The state of leadership education in US medical schools: results of a national survey

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there have been increasing calls for physicians to develop the capabilities to lead health care transformation. Many experts and authors have suggested that leadership education should begin during medical school; however, little information exists regarding the presence or nature of undergraduate medical education leadership curricula in the USA. This study sought to determine the prevalence of formal leadership education in US undergraduate medical schools, as well as the delivery methods and degree of student participation. A web-based survey of medical education deans from US allopathic medical schools (N = 144) was administered from November 2014 to February 2015. The survey included questions on the presence of leadership curricula, delivery format, student participation rates, and forms of recognition. Eighty-eight surveys were completed; the majority (85%) of respondents were associate or assistant deans for medical education. Approximately half (54.5%) of respondents reported leadership curricula within their medical schools. Of those, 34.8% (16/46) were required; 32.6% (15/46) were elective; and 32.6% (15/46) indicated both required and elective components. Of schools with formal leadership curricula ​(n = 48), the common forms of content delivery were: mentoring programs (65.1%); dual degree programs (54.5%); workshops (48.8%); seminar/lecture series (41.9%); courses (41.9%); or single seminars (18.6%). Nineteen percent of institutions offer longitudinal leadership education throughout medical school. Common forms of recognition for leadership education were: course credit (48.8%); dual degrees (37.2%); certificates of completion (18.6%); and transcript notations (7.0%). This study indicates that formal leadership education exists in more than half of US allopathic medical schools, suggesting it is an educational priority. Program format, student participation, delivery methods, and recognition varied considerably. Further study is needed to identify the optimal content, competencies, and pedagogy for leadership education. Identifying best practices may help guide standards for leadership curricula across UME and fill this educational need.​

Medicine: A Prescription for Medical Student Leadership Education

“…However, explicit leadership education, training, and development within classic medical school setting is largely missing. In recent years, this deficit has been recognized by the medical profession (Neely, Clyne, & Resnick‐Ault, ). This recognition was brought to bear by two major reports from the Quality of Healthcare in America Project conducted by the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) which sought to address and offer suggestions to mitigate major issues within healthcare including the disturbing fact that nearly 40,000 patients died from medical error every year (Institute of Medicine, ; Kohn, Corrigan, & Donaldson, ).…”

“…While IPE curriculum is now required, another form of leadership curriculum is gaining steam. This second form is actual leadership courses offered as part of standard medical school curriculum (Neely et al., ; O'Connell & Pascoe, ; Webb et al., ).…”

Approaches for Curriculum and Assessment in Leader and Leadership Education and Development Programs in American Medical Schools

“…Undergraduate medical education (UME) requirements already are extensive and the continuous introduction of new procedures, instruments, medications, and record systems keep adding more to learn. In addition, there is a growing clarion call to add leadership education to UME (Webb et al, 2014;Frich et al, 2015;Neeley, Clyne and Resnick-Ault, 2017;Grunberg et al, 2018). According to the AAMC, leadership is "the most critical component for success (Association of American Medical Colleges)."…”

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

“…The results of a national survey of leadership education in US medical schools were published by Neeley and colleagues13 in 2017. Responses were received from 88 of 123 (71.5%) US medical schools, with 48 of 88 (54.5%) participants advising their school had a formal leadership curriculum; however, only a third reported that the curriculum was compulsory.…”

“…This also seems to be true for both direct entry and graduate programmes, with few signs of change on the horizon. Authors in the UK,12 USA13 and Australia14 describe the paucity of research in the teaching and assessment of leadership skills training across the continuum of medical education. For many medical schools that do teach leadership, it is often not compulsory, and leadership curricula are developed without measurable student leadership competencies 15…”