Finding a path to growth as a leader: a medical learner perspective

Abstract

Physicians are often required to lead teams in clinical and non-clinical environments but may not receive formal training in advance of these opportunities. In this commentary, three medical learners discuss their views on leadership education in undergraduate and postgraduate medicine, arguing that leadership development should be more explicitly integrated into training programmes and that medical leaders need to be better recognised for their contributions to this field, much like expert clinicians, clinician-educators and clinician-scientists are recognised for theirs. After reviewing the published literature in this domain, reflecting on their experiences engaging with medical leaders and attending a leadership education summit, the authors conclude that, as initial steps towards improving leadership training in medical education, faculties and programmes should commit to incorporating leadership training into their curricula, and strive to deliberately connect learners interested in leadership with practising clinician-leaders with an eye towards improving learners’ leadership skills. These first steps could help to catalyse the necessary shift towards improved leadership education and better patient care.