Management training for all specialist registrars

I agree with Hewson et al (Psychiatric Bulletin, February 2006, 30, ) that management training should be an integral part of training for all higher trainees. However, I disagree with their conclusion that generic management training courses only focus on general aspects of management common to all specialties.

The West Midlands Deanery has recently started to run an innovative management training course, which is open to specialist registrars of all specialties and general practitioner registrars. The New Leaders Scholarship Course runs over 4 half-days, each a month apart. Between the learning sets each trainee develops a management or leadership project relevant to their own specialty. The trainees decide the content of the learning sets that are relevant to their projects. At the end of the course trainees present their completed projects or project proposals to an expert panel.

This format allows generic management training to be made relevant to specific specialties. The feedback from the first group of trainees to undertake the course has been extremely positive: they felt the course increased their understanding of management and leadership issues, as well as meeting their individual learning objectives.