The Physician Leader: Teaching Leadership in Medicine

An integral part of a physician's practice includes being a leader, especially as there is a strong need for skilled leaders to advocate and navigate patient-centered and organizational outcomes. Nephrologists undertake multiple leadership roles, but dedicated leadership training is lacking in medical and postgraduate education. Given the growing need for physician leaders, practitioners in nephrology and beyond must become better equipped in understanding the role of leadership skills in medical practice. Nephrology and the medical community as a whole should focus on intentional and dedicated leadership in medical education training to better groom physicians for leadership roles. In this paper, we define and discuss the components and styles of leadership. We further propose cognitive models that allow one to apply leadership theory in common practice. Q 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.

Automated summary

Physicians need to become leaders in their practice, but there is a lack of dedicated leadership training in medical education. Therefore, physicians must better understand the role of leadership skills in medical practice in order to excel in leadership roles.