A leadership ethics curriculum: Bringing mixed-methods interdisciplinary insights to the ethical complexities of health leadership

In response to the increasingly complex ethical issues facing health leaders, the Bioethics Department at The Hospital for Sick Children (a Canadian quaternary care paediatric research institution) was asked by senior leadership to develop a leadership ethics curriculum that would further develop the ability of its institution's leaders to deliberate and make morally defensible decisions in their roles. Insights from an interdisciplinary literature review suggest that the general objectives and structure of leadership ethics teaching remain constant, with specifics changing depending on the organization and intended participants. Implementing findings from an institutional needs assessment, our modular leadership ethics curriculum, which engages participants in asynchronous and synchronous learning, was designed to support (1) understanding of personal and organizational values, (2) recognizing the significance of attending to the ethical dimensions of decisions, (3) familiarity with leadership and organizational expectations, and (4) practicing application of ethical analysis, enhancing abilities and confidence to engage with ethical issues.