Defining the structure of undergraduate medical leadership and management teaching and assessment in the UK

Abstract

Medical leadership and management (MLM) skills are essential in preventing failings of healthcare; it is unknown how these attitudes can be developed during undergraduate medical education. This paper aims to quantify interest in MLM and recommends preferred methods of teaching and assessment at UK medical schools. Two questionnaires were developed, one sent to all UK medical school faculties, to assess executed and planned curriculum changes, and the other sent to medical students nationally to assess their preferences for teaching and assessment. Forty-eight percent of UK medical schools and 260 individual student responses were recorded. Student responses represented 60% of UK medical schools. 65% of schools valued or highly valued the importance of teaching MLM topics, compared with 93.2% of students. Students' favoured teaching methods were seminars or lectures (89.4%) and audit and quality improvement (QI) projects (77.8%). Medical schools preferred portfolio entries (55%) and presentations (35%) as assessment methods, whilst simulation exercises (76%) and audit reports (61%) were preferred by students. Preferred methods encompass experiential learning or simulation and a greater emphasis should be placed on encouraging student audit and QI projects. The curriculum changes necessary could be achieved via further integration into future editions of Tomorrow's Doctors.

A first‐year leadership programme for medical students

“…There is rapid expansion of scientific knowledge, a heavy impact of chronic diseases, a shift towards interprofessional team management and skyrocketing health care costs, with suboptimal outcomes. The UK's National Health Service, and other countries, are leading the call to improve physician leadership …”

“…The development of positive, transformational role models in the health care professions is needed, including in medical school. To address this, training future physician leaders should include developing core leadership and management skills, starting in medical school . Although almost 60% of academic health centres in the USA have faculty leadership programmes, leadership skills training for students and residents is beginning to receive attention .…”

“…To address this, training future physician leaders should include developing core leadership and management skills, starting in medical school . Although almost 60% of academic health centres in the USA have faculty leadership programmes, leadership skills training for students and residents is beginning to receive attention . Many medical schools have launched electives or selective leadership training, but few have made it mandatory …”

Why we need to teach leadership skills to medical students: a call to action

“…Stringfellow and colleagues29 recommend that the training occur longitudinally across the curriculum. They also recommended that leadership competency curricula are aligned with established leadership frameworks.…”

Embedding leadership in undergraduate medical students: an active approach

“…Often leadership is a student-selected component of the curriculum, or even a choice for an intercalated degree, but the incorporation of leadership education at the undergraduate level is limited and lacking ideas for implementation 3–5. When leadership is incorporated into the core curriculum and timetable, it is delivered in a range of styles, but often independently of other material in a didactic, classroom environment 6. This theoretical approach is a huge leap from the curricula of a decade ago but often does not tackle how to be a leader in a trainee medical post.…”