Leadership education and development at the Uniformed Services University.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The mission of the Uniformed Services University (USU) is to train, educate, and prepare uniformed services health professionals, officers, and leaders to directly support the Military Health System (MHS), the National Security, and National Defense Strategies of the United States and the readiness of our Armed Forces. USU’s commitment to this mission has not wavered since the school was founded in 1972. When the legislation that established USU was drafted, USU’s supporters in Congress envisioned that its graduates would form the backbone of the MHS. In this way, it was anticipated that USU would serve for the MHS what the Service academies— the U. S. Military Academy, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, and the Coast Guard Academy—played for the nonmedical line. Today, 42 years after USU opened its doors, its 5,000-plus alumni have validated this vision. Over this time span, USU has contributed greatly to the MHS, with growing numbers of physician, nurse, and allied health alumni rising to key roles. Recognizing the Department of Defense’s (DoD) growing interest in leadership training, USU’s faculty and administration recently examined the content, quality, and impact of the training we provide our students to prepare them for the challenges the MHS will face. As we undertook this critical work through a task force charged with adapting and refining the USU Strategic Framework, we asked ourselves how well USU fosters six core leadership attributes required of future military leaders: (1) understand the environment and the effect of all instruments of national power; (2) anticipate and adapt to surprise and uncertainty; (3) recognize change and lead transitions; (4) operate on intent through trust, empowerment, and understanding; (5) make ethical decisions based on the shared values of the medical, nursing, and dental professions balanced with the Profession of Arms; and (6) think critically and strategically in applying health services support to joint warfighting principles and concepts in joint operations. In this manuscript, we describe USU’s approach to leadership development. Our program of instruction and experiential learning is designed to meet the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey’s challenge of providing skilled leaders to the MHS to support the mission(s) of the DoD. THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE