The CLCF: developing leadership capacity and capability in the clinical professions.

This paper reports on the findings of work to develop a Clinical Leadership Competency Framework (CLCF) that will be used by all the regulated clinical professions across the UK. The CLCF was created, with the agreement of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, from the Medical Leadership Competency Framework (MLCF), which was created and developed and is owned jointly by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. Although the context and scenarios described in the MLCF are particular to doctors, the generic leadership competences were considered potentially applicable to all clinicians in their practitioner roles. The aim of this project was to work with the clinical professions to build leadership awareness and capability across the health service, by assessing the readiness of the clinical professions to embed leadership competences in undergraduate education, postgraduate training and continuing professional development. The work that has been undertaken to date shows that there is widespread recognition that leadership is important, and that the development of clinical leadership is viewed as absolutely critical. It represents a fundamental change in the way we train and educate clinicians. The next step for the CLCF project team is to work with professional bodies, regulators and education establishments to help them to embed the CLCF effectively, and this work is already under way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]