In this Q&A with the University of Hull's MSc Healthcare Leadership Programme Directors, discover how the course builds confident, reflective leaders ready to tackle system-wide healthcare challenges through innovation, policy engagement, and real-world application.

How do you grow from a skilled healthcare professional into a confident, reflective leader who can navigate complex challenges and drive meaningful change? 

In this second instalment of our Q&A series, we speak with the University of Hull’s MSc Healthcare Leadership Programme Co-Directors, Patrick Marshall and Jayne Walker, who share how the course helps students develop self-awareness, systemic thinking, and practical leadership skills they can apply directly in their roles. 

Drawing on insights from a live webinar, Patrick and Jayne explain how the programme builds on your existing experience, empowers you to tackle real-world healthcare issues, and fosters a supportive community of practice where authentic leadership can thrive.  

What are the key leadership capabilities you develop during the MSc?  

Patrick: The most important one is confidence in your abilities. We should never forget that the people who join our programme are often skilled professionals with years of experience. Some may be newer to their roles, but many have successfully led complex parts of, or even entire, organisations. 

We’re not here to inundate you with information. Our goal is to help you understand what you already know and how it applies to the challenging context of healthcare. We know that healthcare isn’t an easy sector to work in. It’s challenging.  

There’s always a shortage of healthcare resources, and we face many practical issues. We focus on helping you address these issues in a sustainable manner, so you can better support your colleagues and teams.  

That’s the core leadership mindset you’ll develop on our programme. And yes, there are defined learning outcomes on the course. But the main aim is for you to apply your existing skills with confidence and enhance them with new knowledge, evidence, and perspectives.  

Processing and using what you learn is essential. If you don’t use it, you forget about it, and it fades away. We work to empower you and make you confident. We want you to find joy in the challenges of your work, because healthcare isn’t just a job. It makes a real difference to people’s lives.  

Jayne: It's a true application of all those skills and experience. It positions you as an authentic leader, and makes you able to demonstrate that. And that's how you’ll develop your confidence. 

We help you recognise your existing skills, see how that applies to your future development, and share that with others within the community of practice.  

How are reflection and self-awareness incorporated into the learning journey?  

Patrick: I find comfort in the fact that reflection and self-awareness are fully enmeshed into the programme.  

Self-reflection is a core aspect of demonstrating your learning and its application in practice. It is AI-proof; we've seen instances where students used AI for support, but it often distorted their understanding. This is evident because AI struggles with the depth of reflection we require you to demonstrate.  

True reflection is meaningful and transformative. If we achieve nothing else, we'll help you grasp who you are, and why you do what you do- a task only you can fulfil. So, self-reflection and self-awareness are crucial. They are the most important fundamentals to any leadership approach.  

Without self-awareness, recognising both strengths and weaknesses becomes difficult, and it could potentially alienate your colleagues. A lack of understanding in this area can hinder success and disrupt your peace of mind. For me, understanding yourself and your actions is the foundation of effective leadership.  

Jayne: I fully agree. Reflecting on what you've said, I've worked with students who grasped at heavy AI tool use. This undermined their existing confidence.  

It diminished the authenticity of their knowledge and identity. This self-reflection was wasted, as it hindered their ability to build on what they had. So ultimately, using AI was ultimately pointless, as it lacks true depth.  

As practitioners and professionals, we uphold public trust. If this is compromised, it affects our confidence and integrity. We must work together for personal and professional development, and that's what this course is all about.  

How does the course encourage innovation and system thinking?  

Jayne: We've got a module dedicated to this, which applies all of what you've learned on the course so far. And again, it’s about being authentic.  

This module focuses on your practice skills, experience, and knowledge, and how to apply them innovatively. It examines strategies that may require change and implementation. 

This culminates in the capstone module run by Patrick, which is a significant opportunity to integrate everything you've learned throughout the programme. Such integration is rare in health and social care studies, where modules often stand alone. Here, they are interlinked, fostering both personal and professional development.  

The module encourages innovation by addressing challenges you face. You benefit from a community of practice that includes your peers and highly qualified tutors.   

It's about exploring ideas and strategies to tackle challenges or enhance existing practices. This could involve raising awareness or refreshing approaches rather than starting anew. Innovation is welcomed, and if you're unfamiliar with it, support is available from the beginning. We guide you through the right channels to implement your ideas.  

This course provides extensive support through discussion boards and weekly webinars hosted by tutors. There are numerous opportunities to learn from others.  

Applying these insights to your learning is crucial, especially at Level 7. This master's programme aims to support you in mastering your field, enhancing your confidence as you identify challenges and develop systems to make a real difference.  

How does the programme help leaders navigate system-wide healthcare challenges?  

Patrick: We couldn't have a healthcare leadership programme that didn’t cover this.  

We're proud to have a module called Global Perspectives on Healthcare Policy. Policy can seem very dull at first glance. We usually think of big documents that we don’t have time to read. But it’s fascinating to learn how those policies come about, what they mean, who they involve, and their implications for actual patients and service users. 

This knowledge is incredibly helpful for colleagues who work directly with patients, and other service users, too. And we find it interesting that many of our students enjoy this module so much that they end up focusing on it throughout the rest of their studies.  

They may use aspects of their knowledge from this module in their capstone project, which is the course's final module. The capstone project gives them more time and more words to explore and consider what the evidence shows, and how they relate to it. 

Arguably, the programme’s entire purpose is to help people navigate the complexity of system-wide healthcare. It looks at healthcare systems, with a particular focus on the issues around why things do or don’t work.   

One of our other modules looks at safety, and why things go wrong. Students are invited to consider a safety case study and explore exactly what happened be it a near miss or a tragedy. We focus on what went wrong, what we learnt from it, and how we make sure that doesn't happen again. At its core, that’s what the programme is all about.  

Jayne: I fully agree. Learning from each other is the way forward. We're all managing many challenges within different international healthcare structures and social care structures. We need to come together and work collaboratively, and this is a perfect platform for achieving that.  

For example, you may have an issue, concern or challenge within your workplace. Then you speak to somebody on the other side of the world, and learn how they overcome similar challenges.

It's a fantastic learning activity to get together as a learning network and draw from each other’s experiences. This is the community of practice that you will develop from this course.  

Does the course help us understand healthcare policies?  

Jayne: Yes. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of any policy, guidance document, report, article, or research you engage with. You will select a policy and analyse it paying attention to how it applies to your practice 

The course is international, so UK policies might not be as relevant to some participants. But it’s about you choosing a policy that matters to you.  

These opportunities are often missing in many programmes, especially at an undergraduate level. While you may use these resources for academic writing, the depth of understanding is often lacking. We encourage you to dissect and apply policies to real-time practice, asking what they mean.  

In that regard, the course will definitely support you. 

Find out more about the MSc in Healthcare Leadership  

This Q&A shows how the University of Hull’s MSc in Healthcare Leadership helps you develop the confidence, self-awareness, and systemic thinking needed to thrive as a leader in today’s complex healthcare landscape.

Through practical learning, expert guidance, and a supportive community of peers, you’ll gain the tools to lead with clarity and purpose. 

Visit the course page to explore the full details on modules, assessments, fees, and how we can help you grow into a transformative healthcare leader: