ABSTRACT
Health professionals and junior doctors may feel powerless to influence systems and working routines in their place of work. The relevant learning outcomes are listed in Box B. While management training for senior medical leaders within the National Health Service (NHS) has long been available, an introduction to these areas for students has only recently been accorded a priority for students. The medical chief executive failed to take sufficient action when colleagues voiced anxieties. Many issues were raised by the Bristol inquiry and it is fair to say that many positive developments have resulted from these awful events. Leadership and management are not, of course, the same thing, though they are often conflated. Doctors’ roles as leaders and managers are not ours by right - though they are often assumed. Leadership skills help doctors become more actively involved in planning and delivery of health services but also support roles in research, education and health politics.
