Session 1: Developing Advancement Skills Via Medical Improvisation
The Medical College of Wisconsin is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Medical College of Wisconsin maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
This activity contains content or processes that may be potentially stressful.
Target Audience
- Physicians
- Nurse Practitioners
- Physician Assistants
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Psychiatry Residents
- Medical Students
- Allied Health Professionals
Learning Objectives
- Describe the importance of spontaneity and improvisational ability in medicine, psychotherapy, pharmacy, and other health-related fields.
- Identify and explain Fu’s (2019) classification of medical improvisation’s goals and core skills into three categories: (a) Attunement (knowledge of self and others), (b) Affirmation (validation of self and others), and (c) Advancement (enrichment of self and others).
- Analyze research demonstrating the importance of practitioner advancement skills, focusing on the ability to modulate nonverbal cues (e.g., paralinguistic variety, facial expressiveness) to increase message impact and educational effectiveness.
- Demonstrate advancement skills via medical improvisation techniques (e.g., modulation of vocal pitch, volume, speech rate, emphatic accentuation).
Monday:
- What is medical improvisation? Definitions
- The critical role of spontaneous adaptability in health care
- Overview of Fu’s (2019) classification of the goals and benefits of medical improvisation
- Literature documenting the critical role of provider-patient communication in improving outcomes and increasing patient satisfaction
- Evidence for the effectiveness of practitioner advancement skills, focusing on nonverbal expressiveness (e.g., paralinguistic variety, modulation of volume, gestural fluency)
- Basic principles of medical improvisation
- Warm-up exercises
Tuesday:
- Advancement Skills 1
Wednesday:
- Advancement Skills 2
Thursday:
- Advancement Skills 3
Friday:
- Summary and conclusions
- Wrap-up exercises

Travel
Lodging in July and August is in great demand; you must make reservations early. A block of suites has been set aside at the Landmark Resort. These suites will be held until June 6th, 2025, or until they are filled.
From its site on the bluff, the Landmark offers outstanding views of the waters of Green Bay with 294 units comprised of 1, 2, and 3-bedroom suites. Facilities include the Carrington Pub and Grill, 1 indoor and 3 outdoor pools, 2 tennis courts, whirlpools, steam rooms, and a fitness center and game room. The Landmark Resort is Door County’s largest and best full-service facility.
The Landmark Resort
4929 Landmark Drive
Egg Harbor, Wisconsin 54209
Reservations: (800) 273-7877
http://www.thelandmarkresort.com
To book through our discounted group rate, please call the Landmark reservation line at (800) 273-7877 and state that you are attending the Door County Summer Institute. No group code is required.
Group rates cannot be booked online.
Frederick J. Heide, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was a member of the core faculty for 37 years and won both the Master Teacher and Teacher of the Year Awards. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 and has co-presented with Lee Becker at MCW’s Door County Summer Institute for 26 continuous seasons. Dr. Heide received the Outstanding Research Contribution Award from the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT) for his foundational work on relaxation-induced anxiety and has published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychophysiology, Mindfulness, Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Behavior Research and Therapy, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, and elsewhere. He also served as associate editor of the APA Journal PsycCRITIQUES. Dr. Heide co-founded and has performed for five decades with Northern Sky Theater, which has received the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for Arts, Culture, and Heritage. During the 2024-2025 season at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, he performed in the musical comedy Lumberjacks in Love. Dr. Heide has co-authored two dozen shows including Belgians in Heaven, Hell’s Belgians, and Packer Fans from Outer Space (with Lee Becker and James Kaplan) and the deer-hunting musical Guys & Does (with Lee Becker and Paul Libman). He has also recorded three albums and published a book of 55 original songs (2022’s Tangled in Wonder). Dr. Heide studied improvisation with The Second City’s founding director Paul Sills and created several shows with him, including Moon of the Long Nights and Ya Ya You Betcha. In 2023 he received the Winifred Boynton Creative Spirit Award for his significant and enduring contributions to Door County.
Lee Becker began improvising over 35 years ago with ComedySportz while attending UW Madison. He helped found ComedySportz NYC, and worked with the group in Milwaukee, performing and running workshops in all three locations. He is a core member of Northern Sky Theater where he is a performer, musician, and playwright. Lee was a founding member of Door Shakespeare in Door County, WI, and has also performed and written for First Stage Children’s Theater in Milwaukee. Along with Doc Heide, he has been a workshop facilitator for DCSI for over 20 years, providing trainings using role play and Spolin theater games. He has done similar work as a guest teacher at Alliant University’s CA School of Professional Psychology.
Activity Director:
Carlyle H Chan, MD
Professor of Psychiatry and
the Institute for Health and Equity-Bioethics and Humanities
Medical College of Wisconsin
Planning Committee Members:
Ellen Leitner, MSW, LCSW
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
Kevin Bozymski, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Science
Medical College of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
Kylie Lenz, PA-C
Physician Assistant
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
Heather M. Smith, PhD, ABPP
Lead Psychologist
Director of Psychology Training
Milwaukee VA Medical Center
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
Marisa Stich, APNP
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
In accordance with the ACCME® Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, Standard 3, all in control of content must disclose any relevant financial relationships. The following in control of content had no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
- Carlyle H Chan
- Ellen Leitner
- Kevin Bozymski
- Kylie Lenz
- Heather M. Smith
- Marisa Stich
- Fred Heide
- Lee Becker
Accreditation Statement:
The Medical College of Wisconsin is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Designation of Credit Statement
The Medical College of Wisconsin designates this live activity for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Hours of Participation for Allied Health Professionals
The Medical College of Wisconsin designates activity for up to 15 hours of participation for continuing education for allied health professionals.
National Association of Social Workers Credit Statement
This program is pending approval by the National Association of Social Workers for continuing education contact hours.
American Association of Nurse Practitioners Credit Statement
The Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc. is approved as a provider of nurse practitioner continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners: AANP Provider Number 150930. This program has been approved for 15 contact hours of continuing education (which includes 0 pharmacology).
American Academy of Physician Assistants Credit Statement
This program is not yet approved for CME credit. Conference organizers plan to apply for 15 AAPA Category 1 CME credits from the AAPA Review Panel. The total number of approved credits is yet to be determined.
Available Credit
- 15.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
- 15.00 APAAPA credit.
- 15.00 Hours of ParticipationHours of Participation credit.
- 15.00 NASW
- 15.00 NP Contact Hours
- 15.00 PAPA credit.
Price
*All registrations will be assessed $27.00 non-refundable processing fee, per session.
Credit MUST be claimed before November 30, 2025.
We highly encourage you to complete the evaluation and credit steps before leaving on your last day!
Early Bird! Tuition for 5-day sessions will be reduced to $695 and $375 for 2-day sessions, if received by June 1, 2025. Tuition for 5-day sessions (3 hrs/day) is $745. Tuition for 2-day sessions (4 hrs/day) is $395. Graduate and medical students and resident physicians will have a discounted rate, so please contact Caimen at [email protected] to inquire about this discount.
To receive a refund, the request must be made 15 days before the requested session begins. If the refund request is received less than 15 days before the session begins, the registration fee will be forfeited. There is also a $50 cancellation fee, should the request be received within the allotted window. Each session is also charged a non-refundable $27 processing fee.
5-Day Sessions | |
EARLY BIRD PRICING | PRICING AFTER JUNE 1st |
$695 | $745 |
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