Leadership for health professions education: Are some ways of thinking and practicing more useful than others?

Healthcare education, similar to other healthcare specialities is facing significant challenges. Political, environmental, technological, demographical, sociological and financial factors have combined to produce an increasingly complex and challenging healthcare environment. In the face of this uncertain world, healthcare organisations and policy makers have embraced leadership as an important organisational attribute, which requires development, to navigate the intricacies of the transformational change required to flourish in such a climate. This chapter outlines the role of leadership within the challenging environment of healthcare education and examines the proposition that leadership is part of the solution in supporting the next generation of professionals to care for and support our communities. Through examination of selected literature, it is suggested that there is evidence that particular forms of leadership may be more valuable than others in the current climate. A discussion ensues about the range of perspectives on leadership in healthcare education and asks: what might sustain the more beneficial ways of thinking and practicing regarding leadership.