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
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 a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/3/e079160.full |
| _version_ | 1797260066288566272 |
|---|---|
| author | Louise J Hardy Michael J Dillon Lucy Spowart Alice C Inman |
| author_facet | Louise J Hardy Michael J Dillon Lucy Spowart Alice C Inman |
| author_sort | Louise J Hardy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:19:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4b448227584b4438a9fbe06a17f4021c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:19:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b448227584b4438a9fbe06a17f4021c2024-03-16T23:05:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552024-03-0114310.1136/bmjopen-2023-079160How 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 workshopsLouise J Hardy0Michael J Dillon1Lucy Spowart2Alice C Inman3Department of Postgraduate Clinical Education, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK2Department of Paediatric Nephrology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UKPeninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UKPeninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UKObjectives 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.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/3/e079160.full |
| spellingShingle | Louise J Hardy Michael J Dillon Lucy Spowart Alice C Inman 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 |
| title | 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 |
| title_full | 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 |
| title_fullStr | 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 |
| title_full_unstemmed | 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 |
| title_short | 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 |
| title_sort | 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 |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/3/e079160.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT louisejhardy howtofacilitatenhsprofessionalstorecogniseanduseskillsgainedfromglobalhealthengagementwhenbackintheukworkforceaparticipatoryactionresearchprojecttodesignpilotandevaluateaseriesofonlineleadershipworkshops AT michaeljdillon howtofacilitatenhsprofessionalstorecogniseanduseskillsgainedfromglobalhealthengagementwhenbackintheukworkforceaparticipatoryactionresearchprojecttodesignpilotandevaluateaseriesofonlineleadershipworkshops AT lucyspowart howtofacilitatenhsprofessionalstorecogniseanduseskillsgainedfromglobalhealthengagementwhenbackintheukworkforceaparticipatoryactionresearchprojecttodesignpilotandevaluateaseriesofonlineleadershipworkshops AT alicecinman howtofacilitatenhsprofessionalstorecogniseanduseskillsgainedfromglobalhealthengagementwhenbackintheukworkforceaparticipatoryactionresearchprojecttodesignpilotandevaluateaseriesofonlineleadershipworkshops |