Succession planning for academic nursing

Academic nursing must plan for the future by retaining, developing, and recruiting academic nurse leaders, utilizing best practices in succession planning. This article presents a case study in which an evidence-based model was developed to provide academic nurse leaders with a guide for succession planning. A formal succession plan gives purposeful direction in identifying and developing emerging leaders and is especially useful for individuals who are new to a major leadership role. The author collaborated with an academic nurse leader at a selected College of Nursing in gathering information essential to forecasting future leadership needs. An Executive Summary report, highlighting recommendations, was provided to the academic leader in order to initiate a formal succession plan. The model provides a means for the assessment of current leadership skills and talents, analysis of future needs for academic nurse leaders, and development of evidence-based recommendations to strengthen and improve an academic succession plan. The succession planning model lays the groundwork for academic nursing leaders to achieve and uphold a highly qualified nursing leadership workforce to meet the future needs.