The RCSI Institute of Leadership in collaboration with the HSE launched the inaugural Clinical Director Executive Skills Programme for 33 Consultants in November 2017 in the Royal College of Surgeons, writes Caroline O’Regan.
This is the first formal education programme in Ireland for Clinical Directors and Consultants aspiring to undertake leadership roles in healthcare. The programme is funded by the Clinical Director Programme (which lies within the Quality Improvement Division, HSE, under the direction of Dr Philip Crowley) and is delivered in collaboration with the Institute of Leadership, RCSI. The Executive Sponsors, Dr. Julie McCarthy Consultant Cytopathologist, UCC, HSE Clinical Director Lead, and Ms. Angela Hughes, Programme Manager, Clinical HSE Clinical Director, extended the programme to acute hospital clinical leaders, those in mental health services and wider public health, providing a unique opportunity to gather senior clinical leaders together and provide a platform for networking across boundaries in an educational setting.
This is the first formal education programme in Ireland for Clinical Directors and Consultants aspiring to undertake such leadership roles in healthcare
The programme is co-designed with the participating clinical directors to meet their bespoke needs to fulfil the executive function and leadership roles towards improved services and better patient outcomes. This new Clinical Director Executive Skills Programme is in line with the health system reform agenda for the citizens of Ireland and meets recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Report on Future Health.
The programme is highly participative and adopts a pragmatic approach to leadership impact to enhance service delivery back at the workplace. The wide range of learning methodologies include experiential learning, mentoring, business simulation and case study participant led seminars. Health Service Executive’s subject matter experts and other health experts and thought leaders share their insights with the Clinical Directors in their challenging leadership role within the health services in Ireland.
This nine (9) day programme consists of three (3×3) day residential modules run over a 6 month period (November 2017 – April 2018).
• Module 1: The Clinical Leader – Understanding and Managing oneself
• Module 2: Leading and Managing Resources in a Clinical Context
• Module 3: Leading Change and Quality Improvement in Health Services
