Psychiatric Society in conjunction with FIU, RIPPLE is unique in focusing on leadership skills AND perspectives specific to the field of psychiatry within the state of Florida.”  

During the first session, participants first gathered via Zoom in conjunction with the FPS Leadership Retreat and Board Orientation, where they had the opportunity to meet the officers and leaders of FPS and become familiarized with the vision and mission of our organization and how it operates. The participants then focused more specifically on their leadership and communication styles, using the PACE® Palette – a personality assessment tool to help identify personality types and how one’s personality guides one’s leadership style.  

Like a stone thrown into the water, what leaders do has a ripple effect that extends beyond those immediately around them. It is our goal for the Chief Residents in our program to feel empowered and motivated to cultivate positive change within their own networks of patients and colleagues. We cannot wait to share feedback from Session 2 and Session 3 later this fall.  

Special thanks to Professional Risk Management Services for providing additional resources to our Chief Residents and for their ongoing support throughout all of FPS’ initiatives.  

Please find additional information about RIPPLE on the FPS website here. 

To learn more about the superior psychiatry-specific insurance program and comprehensive services offered by PRMS, click here.