Discussing healthcare leadership in times of crisis
A team of students from Green Templeton hosted a panel discussion on leadership skills critical to humanitarian responses to health emergencies on Friday 13 September 2024. The discussion in college, which was also streamed to viewers around the world, was organised and run by students in the Oxford Global Health Society (OGHS).
Dr Maju Brunette (MSc Global Healthcare Leadership, 2023) reflects on the aims of the event, and what was discussed
Let me begin with why Oxford Global Health Society chose the title: ‘Beyond the Ivory Tower’. Our intention was to provoke a reflection on the role of academia in shaping how healthcare leadership is taught, implemented, and evaluated. Reflecting on the year that has passed, we felt we could not ignore the impact of power imbalances and what we saw as the absence of a solid moral compass from global leaders.
The panel began with Dr Andrew Black who showed us the structure of the current WHO Leadership in Emergencies Programme. Dr Black also discussed Appreciative Leadership and concluded with the current challenges for leaders in emergency environments. Next, we had Dr Bhargavi Rao, professor at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who provided us with an overview of current humanitarian responses and regions. She also shared her experiences of being in the field for over fifteen years and now leading the Health in Humanitarian Crises program at LSHTM.
For the second part of the panel, we were honored to have Dr Nick Maynard, Upper GI Surgeon and Professor at Oxford University Hospitals. Dr Maynard discussed the critical challenges of medical education in the fragile area of Gaza. Through powerful images that instantly grabbed our attention, we were transported to a real humanitarian setting and were able to see how clinical teaching takes place within a fragile health system and a volatile context. Dr Maynard concluded with a call to action as he offered his perspectives about how leadership has been missing from our governments, media, and the academic and medical institution, locally and globally.
The panel concluded with the courageous voice of Amira Nimerawi, CEO of Health Workers 4 Palestine and Social Impact Specialist at the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. Amira empowered us to rethink how leaders can drive transformative change in conflict and complex contexts such as the occupied Palestinian Territories.
From the podium at Oxford University we felt we were able to raise our voices and share with the audience an urgent sense of responsibility. We invited the audience to reflect on the abrupt changes to the global health landscape and ongoing geopolitical crises and what could be done to become fearless agents of social change and effective leaders in the humanitarian and emergency response field.
The entire Oxford Global Health Society team is most grateful to the panelists who offered their time and honest perspectives. We left with many unanswered questions but truly empowered to continue to learn and contribute to raise awareness of how medical and health sciences can effectively be managed in complex humanitarian emergencies, by leaders who are willing to wear both the academic and the activist hat.
We are also grateful to support from Green Templeton College for making this event possible.
