Perspectives on management education: an exploratory study of UK and Portuguese medical students

Abstract

Healthcare management is becoming extremely important and large health organizations face increasing demands for leadership and system change. The role of doctors is pivotal but their relationship with management issues and practice has been a matter of long-lasting debate. The aim of this research was to establish opinions of medical students and other medical educational stakeholders on the value and structure of a management and leadership course in medical school. A survey of undergraduate medical students from two medical schools (n = 268) was carried out, and quantitative and qualitative data were analysed and compared with opinions collected from interviews with hospital managers and clinical professors. Portuguese medical students attributed higher relevance to leadership/management education than their UK counterparts. For both groups, such a course would be best: (1) situated in the clinical years, (2) optional and (3) one term/semester long. Main topics desired were 'Managing people/team management'; 'National Health Service'; 'Doctors and Leadership', 'Costs/prices and resource management'. In conclusion, leadership/management education is perceived as relevant but its inclusion in the medical curriculum as well as its content needs careful consideration. Education in informatics and knowledge management would also provide a positive contribution to professional development but is scarcely appreciated at present.

Attitudes of medical students to medical leadership and management: a systematic review to inform curriculum development

“…Three studies addressed medical students' attitudes towards leadership and management education generally [21,23,24]. …”

Leadership curriculum in undergraduate medical education: A study of student and faculty perspectives

“…Despite these recommendations, few medical schools have leadership curricula in place (O'Connell & Pascoe 2004). Although faculty and students recognize the importance of leadership training (Martins et al 2005), the specific knowledge, skills and attitudes that should be the goals of leadership curricula, specifically for undergraduate medical education (UME), have not been defined. The purpose of this study was to determine the qualities, knowledge and skills that should serve as the goals and objectives for leadership training in UME, and identify the learning experiences appropriate for achieving these goals and objectives.…”

“…The majority of schools did not have explicit leadership curricula but used clinical care teams to demonstrate the principles of leadership; only three of the schools had an explicit curriculum on leadership. Martins et al conducted an exploratory study of perspectives about management education by conducting structured interviews with British and Portuguese medical students, a hospital manager and a clinical director (Martins et al 2005). In this study, participants viewed management education as important in UME, and identified desired topics to include managing people, the National Health Service, the leadership role of doctors and cost and resource management.…”

National Undergraduate Medical Core Curriculum in Turkey: Evaluation of Residents

“…Around the world, the teaching of healthcare administration to students as part of the medical school curriculum has been debated for the past 10-15 years. Doctors state that administration is not their responsibility and constitutes an obstacle to good clinical practice (19). Even though this topic has been integrated into the medical school curriculum in Turkey since the 1960s, it is unlikely that students see it as a key topic, since it is not seen as part of medical practice and its importance is not appreciated during the undergraduate years.…”