Learning to lead: A scoping review of undergraduate nurse education.

AIM: To explore undergraduate student's preparation for leadership roles upon registration. BACKGROUND: Effective leadership is vital when promoting positive workplace cultures and high-quality care provision. However, newly registered nurses are not always well-prepared for leadership roles. EVALUATION: A scoping review of primary research published in English between 2009 and 2019 was undertaken. Data were analysed using an adapted version of Arksey and O'Malleys' (2005. International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory and Practice, 8, 19) framework. Nine papers met the review eligibility criteria. KEY ISSUES: Findings revealed three themes: leadership education content; positioning of leadership education within the nursing programme; and teaching and learning delivery. CONCLUSIONS: The review highlighted some agreement about the knowledge, skills and behaviours to be addressed in leadership education. What varied more was the pedagogical methods used to deliver this, the extent of its integration throughout the programme and the nature of collaborative academic-practice working to ensure good quality clinical supervision. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: (a) Students must be exposed to positive leadership practices during clinical placements to facilitate theory-practice integration. (b) Bullying negatively impacts on students' self-efficacy whereas positive role modelling from registered nurses supports development of leadership competence. (c) Leadership theory and competence should be introduced early and revisited throughout the programme.

Clinical leadership in nursing students: A concept analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To undertake a concept analysis of clinical leadership in nursing students. DESIGN: Concept analysis. DATA SOURCES: A comprehensive search was conducted using the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medline and PsychINFO using the following search terms: clinical leadership AND management AND preregistration OR pre-registration OR undergraduate AND nursing student* OR student nurse*. REVIEW METHODS: Nursing student clinical leadership was explored using the eight-step process of concept analysis proposed by Walker and Avant (2014). RESULTS: The defining attributes included effective interpersonal communication skills, contemporary clinical knowledge and being a role model to others. CONCLUSION: This concept analysis provides a definition of clinical leadership in nursing students. It will support understanding of the concept and how it is enacted in clinical placement settings.