Medical management: reflecting on some ripples in the pond

Using current research into the management training of doctors in the UK, looks at some of the personal rather than just the organizational issues which arise from the development of doctors as managers. The variety of interpretations of the role raises a number of questions, some of which are highlighted: for example, the status of the management activity for doctors; the option of professional retreat from, or isolation in, difficult managerial roles; part-time management; disempowerment of other professionals; re-entry needs to full-time professional clinical work; women doctors as managers and the double- or even triple-glazed ceilings which they face. Some positive trends are evident, e.g. the impact of successful female chief executives as role models, the impact of training, but no one solution has emerged and this trend itself is seen as encouraging, given the context of a complex and ever changing environment.