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We are increasingly realising that being a physician is to lead. Early in our careers we are managing and directing teams and it is not until later with seniority in the job that the span of leadership becomes more prevalent. Not only are we regarded as senior physicians and decision makers, but our job titles also carry a certain responsibility when it comes to directing teams and being mentors to younger professionals. More importantly, there is evidence proving that leadership and management skills positively influence the patient and healthcare organisational outcomes. The essential nature of possessing medical leadership skills has further been underlined by the General Medical Council (GMC) and UK Medical Royal Colleges, acknowledging this is a core competency. It is clear that the majority of doctors have leadership responsibilities throughout their career, however this is not taught nor addressed in the undergraduate and postgraduate training in a meaningful way. Some healthcare professionals are promoted to leadership positions due to their clinical expertise without possessing management competencies. However, being an effective leader requires one to start developing these skills at an early stage during training.  The pandemic has meant that leaders were facing challenges of a different nature to […]

As evidenced by the pandemic, medical leadership has never been more important. Successful healthcare organisations are defined by their highly qualified leaders who have the knowledge and understanding of applying different leadership styles to support patient care, in order to get the best outcomes. Effective leadership in healthcare settings influences the organisational performance, patient care and finances. Hospitals which identify and address this deliver higher quality care and have better clinical outcomes with lower mortality. Doctors are considered as natural leaders due to the position they hold within clinical teams and therefore accountability for patient care and welfare, whilst the more overarching and organisational leadership roles are for the managers. This has encouraged the culture of “us” and “them” with physicians focusing on patient care and managers focusing on business performance. The potential risk with this model is developing a culture in healthcare organisations that is centred around targets and finances rather than quality and safety. Interestingly, hospitals with higher quality care are those that have a larger proportion of medically qualified managers.  Medical leadership and management is defined as the engagement of doctors in the matters concerning individual patient care, the day to day workings within a department and the […]

The media has repeatedly reminded us of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers. Challenges have been fear of personal safety due to lack of supplies, managing an unprecedented surge in patient volume, redeployment to unfamiliar departments and working in new teams. However, there has not been much mention on how this pandemic has influenced medical leadership and its effects on leadership in the future. The pandemic has emphasised weaknesses within hospitals, such as safety and communication errors which have increased significantly since the start of this health crisis.  Certain components have been identified that can transform a healthcare organisation. In order to eliminate medical errors, there must be alignment across these following components: 1 – Culture of safety Going forward, leaders have to possess the necessary skills to create a shift in the organisational thinking. The working environment has to focus on respect and transparency. Team members must be able to easily identify unsafe conditions and feel confident enough to report them.  2 – Holistic, continuous improvement process Healthcare leaders should assess the risks and inefficiencies in a healthcare organisation as a whole, so that priorities can be made to address areas that need more urgent attention. […]

The global disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the effects of the increasing demand on healthcare systems as well as highlighting both abilities and areas requiring additional coordination and development...