Needs Assessment for a Leadership Course in Saudi Medical Schools: The Student Perspective

Mohammed Alblihed,1 Haitham Alzghaibi2 1Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Health Informatics, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Haitham Alzghaibi, Email halzghaibi@qu.edu.saIntroduction: Leaders in healthcare no longer need to hold formal management positions; instead, leadership is perceived to be the responsibility of all healthcare professionals. Despite changes in curricula and teaching design, however, this review of the content taught in medical colleges in Saudi Arabia reveals a lack of leadership and a failure to equip young graduates to compete on the global stage. Medical students need leadership skills for patient care, cooperation, and navigating the complex healthcare system. Clinical management skills in hospitals require these talents also. The complexity of healthcare and the impact healthcare executives have on people’s lives highlight the importance of these skills. Thus, healthcare practitioners must develop non-technical skills like proactivity, motivation, and change management to lead across professional boundaries and negotiate the increasingly complex healthcare landscape.Methods: This cross-sectional study combines a quantitative approach with a self-administered questionnaire-based survey. The sampling procedure is a non-probability convenience technique, adapted for 700 male and female undergraduate medical students from four medical colleges.Results: Of the students, 75.46% had minimal leadership experience and 22.69% had some leadership experience; 3.02% of 464 students considered themselves highly experienced in leadership.Conclusion: As the needs assessment and other relevant factors show, leadership should be introduced as a skilled subject. There will always be a growing demand for competent medical graduates, who are capable of becoming future leaders. Although elementary leadership concepts remain fundamentally the same, curricular development must focus on the needs of society and stakeholders.Keywords: medical students, Saudi Arabia, medical education, higher education, curriculum, leadership