Washington, Sep 25 (IANS) The largest ethnic organisation of Indian-American physicians has launched a new initiative, a Leadership Retreat to educate, train and enhance the leadership qualities of its members in collaboration with the Yale University.

Topics at the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI)'s retreat at Yale's New Haven, Connecticut, campus last week included team building, strategic planning and project management, according to an AAPI media release.

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis and leadership with the mental models and behaviours of abundance and scarcity, and delegation were among other topics,

There was also a "special discussion on relevance and reference to AAPI as it surges into a rapidly expanding role in the future," according to Dr Ravi Jahagirdar, , who became President of AAPI in June this year.

Dr. Seema Jain, AAPI President-Elect, believes in "bridging the gap between clinical research and medical practice, which is central to AAPI's mission."

"The Training at Yale was yet another way of providing opportunities for its members to grow and empower, especially for women leaders, who will guide AAPI to new heights," she said.

"Yale leadership programme was very well attended and was very informative," according to Dr. Ajay Lodha, Vice President of AAPI.

"There were a lot of interactive discussions which led to new innovative ideas to improve the organization, including on ways to increase the revenue and to control the expenses," he said.

"Today's Young Physicians are able to use the values of both our Indian and American cultures to truly change the world of healthcare practice," stated Dr. Kusum Punjabi, president AAPI Young Physicians Section (YPS).

The most significant outcome of the course, according to her was that the YPS board got to network, interact and work closely with other AAPI leaders from around the country.