As healthcare executives think about the growing need for high-quality care in uncertain economic times, most of them probably worry about how to build a strong talent pool for the future. But the need for effective nursing leadership is equally urgent. We do not have enough people fully trained to lead the industry’s nursing team, and those we do are facing unprecedented pressures.
To solve this problem, we must fundamentally change the way we intentionally invest in nurse leaders. We must also recognize the need to continue to prepare them throughout their careers in a dynamic, even turbulent environment. While there are many challenges, I believe there are three most important to overcome:
Adapting to new technology
Data—and new ways to collect and use it—will increasingly shape the type of care we provide and how we deliver it. Artificial intelligence has been improving patient flow in several health systems. AI software has the potential to enhance every area of nurse-patient interaction, but only if the nurse views the technology as a tool, not a threat. In addition to being aware of the growing amount of regulation surrounding new AI applications, nurse leaders need to be extra vigilant when using patient data ethically and understand the specific rules when implementing AI-driven tools. Continuous monitoring devices also compile a level of detail that can transform patient care, but we must understand how to use the flood of information. Population analysis can help us intervene to prevent crises and keep patients healthy, if we know what the numbers mean.
Multiple generations are serving in the nursing workforce, with varying degrees of comfort with technology. Leveraging the skills of tech-savvy nurses to expand their opportunities can make the difference between keeping them and losing them. At the same time, we need to help all nurses feel comfortable in the new technological environment. One approach is through regular “lunch and school” and ongoing familiarization programs to provide nurses with the opportunity to learn new technologies in a relaxed environment.
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Understanding the changing healthcare business
Nurse executives are an important part of leadership at a time when health systems are facing many challenges: staffing shortages, tight operating margins, and competition from private equity firms and other nontraditional players. Many are trying to negotiate a slow transition from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement, with accompanying implications for bottom-line profits. Head nurses need to understand these business imperatives and how their staff affects them—and how they are affected. They need to be able to speak the language of their CFOs and teach them the languages of nursing and patient care.
Mutual understanding is a matter of life and death—but it is one that can be easily solved through training, monitoring, and mentoring. As nurses move into executive roles and deal with other leaders, they will need to be able to speak in business terms. Health systems must develop intentional training and education opportunities for nurses moving into such roles.
Focus on social determinants of health
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted our nation’s severe health disparities and the key impacts that social and environmental factors have on determining people’s lifespans, their state of health, and how they experience the health care system. Providers can never go back to seeing a patient as a “case” separate from those factors. Nurses are particularly well-suited to take on a leadership role in this fundamental change process. As health systems rethink how to address social problems in their patient populations, nurse leaders must stay up-to-date with changing requirements for their teams and be ready to innovate.
How can we prepare nursing leadership for these needs? Formal training through continuing education is an obvious place to start. Budgeting time and money for ongoing development should be as automatic for these essential management skills as it is for clinical training. At the next level, support for chief nurses to earn advanced degrees in key functional areas such as health administration, public health, business or informatics can pay for itself many times over.
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Equally important is the advisor. Mentoring provides informal support and opportunities for nurses to develop relationships with peers and role models, ultimately cultivating stronger and more confident nurse leaders. Mentoring also creates awareness of—and interest in—leadership. Networking with colleagues in such positions provides a more focused path to career growth and development.
It’s also important to advocate deliberate networking pathways so current and aspiring nurse leaders can develop their own “personal cabinet” of trusted advisors. I personally include not only nurses, but also doctors, academic professionals, and even some longtime colleagues currently outside the healthcare industry. They enrich my perspective and help me make better decisions based on diverse perspectives.
Constantly learning is the best way to create a culture of innovation and willingness to try new things. The entire health care system must think differently about how to deliver services. Because nurses are on the front lines of care, they are the best equipped to reimagine it. We need to give them the time and tools they need to lead us into the future. ν
