On Wednesday, i attended The King's Fund's NHS Leadership and Management Summit where they launched the findings of a six month consultation into, yes you've guessed it, management and leadership in the NHS. By the good grace of my university i was able to attend, firstly because i teach health care management and thought it would be relevant to me and my students, but secondly because one of the 'streams' was on emerging leaders, with a particular focus on clinical leaders...so two birds with one stone and all that.
My research is about how change is introduced into healthcare organisations, specifically the recent introduction of management and leadership elements into medical training, so i was, of course, hopeful that i could glean a bit of information from the sessions and perhaps make a contact or two, but what i didn't expect is for me to make three very good contacts, all of whom are keen to help me with my work. So, in one of the plenaries, i just happened to be sitting behind a trainee doctor involved in management and leadership from the East Midlands (we're going to catch up again soon); in a workshop, i met a trainee doctor who's already working with a trainee manager (likewise we're arranging to meet soon) and from one of the speakers, i have a contact working with trainee doctors encouraging them to get more involved in management and leadership (email sent, awaiting reply).
Now, these may come to nothing, but it made me appreciate how a combination of pushing to attend a seemingly relevant event, added to the slightest bit of 'networking courage' can add up to a lot. No one else was going to make that happen for me, so perhaps that's a lesson that can be filed under 'how to get ahead in your PhD.' Oh and i got to meet Gerry Robinson, you know, the bloke off the telly...
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