TSF Alley-Sheridan Scholarship

Medical innovation doesn’t always happen in a lab. Sometimes it happens in an unexpected place, like an unassuming red barn in rural New York.

It was there in 1955 that David Sheridan developed the bubble principle that revolutionized how catheters, cannulae and tubes are used in operative procedures and patient care. While the bubble principle was one of Mr. Sheridan’s most significant inventions, it was not his only one. In fact, he held or shared more than 50 patents for innovations that greatly improved medical care throughout his lifetime.

Fortunately, Mr. Sheridan collaborated with others throughout his life. Dr. Ralph D. Alley, former head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Albany Medical Center, was one of them. Moved by his collaborator and friend’s commitment to thoracic surgery, Dave Sheridan donated $1 million to The Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF) to establish the Alley-Sheridan Fund. Over the past 25 years this fund has supported over 310 thoracic surgeons through scholarships to the Leadership and Health Policy Programs both at the Kennedy School and Brandeis University.

Brandeis University – The Heller School for Social Policy and Management Leadership Program in Health Policy and Management Course

TSF is pleased to announce the availability of scholarships to attend the Leadership Program in Health Policy and Management at the Heller School of Public Policy and Management at Brandeis University, scheduled for June 4-10, 2023 (in-person program).

TSF will provide up to 10 partial scholarships of $2,500 toward the $5,400 cost of the course. (The TSF Scholarship covers $2,500 and the scholarship recipient is responsible for the remaining $2,900).

Attendees will be responsible for their own travel and hotel expenses. If you would like to be considered for an Alley-Sheridan Scholarship to attend this outstanding course please apply online by April 08, 2023. The following are the materials requested:

1. Your Curriculum Vitae
2. One (1) letter of recommendation

Materials may be submitted online by clicking here.

Application Open: 02/14/23
Application Deadline : 04/08/23 

Program Overview

This intensive one-week program equips health leaders with the knowledge and skills essential for:

  • creating innovative and sustainable solutions to improve the quality, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency of health care service delivery, and
  • participating in health care policy and reform.

The program includes sessions offering the latest in national and state health policy along with business theories and frameworks adapted to the challenges of health care management. Program curriculum and content is developed under the guidance of Jon Chilingerian, PhD, program director and faculty, the Heller School, and Stuart Altman, PhD, former dean of the Heller School and Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy, and draws on the unique strengths of the Heller School and the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy.

Sample Program Topics

  • U.S. Health Policy: Economics and Financing
  • Individual and Group Decision Making
  • Managing Clinics and the Care Process
  • Effective Leadership Styles
  • Managing Change in Complex Systems
  • Conflict Negotiation
  • Financial Literacy for Physician Leaders

Curriculum

The curriculum is based upon the case method of adult learning, as modeled in the training of clinical and business professionals alike. There will be in-class simulations, group work, and class discussions. The program consists of several modules woven together and applied toward the participant’s institutional, professional, and personal goals. The modules build upon each other encompassing the themes of health policy and management and application of frameworks.

A unique feature of this program is that in addition to lecture, discussions and case analysis, the program can include an action-learning component post-workshop. If they so wish, participants will identify a strategic issue to work on once they return to their home institutions, and report on it to the group by means of a Brandeis facilitated electronic exchange of materials. During this time, they will have access to core faculty designated to guide them through this process.

Who Should Participate

Enrollment in this program will be limited to ensure a quality learning experience, one in which participants learn from close contact with faculty and each other. Providers of health care with substantial experience in the health care system will benefit most from this program. Every practitioner has already learned much about health care policy and management by virtue of delivering care within this system; this program will help solidify and crystallize these learnings, and enable participants to be effective change agents in these crucial areas.

Eligibility: The applicant must be a cardiothoracic surgeon who has completed a program leading to certification by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery or its equivalent in a country outside of the United States.

Alley-Sheridan Scholarship Recipients