Attributes of Digital Leaders in Health Professions Education.

Objective: This study investigates the essential attributes of effective digital education leaders (DELs) in health professions education (HPE), aiming to refine digital leadership development and advance digital learning environments in healthcare education.

Study design: Qualitative research with exploratory study design. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Medical Education, Riphah International University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from February to July 2021.

Methodology: Semi-structured, in-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted with 18 health professions education leaders from the medical and dental institutes of Pakistan. The participants were selected through purposive sampling and had experience of leading online / blended education systems. The interviews were conducted online, audio recorded, and transcribed verbatim. A systematic process of iterative data collection and analysis was employed. Manual thematic analysis was done to analyse the data. Codes were organised into 13 sub-themes, which were consolidated into three overarching themes by discussion and consensus amongst all authors.

Results: Three themes emerged including social, strategic, and personal attributes. Social attributes included social intelligence, promotion of diversity, and networking intelligence. Strategic attributes comprised innovative vision, digital intelligence, adaptability, and flexible leadership style. Personal attributes encompassed motivation, role modelling, openness, self-awareness, agility, and learning through errors.

Conclusion: Healthcare educational institutions can use the identified attributes of DELs to inform the development of targeted training programmes and aid in the strategic selection of leaders to lead their digital transformation.

Key words: Digital leadership, E-leadership, Leaders in the digital era, Higher education, Medical education, Health professional education.