Doctors, nurses to be trained as leaders in Britain's NHS

LONDON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is to pioneer a business course developed at Harvard University to train 1,000 doctors and nurses to become future leaders, it was revealed Wednesday.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he wants more doctors and nurses to occupy positions at the most senior levels of NHS.

Speaking at the NHS Providers annual conference, Hunt announced new measures to bring in the sharpest graduates and aspiring leaders and turn them into chief executives of the same standard as the best in the NHS and the private sector.

Hunt said he acknowledged the challenges hospital leaders face, saying that running a hospital is one of the most difficult jobs in Britain today.

The NHS needs to get better at attracting and retaining the best leaders and at investing in talent in the same way that large private sector companies do, Hunt said.

New measures announced Wednesday include recruiting up to 1,000 of Britain's graduates by expanding the NHS graduate scheme. It will mean working with Britain's top universities to develop a new NHS-approved Masters of Business Administration (MBA), a fast-track program for doctors and nurses to become future NHS leaders

"Currently only a third of NHS chief executives have a clinical background. Working with world class universities, such as Yale University this year, the government is creating a new program to prepare and support doctors and nurses with the highest potential for leadership," Hunt said.

The first students will enroll in September 2017, with programs modeled on a successful program piloted at Harvard University two years ago.