We’ve all been there. A medical student on their first ward round, noticing a communication gap that delays patient discharge. A newly qualified physiotherapist in a bustling outpatient clinic, thinking, “There has to be a more efficient way to manage this list.” It’s a flicker of an idea; a nascent solution born from their fresh perspective.
But just as quickly, a second, more powerful thought often follows: “I’m too junior. I haven’t been on this team long enough. Who would listen to me?”
For generations, this has been the silent, accepted narrative for those starting their careers in healthcare. A narrative that positions leadership as a distant peak, accessible only after a long, arduous climb through the ranks. It’s a story of waiting your turn, of accumulating experience until you are finally granted permission to lead.
In this blog, and the series to follow, we argue that the time for waiting is over. The future of healthcare—and its present—depends on nurturing that initial spark of initiative into a flame, right from day one.
The traditional model of leadership, structured like a ladder, has served a purpose. It provides a clear, hierarchical path for progression and allocation of responsibility, but in the face of today’s complex and rapidly evolving healthcare challenges, is this model still fit for purpose? Is it agile enough to respond to the pressures of a global pandemic, a burnt-out workforce, and ever-increasing patient complexity?
More importantly, what talent, innovation, and energy do we lose by telling our brightest new minds to “wait in line”? When we equate leadership with a job title, we implicitly discourage the very qualities our systems desperately need: proactive problem-solving, collaborative spirit, and the courage to challenge the status quo from any position.
Leadership, we believe, is not a title you wait for; it’s a mindset and an action.
This conviction is the driving force behind the Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare Network (ALiHN). Our network was founded on the principle that Early Career Professionals (ECPs) are not just “waiting in line” for their turn to lead; they are leaders in practice, already driving change from wherever they sit in a health system.
Our mission is to empower ECPs to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to become impactful and compassionate healthcare leaders. Our vision is a global healthcare community where ECPs are valued, empowered, and their curiosity, passion and energy are nurtured. We are a multi-professional, international community creating collaborative spaces where ideas, experiences, and energy are shared between ECPs, seasoned leaders, and healthcare organisations. For our members, ALiHN provides the acknowledgement that leadership isn’t just for a select few, and gives them the permission to grow over the duration of their careers.
This isn’t just a network; it’s a community of practice. It’s a space where a pharmacy student in Scandinavia can workshop a medication safety idea with a resident doctor in Australasia. It’s where a healthcare manager in the United States of America, can share insights on resource allocation with a nurse in the United Kingdom. This is the collaborative energy we foster, believing that the solutions to healthcare’s biggest problems lie in breaking down, not reinforcing, traditional silos.
What to Expect From This Series
This blog series is the amplification of our members’ voices. Over the coming months, we will place the spotlight onto ECPs from different professions, countries, and backgrounds. They will offer bold, honest, and personal perspectives on what it means to lead in today’s healthcare environment.
You can expect to read about transcending hierarchies, identifying role models, developing leadership capabilities in underrepresented groups and much more.
These are not just theoretical discussions; they are lived experiences from the frontline of healthcare, demonstrating that those at the earliest stages of their careers are leading with impact.
Call to Action
Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about having the courage to ask difficult questions and the humility to learn from anyone, regardless of their title. It’s about seeing a problem and, instead of waiting for someone else to fix it, taking the first small step yourself.
So, we ask you, whether you’re in the boardroom or at the bedside: what can you do today to empower an early career professional’s voice? What platform can you offer, what question can you ask, what idea can you champion?
And if you are an Early Career Professional reading this, we ask you: what is the one small step you can take to lead?
Join us in this conversation. Follow this series, engage with our authors, and help us build a healthcare system where every leader, at every level, feels empowered to make a difference. The time for waiting is over. The time for leading is now.
Authors
Jamie Smyth
Dr. Jamie Smyth is a Public Health Registrar and the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare Network (ALIHN), an international, multidisciplinary community designed to empower early-career professionals with the leadership tools and space they need to drive systemic change.
A former National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow, Jamie has a deep interest in health systems leadership and improvement. He is an Associate Fellow of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (AFFMLM) and holds a Master of Public Health from Imperial College London.
Emily Audet
Speciality Registrar in Palliative Care, Severn Hospice, West Midlands, England
Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Next Generation Advisory Panel and the Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare Network
Dr Emily Audet is a Specialty Trainee Doctor in Palliative Care with General Internal Medicine in the West Midlands, currently based at Severn Hospice. She graduated from Birmingham Medical School in 2017, having previously completed a BSc in Medical Microbiology and Immunology at Newcastle University, 2012. She completed Foundation training with Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SATH) and Internal Medicine Training at the Royal Wolverhampton Trust. In 2022/23 she was Clinical Fellow to the Chief Inspector of Healthcare at the Care Quality Commission on the National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellowship Scheme run by the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management. Since then Emily has co-founded the Next Generation Advisory Panel for the BMJ and IHI’s International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, alongside co-founding and co-chairing the multiprofessional and multinational Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare Network. Emily strives to empower others to see the impact that they can have in shaping and delivering change and improvement in healthcare believing that everyone has valuable insights, ideas and perspectives that can be used to inform change at all levels of the healthcare system.
Riddhi Shenoy
Having worked as an Editorial Registrar at The BMJ during her National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellowship (2022-2023), Riddhi developed a keen interest inclusive research and reducing health inequalities. This led her to undertaking NIHR-funded integrated academic clinical training alongside ophthalmology specialty training and she has recently commenced her Wellcome Trust funded doctoral programme at the University of Leicester in ophthalmic epidemiology. As publications lead at the Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare Network, she is supporting members to write for this blog series.
Declaration of Interests
No conflicts of interest to disclose for all authors
Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare
Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare Network aims to foster a multiprofessional community of practice, united by the common goal of nurturing future healthcare leaders across the globe. Our regular online meetings, social media communities and conference huddles connect members to a wider network passionate about leading positive change and improvement in healthcare.
In this blog series, we showcase our member’s diverse experience of leading with impact at the earliest stages of their careers to empower and inspire the BMJ Leader Blog readership.