The role of effective leadership in securing a positive future for emergency medicine

In response to the GMC's recent report into the state of training in emergency medicine, Dr Ruth Brown Vice President of the College of Emergency Medicine (CEM) and emergency medicine consultant at Imperial College NHS Trust emphasised how effective leadership can generate significant benefits for both trainees and patients.

Dr Ruth Brown said: "Emergency departments are high risk, high pressure environments where the undifferentiated patients arrive unannounced and frequently with complex medical and social needs.

"The multi-professional team who care for patients requires strong leadership, both to ensure patients receive high quality safe care in a timely fashion but also to ensure team members remain supported, valued and are able to perform at their best.

"Leadership skills are crucial in this environment, and are demonstrated in the care of individual patients but also in direction, supervision and motivation of the team, 24/7 and regardless of the degree of overcrowding and staff shortages that are currently commonplace.   

"Our clinical leaders must be able to respond to the variation in demand and capacity, support and comply with performance standards both clinical and operational but importantly work with the team to maximise the efficient delivery of safe care.  

"Developing leadership skills in our trainees is a vital part of the curriculum delivery in emergency medicine and relies on consultant presence, supervision and role modelling. Trainees must be able to hone their leadership skills in supervised shifts but also reflect on their performance with their consultant supervisors.

"In the current fiscal climate and emphasis on outcomes and efficiency – leadership will be an increasingly important part of our emergency clinicians skill set."

The GMC published Medical education’s front line: A review of training in seven emergency medicine departments on 10 July 2013.