The University’s first year medical students have taken part in a unique Army training programme, designed to develop their leadership and management skills.
The 300 students spent two days at the Altcar Training Facility near Formby and undertook a number of command exercises involving the management of equipment, as well as planning exercises where they were asked to find solutions to complex scenarios. They also took part in physical challenges including an assault course and gun run.
Professor John Earis from the University’s School of Medicine developed the programme with Colonel Debbie Telford at 208 Field Hospital (Medical Reservists) in Liverpool. He said: “Over many years, failure of clinical leadership has been identified as one of the major underlying causes of poor patient care in the NHS.
“As part of the new undergraduate curriculum, we are in the vanguard of developing leadership and management capabilities in our students to equip them for their future career in medicine.
“The feedback from our new programme with the Army has been very positive, with students reporting that they found the exercises fun and that they learnt a lot about themselves and the challenges of working in teams – all skills that are essential to a future doctor.
“We want our medical graduates to be excellent clinical scientists, but we also want them to possess the skills they need to be the clinical leaders of the future with the ability to respond to the ever changing needs of healthcare.”