Cross-Cultural Validity Study of a Medical Education Leadership Competencies Instrument in Latin American Physicians: A Multinational Study

Abstract

PURPOSE Physicians rarely receive formal training in leadership skills. Çitaku and colleagues have identified a set of leadership competencies (LCs) providing validity evidence in North American (NA) and European Union (EU) medical education institutions. We aim to apply this same survey to a sample of Latin American (LA) medical leaders from the oncology community and related areas, compare the results with those of the previous survey, and perform subgroup analyses within the LA cohort. METHODS The survey was sent to nearly 8,000 physicians of participating professional organizations. In addition to the 63 questions, we also collected data on the type of institution, country, specialty, sex, age, years of experience in oncology, and leadership position. RESULTS The 217 LA respondents placed the highest value on task management competencies (91.37% reported these as important or very important v 87.0% of NA/EU respondents; P < .0001), followed by self-management (87.45% of LA respondents v 87.55% of NA/EU respondents; P = not significant [NS]), social responsibility (86.83% of LA respondents v 87.48% of NA/EU respondents; P = NS), innovation (86.69% of LA respondents v 85.31% of NA/EU respondents; P = NS), and leading others (83.31% of LA respondents v 84.71% of NA/EU respondents; P = NS). Social responsibility, which was first in importance in the NA/EU survey, was only third in the LA survey. Subgroup analyses showed significant variations in the ratings of specific LCs within the LA population. CONCLUSION LCs valued by LA leaders somewhat differ from those valued by their NA and EU counterparts, implying that cultural aspects might influence the perception of desired LCs. We also detected variations in the responses within the LA population. Our data indicate that current physician leadership training programs should be tailored to suit specific needs and cultural aspects of each region. Further validity studies of this instrument with other samples and cultures are warranted.

LEADERSHIP, RISK-TAKING, DECISIONS-MAKING: The newest outcomes from the Science of Leadership

“…Furthermore, significant differences were also observed between subgroups defined by country of medical practice, gender, experience in the field and medical specialty. This study confirms findings from previous works performed in other domains (Mano et al, 2019)-indicating a potential need for cross-cultural validation of scientific studies performed in this field (Mano et al, 2019).…”

“…A slightly modified version of this instrument has been applied to a sample of 217 Latin-American physicians involved with cancer care and related areas who also held (self-defined) leadership positions of various levels (Mano et al, 2019). This work uncovered interesting differences between Latin-Americans and Europeans/North-Americans in the valuation of specific leadership competencies (in particular task-management competencies which were placed a higher valued by Latin-American physicians).…”

Professional learning, organisational change and clinical leadership development outcomes

“…8,9 In the United States, while not an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirement, leadership training has been highlighted as key 10 and increasingly incorporated into graduate medical education programmes 11,12 with similar developments taking place across Europe. [13][14][15] A need for attention to clinical leadership development of doctors has also recently been identified in Latin America 16 and in low-and middle-income countries of the Global South. [17][18][19] The desire for clinical leadership is not paralleled by evidence of the best ways to develop it.…”

Leadership development for orthopaedic trauma surgeons in Latin America: opportunities for and barriers to skill acquisition

“…A study from the oncology field compared 217 Latin American oncology surgeon-leaders’ perceptions on leadership competencies to those from North America and Europe. [ 26 ] Notably, the most valued leadership skills identified among the Latin American respondents were significantly different from those identified by North American and European respondents. Additionally, another study noted important differences in the value of leadership education competencies between physicians and other healthcare professional groups.…”