Building the Science to Guide Nursing Administration and Leadership Decision Making.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the challenges, barriers, and solutions for conducting nursing administration and leadership science (NALS) research. BACKGROUND: Evidence from leadership science should be at the forefront of nurse leaders' decision making. Yet, challenges remain in building the evidence and moving it into nursing administration and leadership practice. METHODS: This study used a Delphi technique with open-ended questions and direct content analysis to evaluate survey responses of members of the Association for Leadership Science in Nursing and American Organization for Nursing Leadership. RESULTS: Open-ended responses were coded to yield super categories and supportive codes for areas with limited evidence to guide leadership practice and the challenges for conducting NALS research. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide future directions for continuously driving NALS research and for building and leveraging leadership science to support nursing administration decision making.

The CNO and Leading Innovation: Competencies for the Future.

Although innovation is critical to success in today's tumultuous environment, health care is slow to embrace it, and there is significant variability in strategic adoption of innovation across organizations. Nurse leaders do not need to be innovators themselves but must engage in, and have the ability to create, an organizational culture of innovation. Twenty-six leadership behaviors specific to innovation leadership were identified through a Delphi study to develop competencies as well as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support nurse leaders in acquiring or expanding the capability of nurse leaders to create a culture of innovation. It was demonstrated that nursing innovation experts were able to differentiate between general leadership behaviors and innovation leader behaviors. In addition, the need to acquire basic leadership competencies before mastering innovation leader competencies was identified. Five strategies to initiate or expand a culture of innovation in organizations were identified, including (1) assessment of organizational capacity for innovation; (2) acknowledgement of the responsibility of all leaders to create an innovation-rich environment; (3) provision of education, skill building, and coaching; (4) encouragement of an ongoing practice of innovation, even in the face of failure; and (5) development of a sustainable culture of innovation.

Registered Nurses' Experiences With Individuals With Low Health Literacy: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

The nursing profession is charged to provide effective communication and education to patients. A qualitative descriptive study that explored what nurses experience when interacting with patients thought to possess low health literacy was performed. Findings suggest that nurses are promoting health literacy using several evidence-based strategies. Major barriers encountered by nurses were limited cultural and linguistic resources within their healthcare organizations. This study provides nursing professional development specialists information about the educational gaps of nurses in practice related to health literacy and the identification of systems barriers.

Health Literacy Education in Health Professions Schools: An Integrative Review.

BACKGROUND: Most Americans lack the health literacy skills to function in today's health care environment. The Institute of Medicine's Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion report recommended that health professionals be trained to effectively communicate with patients with low health literacy. METHOD: An integrative review was conducted, using six electronic databases: CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, and Web of Science. RESULTS: Nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Educational interventions include multimodal approaches using didactic content, followed by active learning strategies. Evaluative methods in the classroom were used in all studies; however, only one study assessed students' health literacy skills. CONCLUSION: Findings support research efforts that (a) clarify where health literacy should be taught, (b) target the assessment of students' health literacy skills, (c) perform rigorous psychometric testing of evaluative instruments used, and (d) create interprofessional learning opportunities.

Expanding nurse of the future nursing core competencies across the academic-practice transition: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: A regional state university and three health care organizations formed a regional education- service partnership to expand the implementation of the Massachusetts Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies (NOFNCC) across the academic-practice transition. METHOD: Using a conveienience sample in a one- group preteos-posttest design, the study examined the extent to which transitioning new licensed nurses and their preceptors were knowledgeable regarding NOFNCC as a basis for practice, and assessed changes following an educational intervention. A newly developed instrument based on NOFNCC, the Nurse Competency Assessment Tool (NCAT), served as the measurement: tool. RESULTS: Findings indicate knowledge gaps in system- based practice, quality improvement, and evidence- based practice among both transitioning newly licensed nurses and preceptor groups in need of improvement. CONCLUSION: NOFNCC identify essential knowledge, attitudes, and skills integral to providing safe quality nursing care not only in Massachusetts but also nationally and globally. Need for continued refinement of the NCAT was also apparent.

The effectiveness of a leadership development program on self-awareness in practice.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the changes in behaviors as reported by nursing leaders following participation in a leadership development program (LDP). BACKGROUND: There is a scarcity of research examining changes in leadership behaviors following LDP participation. A growing body of literature links critical behaviors and traits to outcomes among nurse managers and executives. Literature supports that leadership behaviors can be learned in educational programs if the environment is right and if the talent and capacity are present. METHODS: Focus groups and online responses were guided by a structured interview protocol to elicit responses from the participants of the behavioral changes that have occurred in them as a result of their participation in an LDP. RESULTS: Seven themes describing leadership behaviors were identified. These self-reported behaviors were present 5 to 9 months after completion of the LDP.