PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Frich, Jan C AU - Bratholm, Clara AU - Ravnestad, Håvard AU - Friberg, Morten L AU - Mjåset, Christer AU - Kaarbøe, Oddvar M TI - Medical leadership development during the COVID-19 pandemic AID - 10.1136/leader-2021-000452 DP - 2022 Dec 01 TA - BMJ Leader PG - 316--318 VI - 6 IP - 4 4099 - http://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/6/4/316.short 4100 - http://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/6/4/316.full SO - BMJ Leader2022 Dec 01; 6 AB - Background A leadership development programme (The Health Leadership School) was launched in 2018 for junior doctors and medical students in Norway.Objective To study participants’ experiences and self-assessed learning outcomes, and if there were any differences in outcome among participants who met face-to-face versus and those who had to complete half of the programme in a virtual classroom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods Participants who completed The Health Leadership School in 2018–2020 were invited to respond to a web-based questionnaire.Results A total of 33 (83%) out of 40 participants responded. The majority of respondents (97%) somewhat agreed or strongly agreed that they had gained knowledge and skills they did not learn in medical school. Respondents reported a high learning outcome for most competency domains, and there was no difference in outcome when comparing scores of those who met face-to-face versus and those who had to complete half of the programme in a virtual classroom. Among participants who participated in virtual classroom sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority agreed that the programme could be run as a combination of face-to-face and virtual sessions.Conclusion This brief report suggests that leadership development programmes for junior doctors and medical students can be run in-part using virtual classroom sessions, but that face-to-face sessions are important to foster relational and teamwork skills.