Leadership Development through the Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy (NFLA) and a Nurse Practitioner (NP) Education Project

Background:

Advancement of nursing education as well as its sustainability rests on the leadership skills of the nursing faculty. Therefore leadership development of novice nurse faculty is critical to the future of nursing education. Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) and Elsevier sponsored Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy (NFLA) is a structured leadership-mentoring program designed to develop upcoming nursing faculty. The program encompasses expert guidance from a leadership mentor and the direction from a faculty advisor to facilitate the success of the faculty scholar through successful implementation of a nursing education project. The purpose of this 18-month long program was to facilitate individual leadership development, completion of a team led project, and expansion of the scope of influence of the NFLA scholar.

Methods:

Individual leadership development, the first domain of the program was supported through guidance provided by the leadership mentor and faculty advisor. Further, the ability to understand and govern leadership practices was polished based on the five exemplary practices of Kouzes and Posner’s (K&P) model that included the ability to model the way, share an inspired vision, challenge the process, encourage the heart, and enable others to act. The second domain rested on the creation of a leadership project to advance nurse practitioner (NP) education.  The project included a design of a simulation program to teach Adult Gerontology Acute Care NPs central venous catheter (CVC) insertion under ultrasound guidance. The third domain, which draws support from the first two domains, broadened the scholar’s scope of influence, increased collaborations, and encouraged looking beyond the school and venturing into the University, statewide and nationwide resources and initiatives.

Results:

Through the leadership of a team in implementing this simulation project and following the exemplary leadership practices from the K&P model, the leadership mentor and faculty advisor supported the individual leadership development of the scholar. The team led project to establish the above referenced simulation project was successfully completed as well. Further, the scope of influence of the faculty scholar was expanded via participation in School, University, State and National level committees. Publications in peer reviewed journals and presentations at national conferences have also occurred.

Conclusions:

STTI and Elsevier’s joint venture of NFLA has supported aspiring nursing faculty to develop as leaders in academic settings. Support from a leadership mentor and a faculty advisor facilitated and enhanced leadership abilities of this NFLA scholar through support of nursing education evidence, theory, and philosophy.