Hospital managers of the future--what are their needs?

In the course of conducting a review of the international Hospital Management MA course at the Nuffield Institute for Health, Leeds University, the reviewers conducted a survey of international health care trends, especially in developing countries, and considered their implications for hospital and health managers. The demands on managers are becoming more complex and require new expertise in working autonomously, financial planning, organisation development, risk management in physical resource use, and quality of clinical care. The course has been restructured to take account of the identified needs. This article discusses the development needs of hospital managers in the context of changing international health trends, and how they can be met. It arises from a review of the Hospital Management course at Leeds University, which has been restructured to enable managers to meet these challenges. The account may interest not only health management development practitioners, but also hospital managers worldwide who reflect on their working environment, and how to respond to it.