As NHS trusts race to implement smart technologies, from electronic health records to AI‑enabled remote patient monitoring, the need for skilled project managers has never been greater. Research shows remote patient monitoring powered by AI is transforming patient care, with early deterioration detection improving outcomes . Yet digital health projects often suffer from poor adoption and rollout delays without experienced PM oversight. Exposure to project management early in your career is the foundation for shaping safe, efficient, and people‑centred healthcare delivery.
In this post I’ll walk you through five effective ways to develop that exposure—drawing on recent NHS initiatives, academic studies, and best practices in digital transformation. Think of it as a roadmap full of practical tips, not abstract theory.
1. Start with Quality Improvement and Small‑Scale Projects
Quality improvement (QI) initiatives, like reducing outpatient wait times or refining tele-triage processes, are excellent entry points. According to BMJ, frontline staff can lead small QI cycles with minimal tools, boosting both clinical service and management credibility .
Quality improvement is a gateway to project leadership for frontline NHS staff.
BMJ Quality & Safety
These initiatives not only build experience in scope, planning and evaluation, they’re a recognised route into formal PM roles within the NHS.
A colleague at a community hospital led a “Plan‑Do‑Study‑Act” audit on virtual follow‑up protocols. She chaired stakeholder meetings, coordinated data collection, and reported outcomes, all hallmarks of project management practice.
2. Join a Digital Innovation Testbed Project
NHS England’s Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) programme invested £395 million in digitally advanced trusts to pilot new technologies . These trusts often side‑by‑side with Fast Follower sites, sharing best practices and learning. Seeking secondments into these programmes is a strategic way to gain hands‑on PM exposure, especially in managing budgets, governance, and supplier relationships.
Earlier innovation testbeds (e.g. diabetes coaches, IoT for dementia) emphasised multi‑stakeholder collaboration: vendors, clinicians, patients . These environments provide visibility and experience in everything from deployment planning to user acceptance testing.
3. Shadow or Support Experienced Project Managers
Look for trust‑wide digital or transformation teams, they’re regularly recruiting PM support roles. Recently, NHS Digital has employed transformation officers to support system rollouts, creating internal processes that invite volunteers from clinical or administrative backgrounds .
Shadowing a seasoned PM on a digital safety strategy project, like establishing safe automated prescribing systems, exposes you to risk logs, stakeholder forums, and key decision‑making processes . Treat it as richer than mere observation: take notes, ask questions post‑meeting, and offer to draft update slides or communications. That kind of visibility counts in CVs and applications.
4. Volunteer for Cross‑Functional Technology Committees
Digital transformation is rarely driven by IT alone. Key peer‑reviewed work in Wessex showed that clinicians and commissioners engage most when digital tools are embedded into routine care pathways, especially when they influence procurement, training, or evaluation. Joining a digital steering group, trust safety board, or local ICS transformation forum gives project management exposure—clarifying business cases, capturing requirements, and coordinating training.
You might bring your own practical skills, organising workshops, writing meeting minutes, managing tasks in MS Teams or Slack, while gaining credibility and relationships with key stakeholders.
5. Leverage Academic Research or Industry‑Partnered Projects
Recent academic reviews emphasise how AI‑enabled remote patient monitoring (RPM) is rapidly evolving . Universities and NHS trusts are exploring pilots of RPM with smart wearables, where project management has to bridge clinicians, engineers, procurement, and patient groups. Getting involved, even as a research assistant or stakeholder liaison, offers concrete exposure to PM in digital health.
If you’re near one of the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) or run digital health devices, you might volunteer to support evaluation frameworks or impact metrics. Co‑authored academic papers—such as those using remote monitoring pilots as case studies—often credit project support roles. It’s a powerful CV lever.
Build Skills and Credentials Through Formal and Informal Learning
Taking targeted courses makes your exposure measurable. The Association for Project Management (APM) offers digital‑health‑specific modules that highlight governance, agile in healthcare, and digital ethics. Meanwhile, Health Education England emphasises evidence‑based practice: accessing library services, KM support and research summaries are flagged as workforce priorities . Tackling such outputs and summarising findings to digital portfolios presents experience in drafting stakeholder communication, another key PM skill.
In one NHS trust, a clinician took an APM Short Course in digital transformation, then used what they learned to run a pilot project on virtual community beds. That project led to a spot on a £2m digital safety board.
Implications for Clinicians and Patient Care
While gaining PM exposure, keep a laser focus on patient benefits. When partnering with clinicians, always ask: How does this improve safety, efficiency and equity? For example, digital clinical safety strategies highlight how EHRs reduce prescribing errors, but only when well‑managed and evaluated . Similarly, RPM improves chronic disease management, but only if implementation addresses digital exclusion .
Don’t simply experience PM practices, advocate for structures that champion patient-centred outcomes, equity of access, and clinician usability. These aren’t buzzwords; they’re the ethics of effective digital health leadership.
Getting project management exposure in digital health doesn’t always require a formal PM role. Seek QI projects, shadow experienced managers, join committees, get involved with innovation programmes, and build your credentials. Bolstered by clinical insight and academic evidence, you can bring real impact to patient care. Let each step build your confidence, your network, and your influence, until your next digital health leadership opportunity becomes inevitable.
