The GP leader of the future: mission impossible?

In this lecture, Professor Judith Smith will draw on over 20 years of research and development work in and alongside primary care to examine the changing nature of leadership and management in this sector. She will consider the ways in which general practitioners (GPs) have traditionally assumed leadership roles within local practices, and also in wider representative or collective primary care organisations, as commissioners, providers, politicians, researchers and educators.
Judith will draw on this analysis to set out what she considers to be the primary care leadership requirement for the future in the NHS, drawing on both UK and international research into new models of primary and integrated care organisation. As part of this, Judith will address the issue of how the NHS needs to enable a more diverse clinical and leadership community. She will conclude by suggesting what her overall analysis means for those in primary care aspiring to take on leadership roles in the future, including how they might choose to shape their career paths and development plans, and what wider support and experience they will need.