Collaborating internationally on physician leadership education: first steps

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Leadership Development
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Traditional medical education often lacks essential leadership training for physicians.
• Physicians face increasing demands for leadership activities in their professional roles.
• A gap exists in current postgraduate medical curricula regarding leadership competencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To share key learnings from the development of a globally relevant leadership curriculum for physicians.
• To outline the process and outcomes of an international collaboration on physician leadership education.
• To inform future curriculum development in postgraduate medical leadership training.

Main Methods:

• An international summit (TISLEP) convened stakeholders from eight countries to develop leadership competencies.
• Working groups utilized the CanMEDS Competency Framework, learner development stage, and learning venue as a scaffold.
• Emotional intelligence was used as a pilot topic to assess international collaboration feasibility.

Main Results:

• Dedicated international stakeholders successfully developed a globally relevant, competency-based curriculum for physician leadership.
• Eleven principles for physician leadership curriculum development were recommended.
• Establishing an international network is crucial for implementation, evaluation, and dissemination.

Conclusions:

• International collaboration can effectively create a competency-based leadership curriculum for physicians.
• A common language and taxonomy are essential for harmonized curriculum development.
• An international network is vital for the sustainability and widespread adoption of physician leadership education.