Clinical training in the United Kingdom is highly effective at producing technically accomplished and clinically safe practitioners. It does not, however, reliably produce system-literate leaders. Over the past decade, national leadership fellowships and academy-supported programmes have sought to address this gap, offering clinicians immersive experiences of policy, strategy and organisational leadership. These initiatives have demonstrable […]
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Why We Can’t Shift the Dial on Institutional Culture. By Nagina Khan
When long-term staff become part of the furniture I often hear the same frustration: ‘why can’t we change the culture, no matter how many initiatives we launch?’ New values are drafted, consultants are brought in, workshops delivered but day-to-day reality barely shifts. Often, the answer is in plain sight: those who have been there longest […]
Leadership in crisis and the role of imagination. By Ben Collins
Shortly before he died in 1932, Chief Plenty Coups, the last great chief of the Native American Crow tribe, told his story to a white man, Frank B Linderman, a ‘sign talker’’ who could record Crow history for both their peoples. A turn-of-the-20th century tribal leader might seem an unlikely source of inspiration for modern […]
Leadership during war: Mobilising and integrating conflict-displaced medical professionals. By Oksana Lovochkina, Inna Soldatenko, Tatum Cummins and Roman Cregg
War displaces vast numbers of people, including the healthcare professionals responsible for caring for its victims. Since February 2022, the ongoing war in Ukraine has forced many highly trained clinicians to relocate, many of whom have sought refuge in the UK. Given the NHS’s acute workforce shortage, this raised a central question: could these professionals, […]
The bottleneck patient involvement keeps ignoring. By Vsevolod Shabad
The NHS 10-Year Plan, published in January 2025, commits the UK to becoming a world leader in clinical research. Its patient involvement measures are specific: NHS App integration to streamline volunteer recruitment, standardised research contracting to reduce administrative burden on research teams, and an ambition to embed patients in the design of studies from the outset […]
Why every hospital needs an efficiency officer. By Jeffrey Shuhaiber
Health systems face rising costs, workforce strain, delayed access, and a steadily expanding administrative burden. Yet in many hospitals, no single person is clearly accountable for system-wide efficiency. The chief operating officer (COO) manages operations and throughput; the chief financial officer (CFO) oversees financial stewardship; and the chief medical officer (CMO) and chief quality officer […]
“I am because we are”: Ubuntu Principles for the Medical Leader-Coach. By Nondumiso Makhunga-Stevenson and Dumisani Magadlela
Consider a registrar or medical student on a busy hospital ward round. The consultant asks a question to the group. Silence. Even though they think they know the answer, self-doubt and fear of being berated for being wrong in front of colleagues holds them back. When the answer is finally arrived at, they realise that […]
Leading on Science for Health in the WHO South-East Asia Region. By Catharina C. Boehme
Under the theme “Together for health. Stand with science”, World Health Day (7 April) launched a year-long campaign highlighting the power of scientific collaboration to protect the health of people, animals, plants, and the planet through the One Health approach. Speaking to countries across the South-East Asia Region, Dr Catharina Boehme emphasized WHO’s leadership not […]
If people cannot interpret research, should they trust it? By Lisa Bunn
Introduction The public are increasingly encouraged to trust evidence-based health and social care but are rarely engaged with complex interpretation of research that informs practitioner decisions. In everyday practice, professionals integrate research alongside experience and individual patient factors, yet this reasoning often remains invisible. As access to health information expands and patients take a more […]
Shift the Seat, Shift the Influence: A New Four Seat Approach to Patient Partnership. By Dr Kate Pryde, Dr Christina Rennie and Emlyn Marshall
Healthcare uses many metaphors, but few help us speak honestly about power. Leaders often aspire to stronger patient partnership, yet real practice varies widely. In some settings patients shape strategy; in others their influence appears only through complaints or litigation. Co-production literature shows that although it is increasingly valued, practice remains inconsistent and often unclear […]