Leading and managing systems of healthcare is a professional obligation of all clinicians. Any person who is leading the delivery of frontline healthcare can be considered a clinical leader. As doctors, we are not only expected to provide high-quality clinical care, but also to lead teams, manage resources, influence policies, and drive innovation. These roles require different mindsets, skills, and behaviours than those we learnt in medical school or as doctors. How can we develop ourselves as effective and ethical leaders who can inspire, motivate, and empower others? How can we balance our clinical responsibilities with our leadership roles? How can we cope with the stress and uncertainty that come with being a leader in health care? This booklet attempts to answer some of those questions.

The booklet is written by a team of authors with expertise and knowledge about leadership in the clinical environment. It contains twenty mock case scenarios similar to what is seen as a daily occurrence in Sri Lankan hospitals. The discussion that follows each scenario is one way of resolving the situations. You may consider alternative ways of resolving such situations and reflect about the manner in which you have handled similar experiences in the past.

We hope the booklet will help you to avoid similar situations and guide you when facing a leadership crisis in your clinical practice. CCP is indebted to the Royal College of Physicians for the encouragement and support given to initiate the Medical Leadership program and in taking it forward.

September 2023

P L Ariyananda
A S Dissanayake
D Munidasa