The leadership and followership challenges of doctors in training during the COVID-19 pandemic

Research carried out in 2016 by the authors investigated the challenges that doctors in training experience around leadership and followership in the NHS. The study explored contemporary healthcare leadership culture and the role of followership from the perspective of early career doctors. It found that the leadership and followership challenges for these doctors in training were associated with issues of social and professional identity, communication, the medical hierarchy, and relationships with senior colleagues (support and trust). These challenges were exacerbated by the busy and turbulent clinical environment in which they worked. To cope with various clinical situations and forms of leadership, doctors in training engage in a range of different followership behaviours and strategies. The study raised implications for medical education and training and suggested that followership should be included as part of formal training in communication and team working skills. The importance of both leadership and followership in the delivery of safe and effective patient care has been brought sharply into focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article revisits these challenges in light of the pandemic and its impact on the experiences of doctors in training.

Automated summary

The study found that challenges in leadership and followership for doctors in training were primarily related to issues of social and professional identity, communication, medical hierarchy, and relationships with senior colleagues. These challenges were exacerbated by the busy and turbulent clinical environment in which they worked. To cope with various clinical situations and forms of leadership, doctors in training engage in a range of different followership behaviors and strategies.