Awareness of Medical Leadership and Management: A Qualitative Study of Final Year Students at Two Medical Schools

Adhnan Omara*, Mohammad Imtiaza, Zainali Panjwania, Ashish Shresthaa, Roland Fernandesa and Ankur Shaha

Department of General Surgery, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, William Harvey Hospital, UK

^*Correspondance to: Adhnan Omar 

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Abstract:

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore current medical student awareness and perceptions of
medical leadership.
Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken, utilizing a constant comparison analysis of focus
group interviews, at a district general hospital in the United Kingdom in December 2019. A sample
of participants consisting of final year medical students from Kings College London (KCL) and
St. George’s University of London (SGUL) were selected. Moderators used trigger questions to
structure interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, anonymized and input to
NVivo V.9. Subsequent coding and collation of codes enabled us to identify overarching themes
and context within each subset of data. This was continued until thematic saturation was achieved.
Results: Thirty-eight students were interviewed in four groups, each lasting approximately an hour.
Analysis of the most commonly occurring codes highlighted three strong inter-related themes. These
focused around (1) awareness of; (2) exposure to; and (3) experience in; the scope and importance
of medical leadership.
Conclusion: Awareness remains limited due to inadequate exposure to MLM and even fewer
practical opportunities. We present a ‘target’ model depicting current student perceptions and
propose that future studies must explore what barriers exist to gaining practical experience in
medical leadership. This research would be valuable in guiding delivery of teaching that can be
adapted in vivo, to address students learning needs.

Keywords:

Medical Leadership; Teaching; Perception; Awareness; Medical Education

Cite the Article:

Omara A, Imtiaza M, Panjwania Z, Shresthaa A, Fernandesa R, Shaha A. Awareness of Medical Leadership and Management: A Qualitative Study of Final Year Students at Two Medical Schools. World J Surg Surgical Res. 2020; 3: 1247..