Developing Nurse Leaders: A Program Enhancing Staff Nurse Leadership Skills and Professionalism

Healthcare    Managers/Executives/Administrators

Download a Printer Friendly Version (PDF)
 
TITLE Developing Nurse Leaders: A Program Enhancing Staff Nurse Leadership Skills and Professionalism
 
RESEARCHER Pauline S. Abraham
Nursing Administration Quarterly
2011, Vol 35 (4): pp. 306-312

OBJECTIVE
This study aims to determine whether participation in the Nursing Leadership Perspectives Program produced a change in leadership skills, increased professional activities, leadership promotion, and retention rates of participants.

METHODOLOGY
The participants in this study included 15 registered nurses who participated in the Nursing Leadership Perspectives Program (NLPP) at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Participants completed the Leadership Practices Inventory and Nursing Activity Scale (NAS; Kelly, 2001) at the beginning and end of the program and six months after the conclusion of the program.

KEY FINDINGS
Participants reported statistically significant changes in their leadership skills after being in the program on the LPI (p < .007) and changes in professional behavior were also statistically significant as rated by the NAS (p < .001). The promotion rate within the organization for NLPP participants was 20 percent compared with 0.3 percent in the general staff nurse population; and all participants remain employed at Mayo Clinic demonstrating a 100 percent retention rate. Participants described an increase in their leadership responsibilities on unit and departmental committees, workgroups, and councils.