Fostering leadership across systems in health (FLASH)

This 6-month practical program you will develop your leadership capability and drive positive change within our health system.

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FLASH Leadership Programs

Being a leader is more than just taking on an official leadership role or management position. Good leadership has far-reaching implications across all parts of our health systems, whilst achieving high quality patient outcomes.

Effective leadership is required for excellence in research and educational outcomes and is associated with a more fulfilled and productive workforce.

The FLASH program is developed by clinicians for clinicians. Our teaching faculty have expertise and experience in delivering leadership programs, health professional education and coaching.

This stimulating program will be highly interactive and showcase many health professional leaders’ experiences through panel/participant discussions.
Your leadership ability will be fostered in many ways, including:

  • Examining and reflecting on your own behaviours and relationships with others.
  • Exploring ways to build effective teams.
  • Developing techniques to positively influence others.
  • Learning strategies to approach conflict constructively.
  • Better understand the national and NSW health systems.
  • Experiencing the benefits of coaching and mentoring.
  • Shadowing senior leaders.

FLASH has been developed around the Australian Health Leadership LEADS Framework.

2:43

Fostering Leadership Across Systems in Health

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Video transcript

Fostering Leadership Across Systems in Health

Kevin Lowe – Professor Leadership University of Sydney, Westmead Health Precinct

Flash is a program to develop leadership capacity in healthcare professionals. Most healthcare training is necessarily focused on the science and medicine, and so this program is designed to increase leadership capacity for those who might have administration as part of their career path.

Peter Hockey – Executive Director of Safety and Quality, WSLHD

The intent is to give clinicians—who are all leaders in their own right, some more skills to be more competent and capable leaders in the health system.

Sandra Turner – Radiation Oncologist, Westmead Hospital

Today, we are running a session which involves all the FLASH programs intersecting. So that’s medical, allied health, and nursing and midwifery. We are all coming together to do a change management simulation.

Brian Lusica – Health Management Intern, WSLHD

We’ve been allocated to various teams, multidisciplinary teams and in addition to getting to know each other of course, we are working together and leveraging our experience to see how we can get the best outcomes with the least amount of resources.

Lisa White – Clinical Midwifery Consultant, WSLHD

You realise that some people might have different ways of looking at things, but we’re all working towards the same purpose, and we have to work together for a common goal.

Jane Pineda – Clinical Psychologist WSLHD

I am enjoying the interaction with my fellow colleagues and understanding how we can implement a process of change that would be effective for the organisation.

Danica Mackay – Senior Occupational Therapist, WSLHD

Today, we are in breakout groups, and we’re analysing a business organisational change and sort of trying to find the best approach to managing change within an organisation.

Monique Atkinson, Fertility Fellow, Westmead Children’s Hospital

I think it’s really been inspirational to think about how, as a doctor, we can lead change within the hospital system in which we work.

Rianor Lozanes – Clinical Nurse Consultant, WSLHD

I’m finding the event has been exciting and interesting, so it’s a huge learning curve for me and its good experience for me to the know the roles and what is needed to implement change in an organisation.

Maria Lingam – Director Nursing and Midwifery, WSLHD

The ability for staff to work together in a face-to-face scenario has really brought out the best and probably the most competitive aspects of the process.

Vivian Leung – Clinical Neuropsychologist, WSLHD

From these workshops, I have understood that being a leader isn’t just being someone in an executive position. It’s at every stage of the organisation, being able to point out and make our voices heard and be the voice for our patients and consumers.

FLASH has challenged and changed my views on what leadership is, helped me to recognise different leadership styles, and to think about my own leadership, including how to develop it, and how to be a more effective leader. Learning about different leadership styles and how best to interact with them, has been enlightening. I have gained significant confidence in my abilities as a leader.

FLASH for nurses and midwives

Target audience
FLASH is designed for clinical nurse or midwifery consultants, nurse practitioners and nurse or midwife educators.

Aim
The FLASH program aims to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and attributes which are building blocks for effective leadership. FLASH is designed to foster the longitudinal development of confidence and behaviours for effective leadership to be applied to all facets of the health system throughout their careers.

FLASH highlights

  • full-day interactive workshops
  • two-day immersive offsite overnight workshop
  • four interprofessional days learning with mixed allied health and medical FLASH streams
  • highly interactive format with wide-ranging guest faculty
  • tailored to local health district and network needs to address a gap in nursing and midwifery leadership development, linking to real-life health service scenarios
  • opportunity to ‘shadow’ a senior health leader
  • dedicated full-day research workshop
  • great opportunities for building ongoing networks across disciplines and professions.
FLASH for allied health professionals

Target audience
FLASH is designed for allied health professional level 2 to 5 clinicians from all disciplines.

Aim
The FLASH program aims to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and attributes which are building blocks for effective leadership. FLASH is designed to foster the longitudinal development of confidence and behaviours for effective leadership. These new skills relate to all facets of the health system that participants might interact with throughout their careers.

FLASH highlights

  • full-day interactive workshops
  • two-day immersive offsite overnight workshop
  • four interprofessional days learning with medical and nursing and midwifery FLASH streams
  • highly interactive format with wide-ranging guest faculty
  • tailored to local health district and network needs to address a gap in allied health professionals’ leadership development, linking to real-life health service scenarios
  • opportunity to ‘shadow’ a senior health leader
  • dedicated full-day research workshop
  • great opportunities for building ongoing networks across disciplines and professions.
FLASH for doctors

Target Audience
FLASH is aimed at specialist doctors within their first 10 (approx.) years of independent practice as well as trainees in their last year of specialty training and clinical or research fellows.

Aim
The FLASH program aims to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and attributes which are building blocks for effective leadership. FLASH is designed to foster the longitudinal development of confidence and behaviours for effective leadership. These skills will be able to be applied to all facets of working within the health system throughout participants’ careers.

FLASH highlights

  • full-day interactive workshops
  • two-day immersive offsite overnight workshop
  • four interprofessional days learning with medical and nursing and midwifery FLASH streams
  • highly interactive format with wide-ranging guest faculty
  • tailored to local health district and network needs to address a gap in allied health professionals’ leadership development, linking to real-life health service scenarios
  • opportunity to ‘shadow’ a senior health leader
  • dedicated full-day research workshop
  • great opportunities for building ongoing networks across disciplines and professions.

Participant fees
Successful WSLHD trainees or fellows will receive complimentary registration which includes all costs of the FLASH program.

FLASH has been pre-approved for WSLHD staff specialists to use their Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at a cost of $5500 i.e. doctors applying through TESL will get automatic out-of-session approval for the full program without having to wait for the committee to meet. Payment will be processed without participants having to pay up front.

Note: approval from the participant’s manager will still be required and the participant will be fully responsible for the TESL application process.

For all Visiting Medical Officer's and non-WSLHD participants, the FLASH program costs $5500 – includes 8 full-day sessions, overnight stay at Q Station Manly, all meals and refreshments, access to all FLASH resources and up to 2 sessions with a professional coach.

Contact FLASH

For all FLASH course inquiries, please email WSLHD-FLASH@health.nsw.gov.au

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