The Improving Global Health fellowship: a qualitative analysis of innovative leadership development for NHS healthcare professionals

Abstract

BackgroundThe importance of leadership development in the early stages of careers in the NHS has been highlighted in recent years and many programmes have been implemented which seek to develop leadership skills in healthcare professionals. The Improving Global Health (IGH) Fellowship scheme is one such programme, it provides a unique leadership development opportunity through an overseas placement with a focus on quality improvement work. This evaluation examines the impact of completing an IGH Fellowship on the career and leadership development of participants, who are referred to as Fellows.MethodsFellows who had returned from overseas placement between August 2008 and February 2015 were invited to complete an anonymised online questionnaire, which collected information on: demographic details, motivations for applying to the programme, leadership development and the impact of the IGH Fellowship on their career. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted to further explore the impact of the programme on Fellows’ leadership development and career progression. Interview transcripts were manually coded and underwent thematic content analysis.ResultsThe questionnaire had a 67% (74/111) response rate. The number of fellows who self-identified as a leader more than doubled on completion of the IGH Fellowship (24/74 pre-fellowship versus 58/74 post-fellowship). 74% (55/74) reported that the IGH Fellowship had an impact upon their career, 35 of which reported that the impact was “substantial”. The themes that emerged from the interviews revealed a personal development cycle that consolidated the fellows’ interests and values whilst enhancing their self-efficacy and subsequently impacted positively upon their career choices. Three interviewees expressed frustration at the lack of opportunity to utilise their new skills on returning to the United Kingdom (UK).ConclusionsThe IGH Fellowship successfully empowered healthcare professionals to self-identify as leaders. Of the 45/74 respondents who commented on the impact of the IGH Fellowship on their career, 41/45 comments were positive. The fellows described a process of experiential learning, reflection and evolving cultural intelligence, which consolidated their interests and values. The resultant increase in self-efficacy empowered these returned fellows in their choice of career.

Evidence-based medical leadership development: a systematic review

“…27 Other objective outcomes included reduced organisational turnover of participants, 28 improved departmental working climate, 39 reduced sick leave 44 and increased promotion of women. 45 Organisational outcomes were subjectively indicated through reports of increased staff retention 56 and improvement in organisational effectiveness. 27 One study reported that 'intangible benefits' resulted in a 106% financial ROI.…”

Assessing the Impact of a Global Health Fellowship on Pharmacists’ Leadership Skills and Consideration of Benefits to the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom

“…In hindsight, the leadership skills questionnaire for senior colleagues should have been completed at baseline and after the Fellowship to reflect answers more accurately. In comparison with other global health Fellowships [ 8 ], the number of participants included was small and the time spent in the partnership country was limited. Tools that elicit self-reported attainment and behaviour changes are considered to provide weak evaluation evidence, are of variable accuracy [ 33 ] and most studies use unvalidated tools.…”

“…A total of 12 health partnerships were formed between multidisciplinary teams from institutions in the UK, including NHS Trusts, together with institutions in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. These partnerships were created to allow ideas and knowledge exchange to further develop innovative ways to tackle the problem of AMR and raise awareness, which will mutually benefit the UK and low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) [ 8 , 9 ]. Success of the CwPAMS projects was dependent on strong leadership and project management within each partnership.…”

Practical Pharmacist-Led Interventions to Improve Antimicrobial Stewardship in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia

“…Pharmacists in the UK as part of the projects then linked directly with pharmacists in African countries to support their colleagues in Africa. Traditionally, volunteer opportunities in global health involve spending prolonged time in a country, and improvements are not always sustainable when the volunteer(s) leave [ 8 ]. As a novel approach with a strong focus on the pharmacy profession, pharmacists in the UK with limited funding and restricted time focused on building the capacity of pharmacists in Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia in order to develop sustainable antimicrobial stewardship interventions.…”