Changes in the advanced practice of administration: a personal perspective of the changes affecting the role

The values learned as nurse on the unit--placing a patient's needs first, developing a spirit of teamwork among hospital staff, and maintaining accountability to all parties--are the heart of modern health care and can and should be applied when a nurse moves to the highest levels of hospital management. An administrator who maintains alliances with all parties involved in the function of the hospital will find more cooperation in the face of systemwide change.