National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care: Information Hub

Background: What and Why

The Centre is undertaking a review of existing education and training resources for primary care.  Within NHS Scotland, several leadership programmes are offered for a range of experience and responsibility levels, and these are generally open for all to apply. Leadership training is encouraged and supported by NHS managers throughout Scotland and is an important aspect of practice. The extent to which any of the available programmes are focused on or include any aspects of remote, rural, or island leadership is less known and so a detailed scope of the available training opportunities would lay a valuable foundation from which to build programmes of work that promote high quality practice across remote, rural, and island areas of Scotland.

Description: Who and How 

A scoping review is being carried out into leadership training available within Scotland, nationally, and internationally, with a specific interest in those with content that is remote, rural or island focused. This review is underway and will continue through the 2024-25 year.

The scoping review includes an extensive internet search as well as a search of academic literature including chain searches from key documents. From this review, a database of available rural leadership education and training opportunities will be created which will serve as a live repository of information as well as providing a lay of the land in terms of the availability or scarcity of rural-focused leadership offerings.

Expected outcome:  When and What Difference

This scoping review is part of a wider project to design and deliver practical practitioner / practice model projects that promote improved delivery of remote and rural primary care.

This initial review will help lay the foundations for the larger piece of work by providing a detailed account of the scope of education and training in rural leadership locally, nationally and internationally. The review will also serve as a gap analysis to highlight gaps in the current provision of high-quality leadership training tailored to the unique needs of practitioners in remote, rural, and island areas.

The gap analysis will identify education and training initiatives that meet the needs of practitioners for improved delivery in remote, rural, and island primary care practice. Education and training identified, will contribute to improving service user access, enhance multidisciplinary team working and contribute to reducing health inequalities.