PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Amy Colori
AU  - Mya Dilly
AU  - Lizzie Moriarty
AU  - Aaisha Saqib
AU  - Ruw Abeyratne
AU  - Tessa Thomas
AU  - Lynne Millar
AU  - Rakshit Kumar
AU  - Caroline Evans
TI  - Chief registrars: Leading in a time of COVID-19
AID  - 10.7861/fhj.2020-0168
DP  - 2020 Oct 28
TA  - Future Healthcare Journal
PG  - fhj.2020-0168
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/early/2020/10/26/fhj.2020-0168.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/early/2020/10/26/fhj.2020-0168.full
AB  - The NHS is currently in the midst of a global health crisis that requires rapid action from its staff and systems. The Royal College of Physicians' chief registrars, in their role as middle leaders that bridge the gap between junior doctors and senior leadership in NHS trusts nationwide, are uniquely positioned to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Our strategies fall into three overlapping categories: our roles as middle leaders, developing effective communication techniques and promoting staff wellbeing. We discuss lessons of good leadership in a time of crisis, from embracing new ways of working and new technologies, to utilising professional networks to drive change, to providing tools to support the wellbeing of the colleagues we both lead and care for. The lessons of our initial response are being shared across our national network. We also hope that the novel approaches we have developed will inform the practice of future middle leaders.