About the programme
Leadership and Management Training is a five-day residential programme developed by and for laboratory professionals. It covers preparing for consultant-level responsibilities, navigating NHS structures, managing people and budgets, and contributing confidently to service change. Sessions are rooted in laboratory and pathology practice, with case studies, workshops, and group projects drawn from real NHS scenarios, including network working, procurement decisions, and workforce challenges, rather than generic management examples.
Who should attend?
This course is designed for specialist registrars and post-registration clinical biochemists, immunologists, and microbiologists, as well as consultants looking to progress into leadership roles in the NHS. For members preparing for FRCPath part 2, the course supports the broader professional development expected at this stage, with exposure to NHS finance, commissioning, governance, employment law, and leadership styles, areas increasingly relevant to senior scientific roles but not always covered in day-to-day work.
What you will learn
By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:
- understand the structure, funding, and accountability of the NHS across the four nations, and the strengths and weaknesses of its organisational models
- apply core people-management skills, including employment law fundamentals, to practical workforce scenarios
- interpret and manage a laboratory budget, and understand how business cases and procurement decisions are built and assessed
- lead and contribute to transformational change in pathology networks, drawing on leadership theory, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness frameworks such as MBTI
Course Outline
Day 1: NHS foundations (Monday 12 October)
The course opens with an overview of the NHS in the UK, past, present, and future, followed by assignment into project groups that will work together throughout the week. The evening includes a facilitated negotiation exercise.
Day 2: NHS structures and people (Tuesday 13 October)
A look at how the NHS is organised across the four nations, including funding flows, accountability, regulation, and clinical commissioning, with group work on engaging local commissioning boards. The afternoon turns to people management, covering employment law and its practical application to laboratory leadership, worked through real scenarios.
Day 3: Finance and procurement (Wednesday 14 October)
Sessions on how NHS finance is structured, including budgetary provision for pathology, costing, and business cases, followed by hands-on work managing a laboratory budget through case studies. The afternoon covers pathology procurement and managed service contracts, including the legal framework, tender processes, and common pitfalls, with group work on contract and bid management. The evening features a BBC-style Question Time debate with delegate-submitted questions.
Day 4: Clinical leadership and pathology networks (Thursday 15 October)
An exploration of leadership and management theory, emotional intelligence, and leadership styles, followed by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to build insight into personal behaviour and motivation. The afternoon shifts to pathology networks, with a national overview and a session on leading large-scale transformational change, followed by group work on real-world network challenges. The day closes with a gala dinner.
Day 5: Group presentations (Friday 16 October)
Delegate groups present the conclusions of their week-long project work to an invited panel, each followed by discussion, before closing comments and departure.
Delivery and access
The course is delivered in person as a residential programme at the Ashford International Hotel, with en-suite accommodation included. The residential format allows time for discussion and peer learning that's difficult to achieve in shorter courses. Delegates hear directly from national and regional NHS leaders, laboratory service directors, professional body representatives, and industry specialists throughout the week. CPD certificates are provided on completion.