How to facilitate NHS professionals to recognise and use skills gained from global health engagement when back in the UK workforce? A participatory action research project to design, pilot and evaluate a series of online leadership workshops

Spowart, Lucy, Inman, Alice C, Hardy, Louise J and Dillon, Michael J (2024) How to facilitate NHS professionals to recognise and use skills gained from global health engagement when back in the UK workforce? A participatory action research project to design, pilot and evaluate a series of online leadership workshops. BMJ Open, 14 (3). ISSN 2044-6055

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Abstract

Objectives: Leadership knowledge and skills are known to be developed by health professionals during global health experiences overseas. However, volunteers struggle to recognise and use these new skills on return to their workplace. A series of bespoke leadership workshops were designed, delivered and evaluated by leadership experts to help enhance the transferability of leadership skills back to the UK National Health Service. Design: A mixed-methods participatory action research methodology was employed to explore the impact of the workshops. This approach lends itself to a complex, situated project involving multiple partners. Quantitative and qualitative descriptive data were collected via online survey (n=29 participants) and focus groups (n=18 focus groups) and thematically analysed. Setting: The authors delivered the tailored leadership workshops online to globally engaged National Health Service (NHS) healthcare professionals based in England who had all worked overseas within the past 5 years. Participants: 29 participants attended: 11 medical doctors; 6 nurses/midwives; 10 allied health professionals; 1 NHS manager and 1 student nurse (who was also working as a healthcare assistant). Results: Participants were able to network both during the large group discussions and while in smaller breakout groups. Data highlighted the substantial benefits obtained from this networking, with 91% of participants reporting it enriched their learning experience, particularly within a multi-disciplinary context, and by having the time and space for facilitated reflection on leadership. Furthermore, 78% agreed that they learned new skills for influencing change beyond their position and 76% reported they could maximise the impact of this change for themselves and their employer. Participants also reported the development of systems and ethical leadership knowledge that they felt they could transfer to their NHS roles. Conclusions: This study extends explorations of global health experiences by moving beyond the skills gained while working in low-income and middle-income countries. The innovative online leadership workshops gave agency to individuals to recognise and use the skills gained from global health placements on return to the NHS.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: ** Embargo end date: 15-03-2024 ** From BMJ via Jisc Publications Router ** History: received 23-08-2023; accepted 01-02-2024; ppub 03-2024; epub 15-03-2024. ** Licence for this article starting on 15-03-2024: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ** Peer reviewed: TRUE
Keywords: Health policy, Feasibility Studies, QUALITATIVE RESEARCH, MEDICAL EDUCATION & TRAINING, Health Education, Surveys and Questionnaires
SWORD Depositor: JISCRouter
Depositing User: JISCRouter
Date Deposited: 01 May 2024 08:50
Last Modified: 02 May 2024 03:50
URI: https://marjon.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17812

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