Designing a leadership and management training curriculum for undergraduate health professions students

Lessons from the University of Sierra Leone

Bibliographic Data

ID15540838
AuthorsOliver Johnson (0000-0003-4219-4782, King's College London, corresponding author), Mohamed Bawoh (0000-0003-3797-0038, University of Sierra Leone), Kerrin Begg (0000-0003-4689-0224, University of Cape Town), Nellie Bell (0000-0002-0941-2840, University of Sierra Leone), Mohamed Jalloh (0000-0003-0306-9954), Mohamed Boie Jalloh (0000-0001-9048-2952, Ministry of Defence), David Gbao (University of Sierra Leone), Alhaji U N′jai (University of Sierra Leone), Foday Sahr (0000-0001-9816-4502, University of Sierra Leone), Mohamed Samai (0000-0002-1427-9482, University of Sierra Leone), Ann H Kelly (0000-0003-4658-2133, King's College London), Nick Sevdalis (0000-0001-7560-8924, National University of Singapore)
Year2023
Volume18
Issue1
Pages2222322-2222322
Publication date2023-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17441692.2023.2222322
PMID37344356
OpenAlexW4381598580
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited46

Leadership by health professionals is key in any health system, but health leadership training programmes are varied in their conceptualisation, learning objectives, and design. This paper describes an undergraduate leadership and management module for health students at the University of Sierra Leone and provides lessons from the design process. Our methods included an initial scoping review and qualitative study, followed by a co-design process of 10 workshops and 17 consultation meetings. The result was a curriculum with learning outcomes emphasising leadership identity, proactiveness, management of people and of change, and the formation of peer relationships. Learning methods included group teaching, team quality improvement projects, mentoring, and reflective practice. Lessons from the design process included the importance of support from university leadership and extensive consultation. Virtual workshops enabled broader participation but limited relationship building. Integrating doctoral research into the process facilitated inclusion of evidence and theory but risked reducing ownership by faculty. The importance of interprofessionalism and management skills in leadership training emerged during the process, illustrating the effectiveness of a co-design approach. Our programme is broadly aligned with other health leadership frameworks and is distinctive due to its undergraduate focus, offering insights for leadership training design in other settings

Curriculum · Educational leadership · Focus group · Leadership development · Leadership studies · Leadership style · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Sierra leone · Sociology · Innovations in Medical Education · Interprofessional Education and Collaboration · Medicine · Primary Care and Health Outcomes · Psychology