Leadership

Leadership

Leadership in health is a perennial issue. But now we face unprecedented challenges with a new health minister, and a new government. For a government which has had an extended period in opposition, this step-up could present quite a challenge. We face similar challenges in public and private practice, and we acknowledge that stepping up will present a challenge for us all. In my career both in medicine and the Royal Australian Navy, I have seen and worked under a range of leadership styles. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery defined leadership as.

The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose with the character which inspires confidence and trust. Every frontline clinician has a common purpose in our health system which we dedicate our working lives to. All hospital staff specialists, VMOs, specialist GPs, and private specialists pull in the same direction to improve the health of our patients. It is fundamental to our DNA.

The best leaders that I have worked with are those who share an understanding of the people they are leading, who show empathy but also those who have courage. Our health system needs courage right now. Frontline doctors know what the issues are that affect their patients and their communities, and they know what needs to be done to fix them. Drawn out special interest inquiries will delay much needed action on critical services and avoid hard choices that need to be made. The role of doctors in health leadership is a complex issue. Doctors have a critical role in leadership in many parts of our health system. As Heads of Department, doctors set the tone for the culture and the standards for that department. Here at AMA (NSW) we have long been concerned about the lack of support for Heads of Department. We know that great, well-led departments deliver similarly positive clinical outcomes through collegiality and collaboration across health professions.

We know these great departments when we hear about them but their successes remain isolated due to a lack of support to spread their learnings. Doctors must be leaders in their clinical teams, whether in hospitals or private practices. In our current climate in which loud voices are valued over expertise, the role of doctors as the leaders of teams is seen as outdated or unnecessary. This concept is not backed up by evidence, which indicates that when led by managers with high clinical expertise, hospital doctors are more satisfied with their jobs, more satisfied with their supervisors effectiveness and less likely to wish to quit their job.1

To support doctors to continue to provide valuable public service is a core tenet of the AMA and hence it is one that supports the importance of clinical leadership. Doctors are also leaders in their own practices, a role they are often less prepared for than leading in a clinical setting. HR, budgets, wages policies, BAS, issues with HR, budgets, wages, policies, legalities can undermine the great clinical service or practice doctors want to build. These are the issues we are here to solve for you. Utilising the AMA’s leadership in providing expert workplaces relations advice will be the best money a member will ever spend. So many of our members have had the benefit of our considered, doctor-focused advice to realise their vision of practice. Led by Dominique Egan, the team will be your most important call. If you want to be a leading clinician, inspiring confidence and trust from your team, then this is the best advice I can give.

1. Do expert clinicians make the best managers? Evidence from hospitals in Denmark, Australia and Switzerland. Agnes Baker, Amanda H Goodall 2021 https://amandagoodall.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BMJleader-2021-BestManagers.pdf