SS: Preparing Nurse Faculty Leaders Through a Mentored Leadership Experience

Description/Overview: The 2010 Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, calls for health organizations, including nursing organizations and nursing schools, to “provide nurses greater opportunities to gain leadership skills and put them into practice.” In an effort to prepare the next generation of leaders in nursing education, the Sigma Theta Tau International/Chamberlain College of Nursing Center for Excellence in Nursing Education (CENE) offers leadership development programs for full-time nursing faculty who wish to increase their leadership acumen. Often times, faculty members are ‘thrust’ into leadership positions without adequate preparation. To facilitate this transition, the CENE offers two programs for emerging academic nurse leaders. The Experienced Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy (ENFLA) for faculty with seven or more years of experience, prepares academic nurse leaders to assume leadership roles in academe, professional organizations and their community. The ENFLA Scholar chooses a Mentor who will provide consultative expertise about leadership, career advancement and service. The Faculty Advisor oversees the development of the Scholar and creates an environment that maximizes the growth of not only the Scholar but the Mentor as well. This triad relationship is the foundation for leadership development. The Emerging Educational Administrator Institute (EEAI) prepares new or aspiring academic administrators to assume administrative roles in their School of Nursing. As with the ENFLA, the EEAI Scholar chooses a Mentor who will provide consultative expertise about leadership, career advancement and service. The Faculty Advisor completes this triad relationship serving as an additional mentor and resource to the Scholar. In both programs, leadership development is realized by a formal mentorship program, completion of a leadership project and lasting collegial relationships with academy alumni. Longitudinal data will be collected to evaluate program objectives and professional goals of the Scholars. We will outline the program goals and lessons learned from the pilot cohorts.