SPECIAL SESSION: Developing Evidence-Based Leadership in Nursing

Description/Overview: Organizational performance of healthcare institutions and agencies is impacted directly by the nurses involved in decision making and implementation of care delivery. The development of effective leadership competencies of those nurses is essential to the success of the organization. This presentation will demonstrate the importance of utilizing evaluative research as the foundation for determining which leadership development programs to utilize for preparing nurse leaders. Many different forms of professional leadership development have been established across settings and industries. A review of concepts, domains, competencies, and principles will be discussed in relation to nursing leadership roles. The literature suggests that similarity exists globally in the nature and content of leadership development programming. Trends across countries related to identified strategies for successful leadership development will be presented. With the increasing complexity of healthcare systems, the need for higher levels of leadership education and new approaches to those programs is essential. The context in which nurses are prepared as leaders is critically important in the success of their skill development. Exercising effective leadership as a set of practices across the system to address challenges and expectations has been shown to be significantly more effective in improving organizational performance than operating under the traditional view of leadership as an administrative role. Designing and implementing systematic effective nursing leadership development programs is critical for the future of nursing, enhanced organizational performance and improved patient care delivery. The decision making related to choosing professional leadership development programming must be founded upon evidence based leadership practices for the best opportunities to create both capacity and sustainability.