We know this story and we're perpetuating it: A failure of academic leadership preparation in nursing education

Nursing education has invested substantially in addressing the gap between academic nursing preparation and the realities of clinical practice through competency-based education (CBE), transition-to-practice models, and nurse residency programs. However, a parallel gap persists within the academy. Nurse educators are routinely appointed to leadership roles without intentional preparation for the complexity of academic administration. This paper argues that the lack of structured preparation, competency-based development, and succession planning for academic nurse leaders mirrors the very transition failures nursing education has sought to eliminate in clinical practice. Drawing on the AACN Essentials (2021), leadership development literature, and faculty workforce data, I implore academic leadership preparation to be reconceptualized as a longitudinal, competency-based process embedded across faculty role progression. Failure to do so threatens leadership sustainability, institutional stability, and the future capacity and innovation within nursing education.