What is it about?
Strong physician leadership is vital for advancing patient safety, collaboration, and organisational resilience in healthcare systems. Yet, physicians often receive little structured preparation for leadership roles. This quantitative study evaluated the leadership competencies, challenges, and preferred development approaches among 100 hospital physicians in Lebanon. Using the Healthcare Evaluation and Assessment of Leadership (HEAL) framework, physicians self-assessed five domains: selfless leadership, critical thinking, engaging others, integrity, and system transformation. The survey also explored common challenges and barriers to leadership and asked participants to select between two development models: continuing professional development (CPD) and the 360-degree appraisal mechanism. Participants reported high levels of self-perceived leadership competence, particularly in integrity and teamwork. However, significant barriers emerged, including time constraints, financial pressures, negative attitudes from senior colleagues, and insufficient business or management training. Nearly two-thirds of physicians preferred CPD as the most effective means of improving leadership capability. Ultimately, empowering physicians with leadership and management skills is critical to strengthening healthcare systems in Lebanon and beyond. Structured, context-specific programs that integrate CPD with reflective feedback can bridge existing skill gaps, foster collaboration, and improve both team performance and patient outcomes.
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Why is it important?
Understanding how physicians develop leadership skills is key to improving healthcare quality and teamwork. This study provides valuable insights into physicians’ leadership strengths, learning preferences, and areas for growth, helping to guide the design of future development programs. The findings highlight the importance of integrating leadership, management, and communication training into continuing professional development (CPD) to equip physicians for the evolving demands of healthcare. These insights can help hospitals, universities, and policymakers design structured programs that foster effective physician leaders capable of driving innovation, enhancing team collaboration, and improving patient care quality and organisational performance.
Perspectives
Conducting this study allowed me to focus on an essential yet often overlooked aspect of healthcare, the leadership growth of physicians. I was driven by a deep passion to understand how structured development can enhance teamwork, motivation, and patient-centered care. Through this work, I aimed to show that effective leadership is not about hierarchy, but about collaboration, integrity, and continuous learning. The experience strengthened my belief that empowering physicians with leadership and communication skills can transform healthcare teams and improve outcomes. I hope this study encourages organisations to prioritise leadership education and invest in programs that build confidence, inspire innovation, and promote a culture of shared responsibility in healthcare.
Rawan Ibrahim
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Physician leadership competency: a quantitative study of challenges, barriers and development models, British Journal of Healthcare Management, October 2025, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/bjhc.2024.0101.
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