Health professionals’ perceptions of clinical leadership. A pilot study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Research process summary.

Table 1. Areas of health professional practice (excluding nurses and doctors)

Respondents were asked to “Please indicate your area of health practice with a tick, on the list below” The responses offered are below
Answer options	Response percent (%)	Response count
Audiology	1.6	5
Biomedical engineering	0.0	0
Clinical perfusion	0.3	1
Clinical psychology	2.6	8
Dietetics	11.2	34
Exercise physiology	0.0	0
Medical imaging technology	0.7	2
Medical librarian	0.0	0
Medical physics	0.0	0
Medical science	0.0	0
Neurophysiology technologist	0.3	1
Nuclear Medicine technology	0.0	0
Occupational therapy	17.8	54
Orthoptics	0.0	0
Orthotics and prosthetics	0.0	0
Pharmacy	4.9	15
Physiotherapy	19.7	60
Podiatry	3.0	9
Psychology	2.0	6
Radiation therapy	1.0	3
Respiratory science	0.0	0
Sleep technology	0.0	0
Social work	18.4	56
Sonography	0.0	0
Speech pathology	16.4	50
Answered question		304
Skipped question		3

Table 2. Qualities and characteristics MOST associated with clinical leadership

Rank no.	Quality or characteristics	%
1	Is an effective communicator	88.3
2	Sets direction (planning)	84.7
3	Is clinically competent	83.7
4	Has integrity and is honest	83.1
	Is approachable	83.1
5	Is a role model for others in practice	79.8
6	Copes well with change	76.9
7	Is supportive	75.2
8	Is a mentor	73.3
9	Is a motivator	72.6
10	Is a decision-maker	70.7

Table 3. Qualities and characteristics LEAST associated with clinical leadership

No.	Quality/characteristic LEAST associate with clinical leadership	%
1	Is controlling	83.7
2	Works alone	81.4
3	Is conservative	46.3
4	Must have relevant postgraduate training	38.4
5	Is artistic/imaginative	33.9
6	Deals with routine	33.6
7	Is a regulator	29.3
8	Deals with reward and punishment	28.7
9	Is an administrator	28.0
10	Has management experience	22.8

Table 4. Barriers to effective health professional clinical leadership

Item	%
A lack of time and or high clinical demand	29.6
Having to deal with bureaucracy	17.2
Lack of an opportunity to be a clinical leader	13.6
Limited funding/resources	11.2
A lack of mentoring	9.6
Part time work	8.8
Problems with the whole health system	8.4
Limited post Graduate opportunities or training opportunities	8.0
Lack of confidence	7.6
AHPs not respected (to be clinical leaders)	4.0
Resistance to change	4.0
Isolation	4.0
Burnout	3.2
Bullying	2.8
Lack of support from managers	2.8
Innovation not supported	2.8
Managing a work life balance	2.4
No time to study	2.4
Micro management	2.4
Some people have a negative attitude to clinical leadership/Unclear career path/In a new role/Clinical Leadership role is not valued/A blame culture/Blurred role boundaries/Not having a permanent position/Lack of admin support/Waiting lists/Conflict at work/No time to stop and reflect/A lack of autonomy/A slow and unresponsive health service/Fear/Travel/Imminent retirement/In a constant crisis/Parenting commitments/Hard to maintain visibility/Only a manager can be a leader/A lack of accountability/Cannot reward staff/Poor pay/Poor clinical leadership skills/Not part of the “purple circle”	2.0 or less

Table 5. Skills identified as being important across all health practice areas

Skill	%
Excellent communicator	53.6
Clinical experience	27.9
Management skills	13.1
Fair/trust/integrity	12.1
Time management	11.1
People skills	9.8
Understands other disciplines	9.2
Clinical skills	8.5
Team working	8.2
Flexible	8.2
Change management	7.2
Organisational skills	7.2