Edward Jenner programme: First step of your leadership journey

Abstract

When we think about leaders in general practice, who springs to mind? Is it leaders of clinical commissioning groups and representative and negotiating groups, such as the British Medical Association? But over 1.3 million people make up the NHS workforce, and many are leaders without the formal title. Leadership does not have to mean managing a team of people. Day in and day out, many colleagues without ‘formal’ leadership responsibility lead their own areas of work and strive for better experiences for patients. The NHS Leadership Academy’s free Edward Jenner programme is helping to unlock and harness all that talent and leadership behaviour to drive better led services across the NHS.

The NHS Leadership Academy sees the Edward Jenner programme as the first step on the journey of becoming a leader. If you are new to leadership, or simply want to learn more about it, the programme will help you gain a fresh perspective on the delivery of services and the impact they have on the patient experience, either directly or indirectly. By helping you to build a strong foundation of leadership capability, the programme gives you the necessary knowledge and skills to be the best leader that you can be.

The Edward Jenner programme is also ideal if you are looking for leadership development that fits in with your day-to-day role. It is an open access learning package done completely online that is free and open to everyone working in the NHS. If done for 5 hours a week, it requires a commitment of around 6 weeks and leads to a Leadership Foundation 1 award from the NHS Leadership Academy.

Those who complete the programme can progress to Edward Jenner Advanced, which enables the participant to explore their organisation through a structured field visit, then use their findings to help them make sense of what they have seen and experienced.

Participants tell the NHS Leadership Academy that the programme has helped them better understand themselves, which in turn led to an improvement in the quality of care or support they deliver. The Academy gets particularly positive feedback from GPs, who find its flexible format fits in with the demands of their day to day role.

As GPs we are the frontline and need to be able to direct our patients to good public health and good primary care. NHS leadership has given me skills and a professional stamp to really further General Practice lead roles and responsibilities.

A great tool to learn more about how to guide you professionally and deal with a whole team of people within the workplace. (Dr Mateen Jiwani)

Leadership is part of the GP training curriculum and it's something that trainers might find difficult to offer opportunities to develop in. The Edward Jenner programme gives a broad oversight regarding leadership and how it differs to management. I think most trainees would find it accessible and relevant. It will help trainees to be reflective too. (Dr Richard Tatham)

The potential benefits for you and your organisation are summarised in Table 1. If you are supported and developed, you will feel more confident and better equipped to deliver consistently high-quality care and services.

Table 1.

Benefits that the Edward Jenner Programme might bring

Benefits for you	Benefits for your organisation
• Gain evidence of leadership development for your ePortfolio for Professional Module 2.03: The GP in the wider professional environment • Increased capability to deliver all aspects of leadership • Greater levels of confidence and empowerment in the impact you can have on patient services • Immediate application of new skills, with a fast impact on patient care • Automatic Academy membership, connecting you with other health and social care colleagues and fellow participants to share ideas and address challenges • Powerful insights into: ○ The culture you work in and how you can influence it ○ Your own authority and influence and how you can use it to bring about change ○ The broader system, how your organisation relates to it and how you can have a positive impact on it	• Engaged staff who bring their new skills and knowledge back to the organisation • People with greater positive impact on organisational culture • A healthier degree of challenge throughout the organisation rather than just at a senior level • An immediate impact on patient experience as learning is applied back in the workplace • More potential leaders in the pipeline for better succession planning • Greater levels of confidence to challenge activities that don’t add value to patient care

Benefits for you

Benefits for your organisation

• Gain evidence of leadership development for your ePortfolio for Professional Module 2.03: The GP in the wider professional environment • Increased capability to deliver all aspects of leadership • Greater levels of confidence and empowerment in the impact you can have on patient services • Immediate application of new skills, with a fast impact on patient care • Automatic Academy membership, connecting you with other health and social care colleagues and fellow participants to share ideas and address challenges • Powerful insights into: ○ The culture you work in and how you can influence it ○ Your own authority and influence and how you can use it to bring about change ○ The broader system, how your organisation relates to it and how you can have a positive impact on it

• Engaged staff who bring their new skills and knowledge back to the organisation • People with greater positive impact on organisational culture • A healthier degree of challenge throughout the organisation rather than just at a senior level • An immediate impact on patient experience as learning is applied back in the workplace • More potential leaders in the pipeline for better succession planning • Greater levels of confidence to challenge activities that don’t add value to patient care

In summary, the Edward Jenner programme was designed by healthcare colleagues. It is a highly practical and patient-focused leadership training programme that can be fitted around work commitments and is free to access. It is also a way to understand the purpose, challenges and culture of the NHS, and build and strengthen resilience around dealing with the daily challenges of working in healthcare, caring for patients, and leading services and colleagues. Consider, are you a leader and how can you grow and develop your skills to further your own career and make a real difference to the NHS?

About the NHS Leadership Academy

The NHS Leadership Academy was launched in April 2012. Its purpose is to develop outstanding leadership in health, in order to improve people’s health and their experience of the NHS. The Academy brings together for the first time, all the national activities supporting leadership development in health and NHS-funded services.

For more information about any of the NHS Leadership Academy’s programmes or activities, please visit www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/programmes/the-edward-jenner-programme.