Leadership development: supporting nursing in a changing primary health care environment

New organisations to provide primary health care in New Zealand are evolving in response to changes in policy, funding and contracting arrangements. The premise of this paper is that involvement of nurses in the decision-making of health organisations is essential to maximise the contribution of nurses and thereby promote positive client outcomes. It is argued that development of key leadership skills will enable nurses to become more critically aware of underlying power structures in the health system and to move towards being acknowledged as interdependent health professionals in the Primary Health Organisations (PHOs). The particular competencies discussed are those proposed by Van Maurik (1997) namely ability to understand and manage organisational politics, work facilitatively with people and circumstances, and build a feeling of purpose.