The Chief Registrar role in the UK: leadership capacity and development of hybrid leaders

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to evaluate the first cohort of the Royal College of Physicians' (RCP) Chief Registrar programme in 2016/7. Chief Registrars provide medical leadership capacity through leadership development posts.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a mixed methods design, comprising a monthly survey of the 21 Chief Registrars in the first cohort, interviews with Chief Registrars, and six cases studies where Chief Registrars and colleagues were interviewed.FindingsChief Registrars enjoyed high levels of practical, professional, and leadership support from their employing organisations, the RCP, and the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management. They had high degrees of autonomy in their roles. As a result, roles were enacted in different ways, making direct comparative evaluation problematic. In particular, we identified variation on two dimensions: first, the focus on medical leadership generally, or quality improvement more specifically, and second, the focus on personal development or organisational leadership capacity.Research limitations/implicationsThe data are limited and drawn from the first cohort's experience. The Chief Registrar scheme, unlike many other leadership fellowships, maintains a high level of clinical practice (with a minimum 40 per cent leadership work). This suggests a clearer preparation for future hybrid leadership roles.Practical implicationsThis paper may offer some support and guidance for Chief Registrars and those who work with and support them.Originality/valueThis study adds to the literature on leadership development for doctors in hybrid roles, and highlights the distinctiveness of the scheme compared with other schemes.

Case for junior clinical leadership teams

“…7 This suggests that their involvement in clinical leadership is not only beneficial for their individual professional development, but also for the organisation in which they work. 8–10…”

Patterns in Clinical Leadership Learning: Understanding the Quality of Learning about Leadership to Support Sustainable Transformation in Healthcare Education

“…Given its identified key role in developing sustainable healthcare, it is no surprise that CL has been identified as a key focus for the education and professional development of doctors in the UK [35][36][37][38], US and Canada [17,19,39,40], China [41], Australia and New Zealand [42][43][44], as well as across Europe [18,[45][46][47], Africa [48,49] and Latin America [50,51]. To enable sustained development, a significant amount of education is needed to create a critical mass of clinical leaders for a healthcare system [52].…”