Medical leadership development during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background A leadership development programme (The Health Leadership School) was launched in 2018 for junior doctors and medical students in Norway. Objective To study participants' experiences and self-assessed learning outcomes, and if there were any differences in outcome among participants who met face-to-face versus and those who had to complete half of the programme in a virtual classroom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Participants who completed The Health Leadership School in 2018-2020 were invited to respond to a web-based questionnaire. Results A total of 33 (83%) out of 40 participants responded. The majority of respondents (97%) somewhat agreed or strongly agreed that they had gained knowledge and skills they did not learn in medical school. Respondents reported a high learning outcome for most competency domains, and there was no difference in outcome when comparing scores of those who met face-to-face versus and those who had to complete half of the programme in a virtual classroom. Among participants who participated in virtual classroom sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority agreed that the programme could be run as a combination of face-to-face and virtual sessions. Conclusion This brief report suggests that leadership development programmes for junior doctors and medical students can be run in-part using virtual classroom sessions, but that face-to-face sessions are important to foster relational and teamwork skills.