Top management program: management development in New Zealand's health services.

This article describes New Zealand's program for developing managers in health services, called the National Management Development Program (NMDP), run by a newly established unit of the Department of Health. This is a set of programs for training various groups of individuals in health administration: those with no experience who wish to enter the field, those in a particular area of health, and those who are already managers in the health field. The Top Management Program, designed for professionals already heading health agencies, offers continuing education as a sustained approach to improving individual management ability.