Medical director, consultant in critical care, Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Cope recently completed the MSc in Medical Leadership, a part-time programme taught at the RCP in London, and jointly delivered by the RCP and Birkbeck, University of London.
I found the MSc in Medical Leadership course to be an extremely useful and enjoyable experience. It introduced me to the world of social sciences as well as organisational psychology, which I was not previously familiar with, but is very important to anyone in a senior leadership role. The course gave me a much greater understanding of the published evidence available in the field of leadership and management, which now allows me to draw on the available evidence in my own practice of leadership.
These days we place great importance on evidence-based clinical practice and there is no reason why we shouldn’t apply that approach to leadership and management. The lunchtime seminars with invited speakers provided an invaluable opportunity to gain insights from some of the most senior and experienced leaders in the NHS over the last few years. I feel that I have gained a much greater understanding of ‘good practice’, what works well, and what works less well in leadership. The opportunity to work with peers, and discuss issues with them was useful, enjoyable and a key aspect of the course as leadership is not something that can be done in isolation.
The opportunity to work with peers, and discuss issues with them was useful, enjoyable and a key aspect of the course as leadership is not something that can be done in isolation
Participating in the course has certainly given me knowledge that I wouldn’t otherwise have had, which I have been able to translate into practice. As a medical director, I would say that I use this knowledge, either consciously or unconsciously, on a daily basis. While few medical leadership roles cite an MSc in Medical Leadership as a necessary qualification, it has helped me to demonstrate my commitment to my own leadership development and to attain a level of academic knowledge in the field, which has put me in a stronger position when applying for more senior leadership roles.
The course has a very strong academic emphasis, and while the associated workload was substantial, I feel I have benefited significantly from participating and it was certainly worth the level of commitment required. I enjoyed the course tremendously and would recommend it to anyone who is either in a medical leadership role or aspiring to a medical leadership role, who would like to learn more about organisational psychology and evidence-based leadership practice as well as the art of leadership.