Finalist
Bayer Ophthalmology Masterclass Programme | Consultant Development
Summary of work
Consultant Development was designed to deliver high-quality, practical training on management and leadership topics for doctors transitioning into the role of ophthalmic consultants. These non-clinical subjects are not widely taught, but are essential when moving from a purely clinical role to a position of service leadership.
Bayer’s goal in sponsoring this initiative was to maintain its position as a long-term, trusted partner to ophthalmic departments. Priority training areas related to challenges around capacity, service design, duty of candour and staff/personal resilience. By upskilling consultants in these areas, patient care is ultimately enhanced at a systems and individual level.
In 2016, two interactive workshops were delivered by a steering committee and expert faculty to 29 participants. An additional Ask the Expert meeting was delivered by a global ophthalmic key opinion leader to the alumni of the 2016 and 2015 (inaugural) courses; the goal being to build peer-to-peer support.
Participant knowledge, confidence and competence levels were assessed before and after the workshops, with improvements in all categories recorded, particularly evident in the categories of understanding stakeholders and service plan development. Positive participant feedback and personal examples demonstrated how the course helped participants make real-life decisions and cascade learning back into their services.
Judges’ comments
This was an innovative programme to be proud of, with good longevity, a very thorough evaluation and high quality outcomes. It had all of the elements required and was extremely well-executed.
