Developing nurses' capabilities to deputize for ward sisters

In recent years there has been heated debate on how the training of ward sisters should be conducted in Finland. This is important as in the coming years a large proportion of nurses will be approaching retirement while dramatic changes in mental health organizations during the last two decades have also challenged the role of the ward sister. This paper describes an ongoing project to develop the managerial skills of those nurses working as deputy ward sisters. The project began with a survey of managerial skills, an evaluation of training needs and the necessity for administrative counselling of a group of deputy ward sisters. On the basis of the analysis, a training programme was planned integrating managerial training and administrative counselling in a systematically advancing process.