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The human side of MAR: leadership and team dynamics

Precongress Course 10

SIG Safety and Quality in ART Special Interest Group Safety Quality in ART


Course coordinators
Alessandra Alteri (Italy), Vanessa Vergara Bravo (Spain), Aleksej Stevanovic (Norway), Bryan Woodward (United Kingdom), Julie Labrosse (France), Zdravka Veleva (Finland)

 

Course type
Advanced

 

Course description
This precongress course explores the human side of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) by focusing on leadership, teamwork, and non-technical skills. The course will address essential aspects of team resilience, stress and burnout prevention, effective communication, change management, and decision-making under pressure. Particular attention will be devoted to leadership in IVF, including the strengths and barriers of a female leader.

 

Educational needs and expected outcomes 

While scientific and technical competencies are central to IVF, challenges such as communication failures, weak leadership, stress, and lack of structured teamwork significantly contribute to adverse outcomes and reduced staff wellbeing. 

Participants will learn how leadership, communication, resilience, and non-technical skills can be applied to strengthen teamwork, improve decision-making, and foster a culture of safety and quality in MAR.

 

Innovative aspects of the course
This precongress course is innovative in its focus on the human side of MAR, an area often underrepresented compared to scientific and technical competencies. The course also emphasises staff wellbeing by addressing stress, burnout, and teamwork, and promotes inclusivity by exploring both barriers and strengths of female leadership.

 

Target audience
Clinicians, embryologists, nurses, psychologists, clinic directors, laboratory directors, managerial staff, and quality managers in ART, as well as professionals seeking to develop leadership, communication, and teamwork skills 


Programme



Sunday 05 July 2026

Chairs
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
09:00 - 09:30
The pilot’s perspective: what IVF can learn from aviation
Speaker to be announced
09:30 - 09:45
Discussion
09:45 - 10:15
Creating a resilient team: teamwork, stress and burnout prevention
Bryan Woodward, United Kingdom
10:15 - 10:30
Discussion
10:30 - 11:00
Coffee break
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
11:00 - 11:30
The importance of the leadership in IVF
Jason Swain, U.S.A.
11:30 - 11:45
Discussion
11:45 - 12:15
Female leadership in ART: barriers and strengths
Lesley Regan, United Kingdom
12:15 - 12:30
Discussion
12:30 - 13:30
Lunch break
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
13:30 - 14:00
Managing change in IVF: from resistance to opportunity
Antonio Requena Miranda, Spain
14:00 - 14:15
Discussion
14:15 - 14:45
Managing the unexpected: decision-making and situational awareness in ART
Amelia Rodriguez Aranda, Spain
14:45 - 15:00
Discussion
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee break
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
15:30 - 16:00
Effective communication in multidisciplinary ART teams
Neelke De Munck, Belgium
16:00 - 16:15
Discussion
16:15 - 16:45
Putting non-technical skills into practice
Simon Sondergaard Mathiasen, U.S.A.
16:45 - 17:00
Discussion