6453 Lead by example – learn through experience; which experiential opportunities help shape clinical leadership in PEM?

Objectives 'Effective leadership' is a core competence required for paediatric emergency medicine (PEM). PEM is rooted in team-based delivery of family-centred care, and relies on the team leader responding to the emotional needs of the team, patient and family.¹ It is paramount that PEM leaders understand the principles of human factors and emotional intelligence that underpin effective leadership – and should prioritise development of leadership skills with this principle at the core.² Limited formal leadership training opportunities combined with the unpredictable PED shopfloor environment can make identifying these opportunities challenging.³ Juniors desire more leadership training, including mentoring and clinical supervision.⁴ This novel study aims to explore the value of experiential learning opportunities senior clinicians and nurses value for the development of effective shop floor leadership in PEM. Methods An explorative questionnaire was completed by senior doctors and nurses across paediatrics and EM in a district general hospital in the UK. Participants were asked to rank non-formalised leadership development opportunities in PEM from most to least useful. Results 27 participants completed the survey – 10 (37%) EM consultants, 8 (30%) paediatric consultants, 7 (25%) senior nurses, 2 (7%) registrars. 'Honest feedback from clinical colleagues', 'debriefing after difficult situations' and 'coaching' were identified as the most valued opportunities. Consultants ranked receiving 'honest feedback' highest, while 86% of senior nurses ranked 'coaching' as the most useful. 'Networking with senior leaders' and 'appraisals' were rated less useful, with 'personal reading around human factors' valued the least. Conclusion This small study has shone light on potential areas where leadership training could be developed. Of note are the different emphases placed on types of learning and leadership skill acquisition between nursing and medical staff. Both are essential members of the PED leadership team, so ensuring team building recognises these differences is important if effective leadership teams are formed. Further evaluation and exploration are required before firm recommendations can be made. References Papanagou D, et al. Int J Med Educ 2017. Omid A, et al. J Res Med Sci 2016. Goldman, et al. J Grad Med Educ 2011. Prelipccean I, et al. Acaedmic Pediatrics 2016.