Global nurse leader perspectives on health systems and workforce challenges.

AIM: As part of the 2011 annual American Organization of Nurse Executives conference held in San Diego, California, a session was presented that focused on nursing workforce and health systems challenges from a global perspective. This article includes content addressed during the session representing nurse leader perspectives from the UK, Singapore and the USA. BACKGROUND: Recent events in global economic markets have highlighted the interdependence of countries. There is now a global focus on health-care costs and quality as government leaders struggle to reduce budgets and remain solvent. EVALUATION: Finding solutions to these complex problems requires that nurse leaders adopt more of a world view and network with one another as they look for best practices and creative strategies. KEY ISSUES: Nursing leadership challenges such as staffing, competency development, ageing populations, reduced health-care funding and maintaining quality are now common global problems. CONCLUSION: There is a need for innovation in nursing practice to accommodate the enormous challenges facing nursing's future. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Opportunities on an international scale for nurse leaders to have dialogue and network, such as the conference presentation discussed in this article, will become increasingly more important to facilitate the development of innovative leadership strategies.

A collaborative perspective on nursing leadership in quality improvement. The foundation for outcomes management and patient/staff safety in health care environments.

By 2004, only organizations whose institutional operating strategies are built on a continual state of readiness and include performance improvement practices throughout the organization are going to successfully meet Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations standards. As stewards of patient care, nurses maintain a unique role in identifying and guiding the intervention processes central to quality care, which prepares them to become key players/designers of a paradigm that demonstrates commitment to establishing and maintaining quality care. However, without recognition and support from organization leadership and physicians, the opportunity to effectively use the capabilities of nursing may be lost. The collaborative perspectives offered here attest to the fact that mutual belief and vision, coupled with creativity, strategic planning, and implementation, can effectively mobilize resources to establish priority measures and achieve quality patient/safety outcomes within the organization. Shifting the paradigm from just meeting the standards to continual readiness and performance improvement throughout the organization then becomes mission and mantra.

Leading and empowering the multicultural work team.

The multicultural team clearly is a part of the landscape in many work environments today. This article focuses on the opportunity for leaders to create a climate in which people of diverse cultures are invited into full participation as their unit contributes its very best to the achievement of the mission and goals of the organization. Within this environment, members are valued for who they are and what they share, without bearing on race, religion, ethnicity, and orientation or physical limitations.