Health Workforce New Zealand Clinical Leadership Forum - 29 June 2010
Context
A difficult financial environment forces the need to think radically and differently about how the health workforce is deployed to best effect. Forthcoming specialist service reviews and changes to models of care delivery require innovative thinking and the leadership of clinicians to succeed.
In such challenging times, we need to seize opportunities in order to sustain our health system. There is a shortfall of leadership capacity and skills to make the most of those opportunities, and an urgent need to marshal existing resources and build on previous initiatives to address that shortfall.
Summary of key messages
The meeting of more than 200 representatives from across the health sector confirmed that there is energy and optimism, as well as commonality of goal and purpose across the whole sector to drive forward improvement in clinical leadership and health leadership generally.
HWNZ has been given the mandate to lead workforce development. HWNZ should lead development of a strategy for national leadership, one all parts of the sector can contribute to.
A national approach must be inclusive – multidisciplinary, targeted at all levels and all organisations -with co-ordination and shared learning across professional bodies, education and employers. We need to create a pathway for leadership development from novice to expert and invest in the many not the few.
The initiative needs investment and there is an urgent need and expectation for action. This must not become the ‘51st report’.
The approach
We need a national strategic and consistent approach with a clear vision and purpose – making better leaders to improve our health system.
We must not reinvent the wheel and need to co-design programmes and projects. We need to draw on work underway in DHBs such as Canterbury and Counties Manukau DHB, and in individual professions such as nursing, and explore partnerships with established infrastructure such as at universities.
We need to combine structured learning of tangible leadership skills with development of a wider culture and environment that supports and nurtures leaders, empowers them to act and gives them the space to develop and the tools to be effective.
Our initiatives need to be underpinned by principles such as teamwork, respect, biculturalism, continuity of care and creating more time for sharing experiences and learning through telling and listening to stories.
We should pick the ‘low hanging fruit’ to maximise gain from limited resources and ensure activities are focused.
ACTIONS: HWNZ proposal for next steps July- December 2010
- HWNZ will co-ordinate discussions on the establishment of a national ‘home’ (institute) of health leadership development, with a view to having the infrastructure in place by the end of 2010.
- HWNZ will review current (and may seek further) expressions of interest from health sector organisations for development of health leadership programmes, and agree funding support to appropriate initiatives to maintain momentum while the national infrastructure is being established.
- HWNZ will fund leadership roles as part of new initiatives to recruit and retain advanced trainees, and offer a HWNZ fellowship for advanced training.
- HWNZ will require all providers in receipt of its funding for clinical training to ensure that individual career plans are in place for trainees from 2011.
- HWNZ will scope development of a national health leadership mentoring scheme, building on the model of the existing career guidance service, with matching of individuals to a panel of experienced mentors.
- HWNZ will establish a multi-disciplinary forum to test leadership concepts and provide advice on the establishment of the national institute and assessment of EOIs.
Clinical Leadership Forum 29 June 2010. Top left: Clinical Leadership delegate posters, Right: Presentation by Professor Des Gorman (HWNZ), Bottom Left: Clinical Leadership delegates