MA in Hospice Leadership

Former nurse becomes CEO after MA in Hospice Leadership

This feature describes how the MA in Hospice Leadership helped Linda Hewitt become CEO of Hospice at Home West Cumbria. Read more.

The Masters in Hospice Leadership is a leadership development programme for those in a leadership role in a hospice or similar service in the context of End of Life and Palliative Care. The learning experience integrates personal mastery with academic rigour and is flexible enough to meet the needs of individuals and the challenges of their specific context.

Developed in partnership with Help the Hospices, the programme design draws on the power of collaborative learning and creates opportunities for individuals to link the theory and practice appropriate to the challenges facing leaders in this sector.

Through residential modules and work based assignments, the programme ensures a high standard of intellectual input. Action learning sets, collaborative inquiry, personal coaching and dedicated tutorial support ensures that individuals are guided through a structured process of intellectual and personal growth. Practising hospice leaders are invited to the modules and share their knowledge and experience. Previous graduates from the Masters programme will be available to offer mentoring and support.

Programme objectives

To grow the confidence and resilience of hospice leaders to face the challenges of a complex and changing environment
To develop the individual and collective capability to critically investigate political, economic and social issues facing hospices nationally and internationally
To establish new ways of looking at organisational issues through practical application of strategic theories and models
To appreciate the importance of leadership in managing the links between strategic thinking, operational imperatives and people performance
To build a network of individuals engaged in learning about leadership and who can share knowledge across the participating hospices and services
To encourage new ways of thinking and acting for the benefit of individual leaders, their teams and their organisations
To apply knowledge and skills to a substantial investigation into an organisational challenge, conduct research and report findings

Programme structure

Six modules of five days duration

'Leading questions'

Sarah Riches, Nursing Director at St Giles Hospice, and a participant on Lancaster's MA in Hospice Leadership, was featured in The Guardian's 'Society' supplement on 27 May 2009. Sarah answers questions about leadership in the Hospice Sector and describes how the Lancaster MA is providing immediate benefits.

Each module will have two days where new knowledge and concepts are introduced, two days of practical application to hospice and sector issues and one day where personal development in both leadership and academic skills is enhanced through workshops and practical sessions.

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) ensures that leadership development is sustained throughout the period of the programme. At the same time the IDP addresses individual needs to acquire the academic skills to complete a Masters degree. All assignments involve application of module learning and material to a specific issue, critical analysis of findings with an emphasis on evidence based practice.

MA Hospice Leadership