Developing Effective Senior Nurse Leaders: The Impact of an Advanced Leadership Initiative.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to measure structural empowerment (SE) and capture short-term changes in perception for senior nurse leaders before and after a formal development experience. BACKGROUND: The body of literature related to SE in senior nurse leaders is limited. Applying the SE concept to senior levels of nursing leadership provides a vehicle to impact nurse leader retention and ultimately the organization beyond singular units. METHODS: The Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) was designed in collaboration with the American Nurses Association to support personal and professional development for senior nurse leaders. The sample included 28 participants from the United States and the United Kingdom over a 6-month period. RESULTS: The effect of the intervention was seen in the postintervention survey rating SE higher in 5 of 7 domains as compared with the preintervention survey, reduction in overall turnover, and improvements in patient experience scores. Additionally, the participants evaluated the program in top categories, and comments were highly positive around peer support, improved working relationships, and expectations. CONCLUSION: The ALP has shown promise in strengthening SE for senior nurse leaders by supporting leadership skill development, follow-up training, and peer network development.

A Systems-Level Method for Developing Nursing Informatics Solutions: The Role of Executive Leadership.

Nursing leadership can play an essential role in the development of nursing informatics solutions by virtue of their broad understanding and oversight of nursing care. We describe a systems-level method for creating nursing informatics solutions with clearly defined structure and leadership from nursing executives. Based on the guiding principles of clear lines of responsibility, respect for expertise, and commitment to project aims, this allows nursing executive leadership to organize, set up, and own the development of nursing informatics solutions.

Units of Distinction: Creating a Blueprint for Recognition of High-Performing Medical-Surgical Nursing Units.

BACKGROUND: Hospital medical-surgical (M/S) nursing units are responsible for up to 28 million encounters annually, yet receive little attention from professional organizations and national initiatives targeted to improve quality and performance. OBJECTIVE: We sought to develop a framework recognizing high-performing units within our large hospital system. METHODS: This was a retrospective data analysis of M/S units throughout a 168-hospital system. Measures represented patient experience, employee engagement, staff scheduling, nursing-sensitive patient outcomes, professional practices, and clinical process measures. RESULTS: Four hundred ninety units from 129 hospitals contributed information to test the framework. A manual scoring system identified the top 5% and recognized them as a "Unit of Distinction." Secondary analyses with machine learning provided validation of the proposed framework. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to external recognition programs, this framework and process provide a holistic evaluation useful for meaningful recognition and lay the groundwork for benchmarking in improvement efforts.