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Clinical leadership in the dental profession: Approaches to becoming an effective leader

BDJ In Practice volume 33, pages 10–11 (2020)Cite this article

Leadership is the process by which an individual influences and motivates another individual or group of individuals to achieving a common goal.1 An effective leader exhibits a mixture of personality traits, qualities and behaviours which encourage and foster participation, development and commitment within the clinical environment.2 Such qualities include strategic thinking, problem solving, project management and people management. The concept of clinical leadership has gained increasing attention within dentistry, with many dental schools integrating leadership training into the curriculum and an increase in availability of postgraduate leadership courses.

Effective clinical leadership in dentistry requires an individual to possess not only focused leadership skills, but also insight into management and entrepreneurship.5 Leadership is an enabler of service improvement across healthcare organisations and essential for ensuring continuous quality improvement, as advocated by organisations i.e. Care Quality Commission (CQC). Evidence has demonstrated effective leadership is directly linked to health performance outcomes, whereby correlations between leadership styles and key indicators of quality care and enhanced patient outcomes have been validated.4,5,6

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References

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  2. Timofe M T, Ungureanu M I, Cetean A et al. Leadership Practices and Perceptions in Oral Healthcare: A Scoping Review. Oral Health Dent Manage 2017; 16: 1-7.

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  4. Chilcutt A S. Exploring leadership and team communication within the organisational environment of a dental practice. J Am Dent Assoc 2009; 140: 1252-1258.

  5. Contandriopoulos D, Denis J L. Leading transformation in public delivery systems: A political perspective. In: C Teelken, E Ferlie, M Dent, eds. Leadership in the Public Sector: Promises and Pitfalls. Routledge. 2012.

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  7. Morison S, McMullan C. Preparing for the future: Challenges and opportunities for management and leadership skills. Br Dent J 2012; 214: E2.

  8. Fried J L, Maxey H L, Battani K, Gurenlian J R, Byrd T O, Brunick A. Preparing the Future Dental Hygiene Workforce: Knowledge, Skills, and Reform. J Dent Educ 2017; 81: eS45-eS52.

  9. Fontana M,, González-Cabezas C, de Peralta T, Johnsen D C. Dental Education Required for the Changing Health Care Environment. J Dent Educ 2017; 81: eS153-eS161.

  10. Willcocks S G. Exploring leadership in the context of dentistry in the UK. Leadership in Health Services 2016; 29: 201-216.

  11. Willcocks S G. Leadership theory: implications for developing dental surgeons in primary care. Br Dent J 2011; 210: 105-107.

  12. Willcocks S G. Exploring the use of strategic frameworks in dental practice. Br Dent J 2015; 218: 219-221.

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  1. Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, 378 Sauchiehall Street, G2 3JZ, Glasgow, UK

    Alice Duke

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  1. Alice Duke
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Correspondence to Alice Duke.

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Duke, A. Clinical leadership in the dental profession: Approaches to becoming an effective leader . BDJ In Pract 33, 10–11 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-020-0356-1

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