Skills, Determinants and Attitudes towards Leadership among Undergraduates in Medicine

Background: Good leadership is fundamental for providing a better healthcare. The objective of this study was to evaluate the leadership skills, determinants and attitudes in medical undergraduates. Methods: Self and Rater versions of the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) and a formulated questionnaire based on Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF) were distributed among first year students who were followed up in the final year with the same assessments. Skills were evaluated with an average ALQ score, under four domains; transparency (TR), ethical skills (ES), balanced processing (BP) and self-awareness (SA). Determinants of leadership skills were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Students in the first year (n=115; females=64, males=51), had lower leadership skills score (2.74±0.38; mean ± SD) than in the final year (n=101; females=52, males=49; 3.05±0.43p<0.001). Highest mean score in the first year was for SA (2.85±0.55) and the lowest was for ES (2.48±0.47). Significant improvement in all the ALQ domains were observed in the final year than the first year (p<0.05). Males had a higher mean ALQ score in the first year and a significantly higher score (3.14±0.47) than females (2.97±0.37; p=0.04) in the final year. Knowledge on medical leadership was good in the first (4.39±0.33) and the final year (4.38±0.69; p=0.85). Students who had done extracurricular activities had good leadership skills (3.35±0.49). Conclusions: Students had improved leadership skills in the final year than in the first year. Males had better leadership skills and significant improvement than females. Including leadership training in medical curricular is recommended.