On the 9th and 10th March 2021, Doctors Worldwide held a 2-day Leadership & Governance conference in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, as part of the Postgraduate Fellowship Programme. The conference aimed to support the professional development of healthcare workers in management roles as doctors, clinical managers and clinical administrators, in order to develop their leadership & management skills & equip them with the knowledge & skills to provide better quality and comprehensive care in the Rohingya refugee camps.
Clinical Management Challenges in the Refugee Camps
With an already junior level of experience in leadership and governance, clinicians working in the Rohingya refugee camps often face a complex challenge in understanding and organising the variety of systems they are expected to manage in order for their clinic to function effectively and efficiently. It is therefore incredibly important for programmes focusing on leadership and management skills – through training, assessment and mentorship – to be held, in order to enable the provision of safer and better quality healthcare for the patients being served.
Prior to the Leadership & Governance conference, Doctors Worldwide carried out a training needs-assessment and found that
94% of attendees had not received any training in leadership & clinical governance before.
The conference, therefore, aimed to offer solutions for key challenges found, including:
1. Tackling a lack of management experience
2. Building upon basic leadership skills
3. Encouraging empowerment to take responsibility & facilitate change
4. Nurturing a ‘solution mindset’
5. Tackling structural issues across HQ staff and clinical/camp staff
6. Building in qualitative and quantitative patient monitoring
Leadership & Governance Conference, 9-10th March (#Lead2021)
The main outcome of the conference was to allow participants to add extra perspectives to issues they face daily, with the primary aim of improving overall patient care in this ongoing crisis through leadership and governance skills. It also aimed to build the skills of future clinical leaders – not just for the Rohingya response – but also nationally across Bangladesh; the participants are part of the next generation of leaders that will influence and impact the wider healthcare system of the country.
Themes covered – of which 91% stated they had not receive training in this area before – included:
- Accountability and reducing risks (i.e. risk management; holding to account)
- Monitoring, Evaluating, and Assessing (i.e. evidence-based care; clinical audits, etc)
- Building Capacity (i.e. developing capability; professional development, etc)
- Patient Centred Care (ex patient and carer experience and involvement)
- Team Dynamics (i.e. staffing and staff management; engaging the team, etc)
- Leadership (i.e. leading with care; sharing the vision, etc)
- Education (i.e. understanding of learning, adult learning methods, etc)
Key presenters included: Monowara Gani (CEO, DWW), Dr Mir Ahmad (EM specialist), and Professor Kay Mohanna (Primary Care specialist and Chair of our Medical Education Speciality Sub-Committee).
The conference was a success, with
- up to 55 clinical leaders attending
- 37 clinics benefiting
- 15 agencies represented
- 44 of our PGF and DICE alumni attending
And due to popular demand, will run again this summer, with
- 60 clinical leaders booked to attend
- 50 clinics to benefit
- 20 NGOs and iNGOs will be represented
For interested attendees, we will be providing ongoing mentorship and support in their leadership and governance journey over the next 16 weeks, matching them with our in-house DWW experts.
Read more about our work in Bangladesh / Support Doctors Worldwide.
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*Image credit: IOM Bangladesh
