Abstract

Although significant advances have occurred in medical and related sciences, the quality improvement and patient safety movements have been slow to gain traction. There are many ‘pockets’ of progress around the globe; however, the scale and spread has been slow. Stimulating culture and system change in healthcare requires a definitive change in leadership style and approach. Health leaders of today must commit to the critical success factors and demonstrate the attributes necessary to create change and raise the bar for quality improvement and safety. We discuss here, key competencies required for the development of future leaders in quality improvement and how to those competencies can be achieved within a cultural context.