Modesty can only get you so far...

By Dr Paul Evans

FMLM Medical Director and Acting Chief Executive 

Every now and then I am reminded that our natural sense of modesty, far from being a virtue, can hold us back.

We at FMLM can sometimes be a little too comfortable about playing down our successes as many in healthcare do, especially at the frontline.

While at our online conference two weeks ago, I heard time and again from FMLM members and fellows about the value they had found in using FMLM Navigator, our leadership development app and CPD tool. The creation of Navigator was a great achievement for the Faculty, after a hectic year in production during Covid-19.

However I also heard from members who were not using Navigator, but were looking for guidance, looking for a way to measure their progress as medical leaders, and looking for a sense of inspiration and wider perspective on their day-to-day work. If that is you, I strongly recommend that you take a look at FMLM Navigator.

We have not been promoting the value of this tool nearly enough, so I will be using this column to briefly outline why you should use FMLM Navigator, and also to showcase a short animated video we have commissioned which outlines the benefits of it.

Your Chair, Professor Mayur Lakhani, described FMLM Navigator as a tool he "could not do without" during the opening session of day two at our international conference.

Why is that the case? I think there are three reasons:

1. FMLM Navigator provides suggested CPD that is entirely bespoke to your career stage. This means that you have access to literally hundreds of articles, online courses, podcasts, articles and more which have been selected and ordered for your needs as a medical leader, whether a medical director or ST1 trainee. The vast majority of this CPD is freely available and accredited by FMLM.
2. Navigator encourages you to reflect on any CPD or experiences you have that are contributing to your development as a medical leader. Any course or other reflection-worthy piece of learning that you wish to enter into Navigator must be reflected on, and once submitted will be recorded and visually represented on your Navigator home-screen. This is encouraging, as it allows you to see your progress and the learning you have undertaken, but also good practice. We know that reflections on learning are by far the most important element of the process when it comes to transferring ideas into action.
3. Navigator allows you to export your CPD into a variety of formats. This is perhaps the most practically useful element of Navigator, and a reason why it is becoming indispensable to many of our members and fellows. Whether for annual appraisal, a job interview, or for a personal development plan, the multiple formats available to users means that we are no longer scrambling around to find evidence and reflections on multiple different sources of learning and achievements. Navigator allows it all to be stored in one place, and easily exported into various useful formats at different levels of detail. This is why we are increasingly seeing Navigator as the principle member benefit and draw for people to join FMLM.

I mentioned that we had commissioned a short animation for FMLM Navigator, and this does an excellent job of describing the functions of the app. So, I will leave you to watch this, download the app, and let us know how you are getting on with it.

Enjoy!