Advocacy: Perspectives of Future Nurse Administrators

Advocacy is a core competency of the nurse, and especially the nurse leader. It is a multidimensional concept that requires knowledge, experience, self-confidence, and above all, courage. This article describes and illustrates the perspectives of nursing administration graduate students, as they depict advocacy in many relationships. These include advocacy for the patient, family, self, community, organization, profession, and society. The themes that emerged from narratives written by these nurse leaders were the development of courage and the finding of their voices. Stories demonstrate participants' courage to speak up despite feeling conflicted due to issues of autonomy, moral distress, or fear of retribution. Implications for nurse administrators to support advocacy at all levels are presented.