Insights
Leadership development in undergraduate education Andrew Sayampanathan and Tan Yeong Tze Wilnard Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
T
o manage the progressive complexities of our health care system, our health care community needs to ensure a constant pipeline of strong leaders. After all, a key trait of successful organisations is their ability to embrace change and deal with complexities. After studying 160 companies from 40 varied industries, Joyce et al. observed that businesses with performance-oriented cultures and fast, flexible structures outperformed competitors over a 10-year period.1
Consequently, a potential way forward for health care is to focus on designing flexible systems. For flexible systems to function, leadership must exist at all levels of the system. It is an equal and shared responsibility of every health care worker, regardless of duty, rank or seniority. Morison and McMullan put forward the idea that leadership development is essentially an educational matter; thus, having educational programmes on leadership is imperative for grooming effective future leaders.2 Running such programmes at the undergraduate level will give students time to
discover their inherent leadership qualities, motivating students to eventually become health care leaders. Tim Swanwick et al. discuss leadership development as not just the responsibility of medical schools, but of the entire health care system.3 They stress the importance of embedding leadership development within work-based environments, actively engaging both trainees and students at an early stage. After all, the health care workers on the ground are the most aware of real-time challenges and the
A key trait of successful organisations is their ability to embrace change
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2015; 12: 1–2 1
Collaboration between health care institutions is needed, with the intention of designing a strong leadership development programme
solutions available at the present time. This notion is further advanced by Thelma Quince et al., who found in a qualitative study with medical students in the United Kingdom (UK) that experiential methods of leadership education were favoured.4 Preferred ways to structure such learning, proposed by medical students, included preset questions, observational and reflective case-based discussions, critical appraisal, greater involvement, and formalised leadership and management teaching on the ward, as well as learning from mistakes. With such approaches, students may obtain the breadth of knowledge regarding responsibilities of various staff and departments at different levels of the health care system. Such a broad understanding of the system and its microsystems, which work together to manage patients and public health at large, will assist in building flexible structures prepared to deal with change and complexity. A proper collaboration between health care institutions and medical schools is needed, with the intention of designing a strong leadership development programme. In preparation for a broad leadership curriculum developed for complexity and change management, our schools should also take advantage of the expertise and experience of other faculties. For example, the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Medicine (Brisbane, Australia) and the UQ School of Business designed a leadership
programme with the aim of training a new type of leadership for medicine.5 Participants undertake three core courses, examining strategy, human capital and leadership, via lectures, workshops, mentorship with local and international leadership, and projects. This journey results in a graduate certificate in executive leadership, which can be counted as credits for further graduate diploma studies or a master of business administration (MBA). Participants who have completed the programme have indicated increased confidence in becoming vessels of change within the health care community, and have evaluated the course as potentially beneficial for their future, by being able to draw on inspiration from like-minded peers.3 The National University of Singapore offers health care students the opportunity to be involved in the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme, which started in 2012. The programme has the objective of training future community leaders via a multidisciplinary approach by creating a curriculum to expose students to the community service landscape and social issues. Students investigate and design innovative solutions based on their observations and experiences. Health care students have become involved in studies and projects ranging from autism to assets-based community development: issues both related and non-related to health care. In conclusion, leadership development is necessary for the
strengthening of health care organisations and the consequent improvement in health care delivery. Such development should start at undergraduate level, such that all health care students have a diverse exposure to leadership lessons both in the classroom and in clinical settings. With such early exposure, students have more opportunity to discover their leadership potential and to develop their leadership styles. The sustenance of such a leadership programme should be the collaborative responsibility of medical schools and health care institutions, together with professionals from other disciplines and faculties. REFERENCES 1.
Joyce W, Nohria N, Roberson B. What Really Works: The 4 + 2 Formula for Sustained Business Success. New York: Harper Collins; 2003.
2.
Morison S, McMullan C. Preparing for the Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Management and Leadership Skills. Br Dent J 2013;214:E2.
3.
Swanwick T, McKimm J. Clinical leadership development requires system-wide interventions, not just courses. Clin Teach 2012;9:89–93.
4.
Quince T, Abbas M, Murugesu S, Crawley F, Hyde S, Wood D, Benson J. Leadership and Management in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: A Qualitative Study of Students’ Attitudes and Opinions at One UK Medical School. BMJ Open 2014;4:1–10.
5.
Knowles L, O’Dowd C, Hewett D, Schafer J, Wilkinson D. The University of Queensland Medical Leadership Program: A Case Study. Ochsner J 2012;12:344–347.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Andrew Sayampanathan, 38 Merryn Avenue, Singapore 298610, Singapore. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: None. Conflict of interest: None. Acknowledgements: None. Ethical approval: Not required. doi: 10.1111/tct.12387
2 © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2015; 12: 1–2
Leadership development in undergraduate education Andrew Sayampanathan and Tan Yeong Tze Wilnard Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
T
o manage the progressive complexities of our health care system, our health care community needs to ensure a constant pipeline of strong leaders. After all, a key trait of successful organisations is their ability to embrace change and deal with complexities. After studying 160 companies from 40 varied industries, Joyce et al. observed that businesses with performance-oriented cultures and fast, flexible structures outperformed competitors over a 10-year period.1
Consequently, a potential way forward for health care is to focus on designing flexible systems. For flexible systems to function, leadership must exist at all levels of the system. It is an equal and shared responsibility of every health care worker, regardless of duty, rank or seniority. Morison and McMullan put forward the idea that leadership development is essentially an educational matter; thus, having educational programmes on leadership is imperative for grooming effective future leaders.2 Running such programmes at the undergraduate level will give students time to
discover their inherent leadership qualities, motivating students to eventually become health care leaders. Tim Swanwick et al. discuss leadership development as not just the responsibility of medical schools, but of the entire health care system.3 They stress the importance of embedding leadership development within work-based environments, actively engaging both trainees and students at an early stage. After all, the health care workers on the ground are the most aware of real-time challenges and the
A key trait of successful organisations is their ability to embrace change
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2015; 12: 1–2 1
Collaboration between health care institutions is needed, with the intention of designing a strong leadership development programme
solutions available at the present time. This notion is further advanced by Thelma Quince et al., who found in a qualitative study with medical students in the United Kingdom (UK) that experiential methods of leadership education were favoured.4 Preferred ways to structure such learning, proposed by medical students, included preset questions, observational and reflective case-based discussions, critical appraisal, greater involvement, and formalised leadership and management teaching on the ward, as well as learning from mistakes. With such approaches, students may obtain the breadth of knowledge regarding responsibilities of various staff and departments at different levels of the health care system. Such a broad understanding of the system and its microsystems, which work together to manage patients and public health at large, will assist in building flexible structures prepared to deal with change and complexity. A proper collaboration between health care institutions and medical schools is needed, with the intention of designing a strong leadership development programme. In preparation for a broad leadership curriculum developed for complexity and change management, our schools should also take advantage of the expertise and experience of other faculties. For example, the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Medicine (Brisbane, Australia) and the UQ School of Business designed a leadership
programme with the aim of training a new type of leadership for medicine.5 Participants undertake three core courses, examining strategy, human capital and leadership, via lectures, workshops, mentorship with local and international leadership, and projects. This journey results in a graduate certificate in executive leadership, which can be counted as credits for further graduate diploma studies or a master of business administration (MBA). Participants who have completed the programme have indicated increased confidence in becoming vessels of change within the health care community, and have evaluated the course as potentially beneficial for their future, by being able to draw on inspiration from like-minded peers.3 The National University of Singapore offers health care students the opportunity to be involved in the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme, which started in 2012. The programme has the objective of training future community leaders via a multidisciplinary approach by creating a curriculum to expose students to the community service landscape and social issues. Students investigate and design innovative solutions based on their observations and experiences. Health care students have become involved in studies and projects ranging from autism to assets-based community development: issues both related and non-related to health care. In conclusion, leadership development is necessary for the
strengthening of health care organisations and the consequent improvement in health care delivery. Such development should start at undergraduate level, such that all health care students have a diverse exposure to leadership lessons both in the classroom and in clinical settings. With such early exposure, students have more opportunity to discover their leadership potential and to develop their leadership styles. The sustenance of such a leadership programme should be the collaborative responsibility of medical schools and health care institutions, together with professionals from other disciplines and faculties. REFERENCES 1.
Joyce W, Nohria N, Roberson B. What Really Works: The 4 + 2 Formula for Sustained Business Success. New York: Harper Collins; 2003.
2.
Morison S, McMullan C. Preparing for the Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Management and Leadership Skills. Br Dent J 2013;214:E2.
3.
Swanwick T, McKimm J. Clinical leadership development requires system-wide interventions, not just courses. Clin Teach 2012;9:89–93.
4.
Quince T, Abbas M, Murugesu S, Crawley F, Hyde S, Wood D, Benson J. Leadership and Management in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: A Qualitative Study of Students’ Attitudes and Opinions at One UK Medical School. BMJ Open 2014;4:1–10.
5.
Knowles L, O’Dowd C, Hewett D, Schafer J, Wilkinson D. The University of Queensland Medical Leadership Program: A Case Study. Ochsner J 2012;12:344–347.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Andrew Sayampanathan, 38 Merryn Avenue, Singapore 298610, Singapore. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: None. Conflict of interest: None. Acknowledgements: None. Ethical approval: Not required. doi: 10.1111/tct.12387
2 © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2015; 12: 1–2
