Manager development programme for Rehabilitation Hospitals: helping therapy heads lead their teams
Therapy heads are usually the best clinicians, promoted without training to lead people. A manager programme gives them the skills to plan loads, coach juniors and hold a team together.
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Share your requirementsWhy manager development programme matters in rehabilitation hospitals
In most rehabilitation hospitals the head of physiotherapy or the ward in-charge was a very good clinician before becoming a manager. Nobody taught them how to set a timetable fairly, give a junior hard feedback or settle a quarrel between two therapies. They continue to treat patients and manage on the side, and their team feels both neglected and over-watched.
A manager programme builds these skills over several months, in short sessions around the working day. It uses real cases from the hospital: a timetable that overloads one therapist, a junior who struggles, a conflict with another therapy. Participants practise, try something in their own team and report back. The programme also helps managers share load, so they do not become the only decision-maker.
How to set it up
1. Choose who joins
Include therapy heads, ward in-charges and senior therapists likely to lead soon. A mixed group helps different therapies understand each other.
2. Start from real problems
Ask each participant to bring a live issue: an overloaded timetable, a difficult junior, a clash with another team. Use these as the cases to work on.
3. Teach a few core skills
Planning loads, giving feedback, running a short meeting, settling conflict and delegating. See our manager development programme for the approach.
4. Practise in the team
Between sessions each participant tries one new habit, such as a weekly ten-minute huddle, and notes what happened.
5. Review and keep going
After the programme, meet each manager and the head. Agree what to continue, and arrange a small peer group to meet monthly.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask therapy heads when they last had training in managing people.
- Check how many heads treat patients for most of the day and manage after hours.
- Listen for repeated conflicts between therapies and ask who settles them.
- See whether juniors can name the feedback they received last quarter.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach manager development programme in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Ideally yes, soon after promotion. Those already in post can join as well. Starting early prevents poor habits from setting in, and gives new managers confidence.
Several short sessions over a few months usually work better than one long course. It gives time to try ideas in the team and to bring back what happened.
They do when it uses their own cases and respects their clinical standing. Show that it saves time and eases team friction and they take it up.