Perceived barriers to medical leadership training and methods to mitigate them in the undergraduate medical curriculum: A mixed-methods study of final-year medical students at two medical schools

Abstract

Introduction Effective leadership is vital for high-quality healthcare. Despite progress in leadership development for junior doctors, studies reflect perceptions that junior doctors feel underprepared for leadership. This study aims to understand medical students' perceptions about barriers to effective leadership training and how to mitigate these. Methods This was a mixed-methods study utilising focus group interviews structured using four trigger questions. Qualitative narrative responses underwent quantitative inductive coding applied by two independent coders. Commonly occurring codes underwent thematic analysis to understand underpinning themes. Results Thirty-one students were interviewed from King's College London (n=24) and St George's, University of London (n=7). Cohen's kappa statistic of inter-rater reliability was 0.73. The priority areas were the equity of teaching, implemented approaches and methods of assessing competency. The study presents a driver diagram summarising findings. Conclusion This study presents medical students' perceptions about barriers to effective leadership training in current undergraduate curriculum and interventions to mitigate these.

Leadership Curriculum in Medical Education: Exploring Student and Faculty Perceptions in a US Medical School in Qatar

“…Three stages of analysis were performed as outlined by a previous mixed-methods study analyzing interviews. 13 …”

“…It contributes to the literature with a small-scale study of US medical students’ and builds upon several past studies that employed either mixed method studies, interviews, or focus groups. 6 , 13 , 16 …”

“… 9 We believe that a starting point would be to explore the perceptions of medical students and faculty in order to determine how to best optimize a leadership training curriculum by building on previous studies’ methodologies. 6 , 13 Specifically, this study sought to find out to what extent leadership training is incorporated into the curriculum of a medical program at an American college located in Qatar and to investigate students’ and faculty perceptions of this training.…”

Work-Related Intervention Needs of Medical Assistants and How to Potentially Address Them according to Supervising General Practitioners: A Qualitative Study

“…One possible way to guarantee the imparting of leadership skill for physicians may be the integration within the mandatory curriculum of medical studies. While the integration of leadership training for medical students is seen in various countries [27,28], different barriers for the implementation of leadership training in the undergraduate medical curriculum have been identified [29]. Especially, time-restriction within in current curriculum may hinder the implementation of the topic [29][30][31].…”

“…While the integration of leadership training for medical students is seen in various countries [27,28], different barriers for the implementation of leadership training in the undergraduate medical curriculum have been identified [29]. Especially, time-restriction within in current curriculum may hinder the implementation of the topic [29][30][31]. Further research is needed pertaining to the topics and methods of the leadership training as well as the implementation in the varying undergraduate medical curricula.…”