This module aims to:

Develop healthcare professionals’ ability to lead and expand their repertoire of leadership behaviours for a variety of healthcare and clinical contexts;

Broaden students’ perspective on the variety of theoretical approaches to leadership;

Critically analyse leadership at the level of the individual, organisation, and complex system;

Extend students’ self-awareness of their leadership influence over other people and extend insight into their impact within their own work environment system.

(LE1) A lifelong learner.
Students’ review of their past leadership learning and future leadership development needs will support the basis for ongoing learning.

(LE2) A leader.
The module will enable students to reflect on their leadership approach and to identify areas for development of their leadership capability

(LE3) Organised and able to work under pressure.
This will be evident in the students’ independent management of their assignments and by meeting coursework deadlines.

(LO1) Students will develop critically reflective insight into their own capabilities, values and preferences for leadership style and consider the implications for their professional development.

(LO2) Students will be able to critically appraise a variety of contemporary leadership theories, models and concepts and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses when applied to diverse healthcare situations.

(LO3) Students will be able to critically evaluate the importance of leadership for managing in complex healthcare settings and achieving quality healthcare outcomes for citizens.

(LO4) Students will be able to demonstrate a critical awareness of leadership power and influence.

(LR1) Ethically aware.
Students will develop self-awareness of their values and ethical beliefs through the analysis of the notion of responsible leadership.

(LRE1) An excellent verbal and written communicator.
Students will have the opportunity to develop written and oral communication skills through virtual group discussions, online presentation, and individual assessment.

(LRE2) IT literate.
The nature of the module in terms of online delivery will enable students to develop skills in using a virtual learning / communications environment.

(LRE3) Internationally aware.
Students from diverse international backgrounds will have the opportunity to engage and collaborate with each other, enabling a rich understanding of global healthcare and developing skills in cross cultural working.

(RE1) A team player.
Working within action learning groups, students will experience the value of peer support and critique.

The Learning and Teaching Strategy has been guided by the Curriculum 2021 Framework, Attributes, and Hallmarks, and as such, all module content will be informed by current and cutting-edge research in the relevant subject area(s). The module has been designed with a focus on global citizenship, by ensuring that students are given the opportunity to collaborate with their peers. This will enable students to build their confidence by sharing their own experiences, as well as helping them to understand how their learning might be applied to different healthcare settings and international contexts.

The module will primarily be delivered through a series of e-lectures, delivered through 15-20 minutes podcasts covering key ideas and theories of leadership. These will be supported by individual online tasks and discussion boards, which will be used to develop and apply learning. The discussion boards will provide an opportunity for students to share their workplace issues in a collab orative and critically reflective way. These will be moderated by the module instructor to ensure individual and group feedback. Students will also be directed to key academic and practitioner readings to further develop their learning.

Unscheduled Directed Student Hours: 10 hours

Description: The e-Lectures will equate to 1.25 hours/week over 8 weeks undertaken asynchronously.
Attendance Recorded: Yes – tracked via the learning platform.

Students will participate in virtual action learning, through peer discussion focused on applying learning to the challenges within their own work contexts. This will be facilitated by the module instructor, to model an action learning mode of questioning and will involve engagement and interaction between students and to enable reflection and build confidence. This mode of learning will also develop students’ digital fluency.

Unscheduled Directed Student Hours: 8 hours

Description: The virtual action l earning will equate to 1 hour/week over 8 weeks undertaken asynchronously.
Attendance Recorded: Yes – tracked via the learning platform.

One scheduled synchronous seminar will be delivered, in which students will discuss the poster presentations submitted by their peers for assessment 2 (if there are issues with time zones another seminar will be provided). Peer discussion and questions will be encouraged. This session will be recorded and moderated by the module instructor.

Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 2 hours

Description: The scheduled seminar will equate to 2 hours undertaken synchronously. The date and time of the seminar will be confirmed at the start of the module.
Attendance Recorded: Yes – tracked via the learning platform.

Additionally, students will complete a reflective journal to develop critical reflection on experience and application of learning to their own development. Engagement with this task will be tracked by the l earning platform and evidenced in assessment 3.

Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 4 hours

Description: Completion of the reflective journal will equate to 0.5 hours/week undertaken asynchronously.
Attendance Recorded: No

Self-Directed Learning Hours: 126 hours

Description: This will involve directed and independent reading, independent research into health organisations and assessment preparation.

Perspectives on leadership: This topic introduces comparative perspectives on leadership and management and explores arguments as to why leadership is important for contemporary healthcare challenges. The aim is to contrast the idea of leader as role and leadership as practice.

Evolution of thinking on effective leadership: Building on the opening topic, here students will examine how thinking about what makes for good leadership has developed over the twentieth and twenty first centuries. Dominant ideas including trait theory, servant leadership, authentic leadership, distributed and relational leadership will be compared and contrasted.

Situational factors: Moving beyond any idea of one best way, this topic is intended to identify how the context for leadership can affect the leadership behaviours required. Key themes will include for example, the level of uncertainty in a situation; the complexity of stakeholder relations; the nature of followers; implications of di gitalisation; distinctiveness of clinical leadership.

Power and influence: This topic will consider sources of power and influence, and the role of compassion and values.

Personal Leadership: This topic will introduce the importance of self-awareness, reflection and self-care for effective leadership. Students will be guided to reflect on how they have learned to lead and their assumptions and implicit theories. This will form the basis for identifying how challenges can enable further development.