I still have moments when I feel like a novice leader.
Nurses should see themselves as leaders and invest in professional development. Educators should show faith in students and encourage them on their leadership journeys.
As members of the profession rated highest for honesty and ethics for the past 15 years, nurses have a lot to be proud of. We consistently excel at many things: advocacy, dedication, compassionate care, empathy, and critical thinking, to name a few. We are also selfless, sometimes to a fault. Despite our well-deserved accolades, our profession needs to improve in at least one significant area—leadership.
This didn’t really hit home for me until I became an assistant professor in an undergraduate nursing program. Leadership isn’t even on the radar of most nursing students. Almost all of them, with few exceptions, picture themselves at the bedside with patients—in the trenches rather than in the CNO’s office or boardroom.
Nurses do not naturally think of themselves as leaders, and this is hugely problematic—because, let’s be honest, who better to lead than members of what a decade and a half of Gallup polls suggest is the most trusted profession in the nation? Even as I was considering what to include in this article about my personal leadership journey, self-doubt insidiously crept in. “Me? I’m not a leader!” As nurses, we need to change this mindset.
Starting early
My nursing leadership journey started early, before I realized it. During lectures that might include, for example, a list of heart failure symptoms, I distinctly remember several professors in my undergraduate program sneaking in comments like, “So, when you all go on to get your master’s degrees …” We all chuckled and quickly dismissed the idea. At that point, if we passed the NCLEX and paid off our student loans, we would consider it a miracle.
But our professors persisted. Later, when we found ourselves in master’s programs, we realized the joke was on us. During lectures on the proper way to write test items for student evaluation, our professors commented, “So, when you all go on to get your PhDs ...” Again, we laughed at what seemed like a completely unattainable feat. And again, a lot of us were wrong.
I am indescribably grateful to have had dynamic mentors with such foresight. I viewed my clinical instructors and professors as leaders, so I assume my students view me as a leader too. I consider it my responsibility, therefore, to instill these ideas in the minds of my students and show faith in them. I owe it to them, even though they don’t yet consider themselves potential leaders. All nurse educators must plant these seeds early and often.
Trial by fire
For many nurses, a way station on the journey to leadership is the trial-by-fire charge nurse role. Frequently, nurses are thrust into this position for a variety of reasons—someone called out, someone got cancelled, everyone else was a float, you happened to be the most senior nurse on the shift (even though you’d only been employed for a year)—the list goes on. My experience was no exception.
As a per diem nurse at a private psychiatric hospital, I was deliberately not trained in the charge nurse role because I was told I would never have to run charge. But then I had to. I was terrified, but with support from wonderful coworkers, I lived to share the story. Much like undergraduate students would, one day, view me as a leader, my patients and fellow staff members viewed me as their leader for that shift, so I needed to model the role accordingly. From that point forward, I ran charge on a regular basis and continued to have no formal training to do so. The real irony came when I found myself a short time later orienting new nurses to the charge role.
Unfortunately, this story is far too common. When it happens, a number of detrimental outcomes often result, including stress, burnout, turnover, and even compromised patient safety. Our profession can do better.
It is in the best interest of healthcare facilities to properly train and prepare staff nurses to assume the charge nurse role (including those who find themselves already in that role) and other positions of leadership. Additionally, professional nursing organizations offer easily accessible online education opportunities to support staff nurses who seek leadership roles—as well as nurses already in leadership positions who desire additional support and guidance.
Sigma Theta Tau International
A truly transformative leadership experience occurred early in my career when I became a board member in my university’s chapter of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). After attending one meeting at the prompting of a faculty mentor, I was hooked. It was incredibly energizing to work with such motivated, aspirational nurses. I was grateful to gain leadership experience, and the board members (who had been trading chapter leader roles for some time) were grateful to have a fresh perspective and be able to share some of the responsibility with a new face.
I started as chair of the Governance Committee and, before I knew it, was chapter president. None of this would have been possible without the support of nurse leaders around me, both in my chapter and in the honor society at large. Networking with wonderfully diverse STTI members and attending biennial conventions allow me to interact with and learn from transformational nurse leaders. I frequently reference my STTI leadership experiences in conversations with students, nurses, and fellow faculty members—even during interviews for PhD programs. It is well-recognized in nursing that STTI strives to develop international nurse leaders. To pay it forward, I faithfully encourage my students not only to join STTI, but also to assume leadership roles in the honor society. When informing them about grant, scholarship, professional development, and other educational opportunities sponsored by STTI, I frequently share my own story.
Moving forward
My leadership journey is still unfolding. Like many nurses, I am both a mentor and a mentee. Although I seldom feel like a novice nurse anymore, I still have moments when I feel like a novice leader. To continue my journey, I seek professional development opportunities from both STTI and my specialty organization, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. As a PhD student, I was incredibly fortunate to be selected as a Jonas Nurse Leader Scholar, a pivotal experience in my development as a competent nurse leader.
I seek leadership opportunities at my university by serving on committees at department, college, and university levels. I network with leaders who have more experience than I do and rely on several mentors—both formal and informal—to aid in my development. I take seriously my responsibility to provide similar support and guidance to nurses and students who view me as a leader. I need to help them see themselves in the CNO’s office and the boardroom.
Every nurse a leader
Each nurse’s leadership journey is different. Our obligation as nurses is to encourage other nurses to take that journey, to begin nurturing the latent leadership skills within them. We must be mentors and role models to students and less experienced nurses. Together, we must celebrate successes and debrief after setbacks. We must seek out mentors more experienced than we are. Nursing is a profession of lifelong learning. We must invest time in our own professional development through educational experiences, and our employers need to invest in us too.
The truth is, every nurse is a leader. As recently reported on national and international news, Alex Wubbels bravely advocated for her patient’s rights at the expense of her own safety. Nurses are heroes. We lead by example every day. Our challenge is to recognize and cultivate leadership skills in each other to empower our profession and the people we serve. That’s why we’re advocates—to protect those who cannot protect themselves. RNL
Editor’s note: Briana L. Snyder will present “Leadership Education for Staff Nurses: Shortcoming, Barriers, and Future Directions” on Sunday, 29 October, at the 44th Biennial Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. See the Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Repository for additional information.
Briana L. Snyder, PhD, RN-BC, CNE, is assistant professor, Department of Nursing, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA.