Importance of Leadership in Clinical Practice: An Essay

This essay explores the critical role of clinical leadership in healthcare, emphasizing its contribution to high-quality patient care and efficient healthcare systems. It highlights the importance of clinicians understanding complex care pathways and systems, as well as their professional obligation to engage in and manage these systems effectively. The essay contrasts the science of health with healthcare delivery, noting the gap between medical literature and clinical practice. It underscores the need for a culture that promotes innovation, mutual respect, and teamwork, supported by leadership at all levels. The conclusion reinforces the importance of effective leadership across the healthcare system and the need for a supportive culture to facilitate clinical leaders at the service delivery level, referencing relevant literature and reports to support its arguments. The essay concludes by summarizing the key aspects of effective leadership within the healthcare system and its impact on patient care and outcomes.

Leadership in clinical
practice

Introduction
Effective clinical leadership is important as it ensures a healthcare system of high quality.
This further aids in provision of safe and efficient care. The present essay discusses the aspects
related to the contribution of clinical leaders to the quality of patient care.
There are a number of complex system which perform the work of delivering health care.
These systems comprise of a large workforce as well as organizations. In order to function in an
appropriate manner, it is prime requirement for a clinician to develop a detailed understanding of
the pathways and care systems. Further, they should also possess the ability to work within these
systems as well as with these systems so that better care and treatment can be provided to the
service users. All the clinicians are professionally obliged to engage in as well as manage the
systems of healthcare (Swanwick and McKimm, 2011).
The science of health and that of healthcare delivery are completely different from each
other. Science of healthcare is concerned with medical literature. This literature is applied in the
clinical practice. However, it can be critically analysed that then practice adopted by clinicians is
not exclusively guided by the medical journals. There always lies a gap between the two, i.e., the
literature and the practice adopted. A number of years is taken by the literature to reach to the
actual practice adoption by the healthcare professionals. Hence, there exists a huge gap between
the daily practice of medicine and the published literature regarding it (Loftus, 2016).
An open culture that promotes innovation and mutual respect is a must to be established
by leadership at Board and senior management level within the healthcare system. It should
enhance teamwork thereby linking clinical leadership with the service delivery. All the levels of
healthcare system need to have clinical leadership. Further, a range of mechanisms will be
involved when translation of the leadership at the level of service delivery. Establishment of this
type of culture will assist the board in fulfilling the responsibilities associated with clinical
governance. Hence, clinical leadership is important for health care systems (Clinical Leadership
in Community Health, 2009).
Conclusion
From the essay it can be concluded that effective leadership can be fruitful if it is
established at all the levels within the healthcare system. For this, a supportive culture is required
that will aid in translation of clinical leaders at service delivery level.
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REFERENCES
Journals and books
Loftus, J. T., 2016. The Clinical Practice Program: A How-to-Guide for Physician Leaders On
Starting Up a Successful Program. BookBaby.
Swanwick, T. and McKimm, J., 2011. What is clinical leadership…and why is it important?.
Clin Teach. 8(1). pp.22-6.
Online
Clinical Leadership in Community Health. 2009. [Online]. Available Through:
<http://www.healthcaregovernance.org.au/docs/clinical-leadership-in-ch-final-report-
mar-2009-.pdf>. [Accessed on 2 March 2017].
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APPENDIX
Extract from journal
Health care is delivered by complex systems often involving large numbers of individuals
and organisations. The effective clinician needs to understand these pathways and systems of
care if they are to be able to function effectively, and must be comfortable working both within,
and with, these systems for the benefit of their patients. Engaging in leading and managing
systems of health care, on whatever scale - team, department, unit, hospital or health authority -
is therefore a professional obligation of all clinicians. Just as leadership is argued to be necessary
'at all levels', so 'leadership development', assessment and feedback must be provided throughout
the education and training of health professionals.
Extract from book
Extract from report
Leadership at the Board and Senior Management level are required to establish a culture
which encourages and rewards openness, mutual respect and teamwork as part of the safety and
quality agenda. The governing body of the organisation is responsible for articulating a
requirement for clinical leadership that will drive high quality clinical practice and service
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delivery which will be monitored through its reporting framework. As with all quality and safety
activities, clinical leadership must occur at all levels of the organisation and become an intrinsic
practice throughout the organisation. This will translate at a program and service delivery level
through a range of mechanisms that focus on clinical practice improvements to achieve optimum
outcomes for clients. Furthermore, once such a culture and practice has been established, the
Board is well placed to fulfil its clinical governance responsibilities.
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