SPECIAL SESSION: Cultivating Leaders in Nursing Education: Now and for the Future

Description/Overview: Healthcare is undergoing unprecedented rapid change. Sweeping reform, advancements in treatment options, an increasingly diverse and aging population, and the impending retirements of seasoned direct-care nurses have challenged nursing programs to supply more graduate nurses. The development and retention of academic nurse educators is vital to ensure the next generation of nurses are prepared to face these challenges. Effective academic leadership is required to lead nurse educators and their students through an uncertain future. Currently, nursing schools face the impending retirement of a generation of nursing academic administrators. The retiring ‘Boomers’ (1946-1964) take with them certain perspectives and traits different than their successors. Generation X (1965-1981) brings leaders who are inquisitive, value independence, and strive to find work-life balance. A majority of today’s nursing students are millennials born from 1981 to 1997. This generation was raised in an age of remarkable changes in technology and methods of communication. They are tech-savvy, appreciate immediate feedback, and prefer to work in teams. Academic administrators must appreciate the similarities and differences of the different generations that exist in today’s academic setting. The development, retention, and support of academic nurse leaders is of paramount importance. In an effort to promote faculty retention and prepare the next generation of nursing education leaders, the Sigma Theta Tau International/Chamberlain College of Nursing Center for Excellence in Nursing Education (Center) offers leadership development programs for full-time nursing faculty who wish to increase their leadership acumen. Mentorship serves as the foundation for the Center’s programs. Mentored individuals advance more quickly in their career, receive greater pleasure in their role, and are more likely to become mentors themselves. The future of nursing education requires an investment in its future leaders. These leaders must understand the current state of academe and healthcare, appreciate the differences in those they serve, and outline a vision to carry the profession through uncertain times.