Leadership Development in Postgraduate Medical Education: A Systematic Review of the Literature

To evaluate and interpret evidence relevant to leadership curricula in postgraduate medical education (PGME) to better understand leadership development in residency training.

The authors conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed, English-language articles from four databases published between 1980 and May 2, 2017 that describe specific interventions aimed at leadership development. They characterized the educational setting, curricular format, learner level, instructor type, pedagogical methods, conceptual leadership framework (including intervention domain), and evaluation outcomes. They used Kirkpatrick effectiveness scores and Best Evidence in Medical Education (BEME) Quality of Evidence scores to assess the quality of the interventions.

Twenty-one articles met inclusion criteria. The classroom setting was the most common educational setting (described in 17 articles). Most curricula (described in 13 articles) were isolated, with all curricula ranging from three hours to five years. The most common instructor type was clinical faculty (13 articles). The most commonly used pedagogical method was small group/discussion, followed by didactic teaching (described in, respectively, 15 and 14 articles). Study authors evaluated both pre/post surveys of participant perceptions (n = 7) and just postintervention surveys (n = 10). The average Kirkpatrick Effectiveness score was 1.0. The average BEME Quality of Evidence score was 2.

The results revealed that interventions for developing leadership during PGME lack grounding conceptual leadership frameworks, provide poor evaluation outcomes, and focus primarily on cognitive leadership domains. Medical educators should design future leadership interventions grounded in established conceptual frameworks and pursue a comprehensive approach that includes character development and emotional intelligence.