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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.01 About this book
As each day passes, further medical breakthroughs lead to advances in clinical practice.
At the same time the population’s healthcare needs and expectations are steadily
growing with many resources becoming increasingly restricted. As a doctor, it can seem
like you are faced with endless change, accompanied by constantly increasing
workloads, deadlines and pressures. The impact you feel can range from bemusement
to frustration to stress. The impact on the healthcare system can range from inefficiency
to errors and failures. The impact on patients and their families can range from the
inconvenient to the catastrophic and life-changing.
Whether you are involved in developing a service, running a quality improvement project,
constructing a business case or simply needing to control your appraisal and revalidation
process, your ability to effectively manage time, people and resources is essential.
Practical management skills are required whether you are leading such activities or
involved in some supporting role, whether formally or informally.
In this book, the focus is on getting things done through the organisation and
management of people, projects and resources. It is designed to be distinct and to
complement our other guide books including:
The Essential Guide to Medical Leadership & Management – where the focus is
on getting things done through the interaction with others at a human level
A Guide to Medical Leadership & the NHS – where we explore the history,
structures and finance of the NHS and make this relevant to your everyday
leadership.
You will be introduced to a variety of concepts and models which are simple enough to
learn quickly and powerful enough to adapt to a broad range of situations – from
managing your personal information, to staff rotas, through to conducting an effective
audit. The intention is that they will be presented in a manner where they interact and
complement each other, helping you to build what I will refer to as your Practical
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