Creating space for leadership education in undergraduate medical education in Canada

Abstract

The need for effective leadership by physicians is clear, yet the design/delivery of curricula, and assessment of leadership competencies, in Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) continues to need work. In reappraising their UGME assessment strategies, the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) invited position papers across diverse lenses, including the CanMEDS Intrinsic Roles. This article is foundational work derived from the report on leadership assessment to the MCC. Using Kern’s Model of Curriculum development as a guide, we reviewed the landscape of Canadian UGME leadership education through an environmental scan of the published and grey literature, Canadian leadership frameworks and resources, and consultation with learner and faculty leadership. Leadership education across programs was highly variable and learners were often unaware of available opportunities. In response, we have suggested processes for curricular development, including strategies for key content, teaching and assessment, and program evaluation considerations. Leadership education cannot remain another checkbox on a list of UGME experiences. Such training necessitates focused attention and investment to foster ongoing identity formation toward becoming a good doctor.

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].…”

The Academic Medicine and Leadership Track for Medical Students

“…While some institutions have programming related to teaching students to become future educators or leaders [1,2], only 37% span the 4 years of undergraduate medical education [1]. Similarly, a number of studies have carefully examined the various types of leadership curricula in undergraduate medical education [2][3][4], but few medical schools provide leadership training as a stand-alone course or a set of courses [2]. To fill this gap, RVU developed the Academic Medicine and Leadership (AML) Track in 2018 on the Utah campus, with the first cohort graduating in 2021.…”