Perceptions of clinical leadership amongst West Midlands registrars
Purpose – Previously published studies about trainee perceptions of clinical leadership, although small in number, have not assessed the opinions of senior registrars nor established their awareness of the relevant leadership frameworks. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Survey questions and interview questions were designed and a comparison of the relevant literature was performed. An online survey was sent via e-mail to a potential of 2,126 registrar trainees within the deanery and a series of semi-structured interviews (analysed via a content analysis) were conducted amongst voluntary subjects. Findings – The response rate for the questionnaire was 247/2,126 (11.6 per cent). Respondents recognised the importance of leadership (90.4 per cent), professionalism (99.6 per cent) and promoted team-working (89.8 per cent). In total, 94.3 per cent of respondents have had ideas for improvement in their workplace; however, only 27.9 per cent have had their ideas for change implemented. Of the 85.5 per cent of trainees who are not aware of the leadership frameworks, 89.1 per cent performed leadership activities either daily or sometimes. The priorities of registrars did appear to differ between the junior and senior grades. Originality/value – Registrar trainees have a desire to engage and a perceived ability to contribute to service improvement; however, a lack of encouragement, awareness and limited training opportunities serve to hamper the development of clinical leadership potential. This study presents itself as a pilot and will hopefully prompt a larger deanery study to gain a thorough assessment of all trainee perceptions, in order to improve the training programme and ultimately create a generation of consultants equipped to engage in clinical leadership throughout their lifelong career in the National Health Service.