7 Reflections and lessons from organising the inaugural south west leadership conference: next generation leaders

Introduction The inaugural South West leadership conference, ‘Next Generation Leaders’, was held in March 2019. This was open to 200 trainees and was jointly organised by the seven Health Education England South West (HEE-SW) Leadership Fellows and two Academic Foundation doctors. It was funded by HEE-SW through the Severn deanery in collaboration with the Leadership Academy. Issue The importance of good leadership skills in junior doctors is increasingly recognised; this conference aimed to inspire and equip clinicians with leadership skills. Topics included exploring leadership during challenging circumstances, leadership development, human factors and organisational structures. We adopted a distributive leadership approach, rapidly learning how to organise and promote a conference in budget, inviting speakers, providing network opportunities, website design and coordinating poster presentations. Intervention The conference delivered a varied programme with full details available at the event website (www.nextgenerationleaders.net). A diverse range of speakers were invited from within healthcare and other industries. We aimed for total inclusivity for all trainees across the South West, being free to access, central location and flexible content. Measurement Feedback from delegates was obtained via an electronic survey. Analysis showed the conference was well received, 98% of attendees recommended the conference. Lessons Reflections of the organising committee centred around how we worked as a team, bonding at the start of the fellowship and becoming a cohesive group. Through our individual and collective experiences this conference has acted as a catalyst to furthering our own leadership development inspiring us to pursue future opportunities. We would like to inform and inspire others interested in organising similar events. We hope to promote others to seek out leadership development opportunities, which is crucial for the future of the NHS.