Advancing nursing leadership: a model for program implementation and measurement

Despite the abundant literature documenting the need for nurse management education and career development, only recently have professional standards been targeted for this group. Competency standards for nurse leaders repeatedly identify systems-level concepts including finance and budget, communication skills, strategic management, human resources management, change management, and computer technology skills. However, educational initiatives to meet these standards are still at the early stages and most nurse leaders continue to acquire knowledge and experience through "on-the-job" training. This article will illustrate the need for partnerships and collaboration between academia and hospitals to advance nursing leadership to the next century. In addition, a tool to measure the impact of a graduate certificate program in nursing administration on nurse leader competencies is presented. Overall, the certificate program has been successful in multiple ways; it has "graduated" almost 80 nurse leaders, improved participant competence in their role at the systems level, as well as providing an impetus for completion of a graduate degree post program.