Health-care professionals and management development.

Discusses the impact of a self-governing hospital trust's accredited management development programme designed for health-care professionals responsible for managing natural clinical groups. The programme was a dual qualification: a level 5 national vocational qualification in management, and a diploma in management. Identifies key issues resulting from this type of programme. Discusses participants' evaluation of the two different formats for management development. Highlights the reservations of health-care professionals in respect of competence-based management development, particularly regarding assessment of their work performance. Recognizes that when a group of senior health-care professionals are involved in a long-term in-house management development programme, they may be perceived as a threat by senior management. Concludes that health-care professionals will only engage proactively with management development activities which they perceive to have value for them.