Overview 

This short course for current and aspiring healthcare leaders will help you become a leader who can respond to and thrive in the continually changing and challenging healthcare context.

Healthcare is in a constant state of change to meet the evolution of healthcare services and public health goals. Facing challenges in all directions (including demographic changes, rising costs, new technologies, the private-public healthcare interface and the ongoing management of Covid-19) the healthcare sector needs strategic leaders more than ever.

Required to make strategic decisions in response to a range of changing priorities, healthcare leaders must steer healthcare organisations through daily challenges.

This six-week online course will guide you through the complexities of leadership roles using a balance of theory, self-reflection and interaction. It will help you develop different responses and approaches within changing contexts.

You'll be supported to develop your identity as a strategic healthcare leader, based on the core principles of personal growth and self-development. You'll be invited to challenge concepts, reflect on your own leadership practice and grow.

The course provides a safe space to ask questions and share and seek insights from course instructors and peers.

Course aims

The aim of this course is to provide you with:

• an understanding of the importance of purposeful and strategic leadership as the driver for organisational success
• opportunities to hone your personal leadership skills through active learning that encourages self-reflection
• insights and knowledge of the complexity of leadership roles, particularly regarding collaboration, stakeholder engagement and team building to drive forward strategic objectives

Who this course is for 

This course is designed for individuals who are mid-career and at manager or head level within a healthcare organisation.

This could include, but is not limited to:

• HR staff
• clinical staff
• policymakers
• healthcare managers

It's also open to those from industries related to health who are at a level in their organisation where advancing their understanding of strategic leadership would be of value.

Course content

The course includes three modules: 

1. Strategic leadership in healthcare

This module introduces you to different frameworks and styles for leading and managing.

You'll learn critical skills in relation to strategic leadership, including:

• developing strategic priorities
• creating a vision for your initiatives
• stakeholder mapping
• action planning

You’ll also look in-depth at the role leaders play in relation to boards and organisational governance, planning, financial sustainability and accountability, managing resources, stakeholder engagement and driving continual improvement. 

2. Leadership in practice

In a landscape of an ageing population with technological and healthcare advancements, this module challenges you to crystallise yourself and your qualities as a leader.

You'll explore:

• your strengths
• how others perceive you
• embracing diversity
• how to cultivate high performance at team and organisational levels.

3. Change management

This module focuses on applying organisational change in relation to the complexities and stakeholders in healthcare settings. Examining the theory of leading and managing change, you'll also look at how to design a change management strategy, including how to meaningfully measure outcomes and impact.

Teaching and structure 

Over six weeks you will explore three modules. You will study each module over two weeks, dedicating approximately 10 to 12 hours on various activities including:

• watching live online lectures
• reading
• taking part in discussion forum activities
• completing formative assessments, such as self-reflection exercises and quizzes
• completing marked project assignments

There will also be weekly live sessions online with the module lead.

Assessment, certificates and accreditation

You'll receive a certificate of completion and CPD points awarded by The CPD Certification Service when you've completed all the marked assignments for each of the three modules. These include mandatory discussion forums, short written assignments and a final project.

You'll also be able to assess how you're doing throughout the course by completing multiple choice quizzes and unmarked self-reflection exercises.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Apply strategic leadership frameworks to healthcare leadership challenges
• Use AI tools for competitive market analysis and risk forecasting
• Hone your personal leadership skills through active learning and self-reflection
• Articulate communication skills for healthcare leadership and change
• Formulate Change Management plans that can be measured and actioned

Entry requirements 

You must be fluent in English.

We recommended you have a degree or interest in leadership and management.

Cost and concessions

The standard fee for this course is £1,800.

A 20% discount is available to the following learners:

• UCL Staff/Alumni
• NHS Staff
• Corporate multi-buy fee of 3+ places

NHS staff and UCL alumni and staff discount is subject to valid email address. Discount eligibility will be verified as part of your application.   

Course team

Professor Nora Ann Colton

Nora is Director of the UCL Global Business School for Health. She's a health and international development economist specialising in the Middle East. She speaks Arabic and publishes on issues relating to globalisation and health in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Nora has a wealth of experience in leadership and change management along with designing leadership training programmes across a number of sectors.

Dr Rashmi Mathew

Rashmi is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, where she's a glaucoma specialist. Rashmi is a co-leader of two master’s degree programmes in advanced clinical practice at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. She's Deputy Director for the Undergraduate Education Directorate at Moorfields, a department which oversees the training of 900 medical students a year. She's also an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Course information last modified: 28 Aug 2025, 16:40