NCHDs invited to apply for new scholarship to support leadership skills

Funding will be available for up to 60 per cent of the cost of an approved Master’s course in the Republic of Ireland reimbursed up to a maximum of €4,800 per year.

Announcing the development, Prof Eilis McGovern, HSE National Doctors Training and Planning, said: “This scholarship is an investment both in the professional development of non-consultant hospital doctors and in the future of the Irish public health service.”

Dr Catherine Diskin, National Lead NCHD /NDTP Fellow, commented that this new scholarship “is a welcome support to NCHDs interested in pursuing a postgraduate Master’s degree in management or leadership”.

The HSE says it is interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of specialities. The funding will support 24 doctors to pursue a Master’s degree – 12 places will be part-funded in the first year and a further 12 in the second year.

The objective of the funding is to:

• Provide an additional option to NCHDs regarding their area of interest

• Encourage doctors with an interest in management and leadership roles to undertake a formal qualification

• Prepare doctors for management and leadership roles e.g. Clinical Directors

• Enhance the key role clinicians play in management and equip NCHDs with the necessary skills to undertake these roles in the future

It is expected that the Master’s programme will be two years part-time, however consideration will be given to applicants who are undertaking out of clinical programme experience recognised by their training body and who wish to complete a one year full-time programme.

For further information and to download an application form, please go to www.hse.ie/doctors