Outcomes of a Clinical Leadership Training Program Amongst Hospital Doctors

Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of formal leadership training amongst medical trainees and to review the current literature in this area. Methods A literature review of all PubMed cited articles on Physician Leadership from November 2015 to July 2017 was undertaken. Twenty exemplary articles on physician leadership were identified. Fifteen out of 20 were surveys, several of which included a qualitative component, Two out of 20 were cross-sectional analysis and 3/20 involved structured interviews. Overall findings showed that, formalised teaching of leadership tools is associated with improvements in emotional intelligence, self-confidence, and enhanced relationships with colleagues. In addition, having undergone such training, Doctors had an increased ability to manage conflict, conduct meetings and direct groups. The Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor (NCHD) Committee in The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) identified a need for additional leadership and managerial training to support their current role within the Health Service Executive (HSE). The committee devised an educational lecture series in collaboration with leaders in healthcare, business and management. Verbal and written feedback was collected in the form of an end of course survey and attendance was documented. Results Twenty-five NCHDs attended the Clinical Leadership Programme in MMUH. Fifty-two percent (52%) attended all 5 lectures. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of attendees were male and 72% were female. Eighty percent (80%) were basic specialist trainees or interns and 20% were registrars or higher medical trainees. All participants found the leadership course to be a positive learning experience and reported improvements in leadership skills, management, business planning, career development and quality improvement. Eighty-four percent (84%) were interested in furthering their study in clinical leadership. Ninety-two percent (92%) of participants noted an improvement in hospital wide morale amongst NCHDs following the course. Discussion This series could be replicated in other hospitals throughout the HSE and represents one solution to deliver clinical leadership and management training to NCHDs