What works? Team Work! Year 1 Leadership Programme, Altcar
Following several years of joint working between the University and army personnel in Liverpool 208 Field Hospital, each year our Year 1 Student Doctors stay overnight in Altcar Training Camp to experience leadership as taught by the army.
The experience uses a series of non-medical planning and command exercises designed to push students mentally and physically - within a safe environment.
As part of the medical undergraduate curriculum, this is a new innovative approach towards leadership development for the doctors of tomorrow.
Rather than attempting to convey the importance of leadership and teamwork in the confines of the classroom we have developed an innovative experiential approach to developing self-awareness and team working.
A day in the life | Altcar
Upon arrival students were intentionally put into groups with peers they didn't know in order to demonstrate the reality of working in multi-disciplinary teams.
Tasks set were designed so each student would have to lead a team at some point. They had to communicate and listen to each other in order to find out their own strengths and weaknesses and how to work effectively.
Facing command tasks, held outdoors and often involving equipment and building simple structures - attendees also ran through planning exercises undertaken in the classroom, using deductive thinking to solve real-life logistical problems. In addition, most undertook physical elements a simulated casualty recovery involving a ‘stretcher race’ which emphasised the importance of working as a team and helping weaker members complete the tasks.
In the evening there was also a night navigation orienteering exercise.
Feedback
All exercises are overseen by experienced army medical staff, who are able to offer constructive feedback and suggestions. Students witness each other's leadership style and technique while completing timed tasks. The roles of leader and team member were clearly defined so they could learn to work together in different ways.
Overall student’s reports demonstrated that they had learned more than the prescribed role of a leader and what that meant.
Students also reported the value of this experience in helping them to learn how to overcome personal reservations to work with their peers, and that individually they possessed a range of skills that could help and motivate other team members.
Listening and learning as doctors
The experience reinforces the value of listening, and learning about other people's talents and limitations, and how understanding these meant they could finish tasks together as a team. This all created a sense of pride and shared achievement.
Just because someone is quiet in a team doesn't mean they have nothing to contribute.
It is OK to ask for help or admit you are struggling.
Primarily, the experience teaches the invaluable lesson that as future doctors, all our students will have to be leaders and team members. If you want to provide the best care possible then the ability to work effectively with colleagues is invaluable.
The feedback from our new innovative 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.