Leadership preparation: an examination of master's degree programs in nursing

The study was designed to examine the differences between leadership and management and to compare the leadership content in a sample of graduate programs in nursing with those conceptual differences. A review of seven components contained within the National League for Nursing self-study reports of 10 accredited programs in four regions of the country was conducted. Data analysis revealed that leadership, as defined in the literature, was included in most curriculum components in the graduate programs studied. The emphasis in the 10 graduate programs analyzed clearly was leadership development rather than management preparation.