The great quest for leadership.

There is certainly a new imperative for leadership, not just in nursing or in the United Kingdom. The greatest call in business and politics throughout the western world is one for leadership. Even the NHS is slowly waking up to the need for less management and more leadership. So what makes a good leader? The professional literature is disappointingly sparse on the issue but there are massive amounts from industry, academia, the media and business - especially from the United States. The following attributes are by no means exhaustive but they come up again and again in the literature.

Introducing this year's winners.

The judges were extremely impressed by the quality of this year's entrants. The essays showed insight, determination and a clear grasp of the needs of a changing profession. The winners come from a variety of backgrounds and will be able to offer a wealth of experience to the course at Sundridge Park.

The standard reply to the UKCC.

I have to take issue with a number of statements made in your column, 'UKCC: is the criticism justified' (Vol 2(16): 818). First, it is a rather extreme if not damaging view to assume that our use of the heading 'Don't say yuck, say UKCC instead' indicates a bias in thinking in the nursing press. As you have not cited any other nursing journals, readers of British Journal of Nursing, many of whom I have to assume also read Nursing Standard, are led to the obvious conclusion that you are referring specifically to Nursing Standard.

Educating trainers.

I once heard a conference speaker argue effectively against the use of the word 'train' in regard to nurse education. To train someone, she said, meant to pull, like dragging the unwilling through hoops to prove they had accomplished a particular task or set of tasks. Education, on the other hand, is about nurturing the student. It implies an ethos of learning, creativity and self- motivation. That's how nurses are prepared to take on their role in society.