Nurse manager succession planning: a concept analysis

PURPOSE

The current nursing leadership pipeline is inadequate and demands strategic succession planning methods. This article provides concept clarification regarding nurse manager succession planning.

CONCLUSION

Attributes common to succession planning include organizational commitment and resource allocation, proactive and visionary leadership approach, and a mentoring and coaching environment. Strategic planning, current and future leadership analysis, high-potential identification, and leadership development are succession planning antecedents. Consequences of succession planning are improved leadership and organizational culture continuity, and increased leadership bench strength.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Health care has failed to strategically plan for future leadership. Developing a strong nursing leadership pipeline requires deliberate and strategic succession planning.

From frontline nurse managers to academic program directors: research, strategies, and commonalities

PROBLEM

Frontline nurse managers, whether in service or academia, are facing very similar stressors related to the ever-expanding job duties that also include providing a positive nurturing work environment for employees. Publications supporting these two administrative positions are referenced in either nursing administration or nursing education journals. Yet much can be shared and learned when both sets of rich research and commentary are merged.

METHOD

This article compares the recent research across these two areas of critical nursing management from a role analysis perspective.

CONCLUSION

Recommendations for encouraging healthy work environments, enhancing personal growth, leadership development, encouraging succession planning, and innovatively partnering toward the future are included.

Why management skills are a priority for nurses

Newly qualified nurses and new nurse managers are often expected to hit the ground running with no management training. Management skills are as important as leadership skills in addressing some of the failings identified in the Francis report. A management framework is required to provide a consistent approach to management development for all staff in healthcare, irrespective of discipline, role, function or seniority.

Managing up, down, and across the nursing home: roles and responsibilities of directors of nursing

The director of nursing (DON) is an essential member of the top management team in nursing homes and in a key position to improve the quality and value of care. This article describes and examines the roles and responsibilities of DONs as perceived by a convenience sample of current/previous DONs and nursing home administrators (n = 29). Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews and analyzed using content analysis and thematic analysis. The findings reveal a broad scope and wide variation in the DON position across settings, with inextricable linkages between clinical care and other aspects of care delivery, such as managing fiscal and human resources (HR). As RN licensure is the only Federal requirement for the DON position, suggesting a clinical focus, the findings highlight a policy-practice gap. Research is needed to address this gap, focusing on the requisite preparation DONs need to effectively and cost-efficiently lead initiatives for quality improvement.

Community matron caseload numbers: a literature review

In early 2005, the Department of Health published its strategy for addressing the health and social care needs of people with long-term conditions (2005a; b). Community matrons were recruited to deliver this strategy. Since this time, there has been some debate around the optimum caseload number for community matrons to function effectively (Abell et al, 2010). One study by Sargent et al (2008) concluded that community matrons were struggling to achieve and maintain 50 patients on their caseload, due to nine areas that impact on caseload manageability. This literature review concluded there is a wide variation regarding the optimum caseload number ranging from 14 patients in intensive case management to 80-100 families per full-time health visitor. A number of authors do not specify caseload numbers due to the complexity of the task. However, what clearly emerges is that the factors that impact on case management appear to correlate with the issues identified by Sargent et al (2008).

Complexity leadership: a healthcare imperative

PROBLEM

The healthcare system is plagued with increasing cost and poor quality outcomes. A major contributing factor for these issues is that outdated leadership practices, such as leader-centricity, linear thinking, and poor readiness for innovation, are being used in healthcare organizations.

SOLUTION

Complexity leadership theory provides a new framework with which healthcare leaders may practice leadership. Complexity leadership theory conceptualizes leadership as a continual process that stems from collaboration, complex systems thinking, and innovation mindsets.

CONCLUSION

Compared to transactional and transformational leadership concepts, complexity leadership practices hold promise to improve cost and quality in health care.

The American Organization of Nurse Executives System CNE task force: a work in progress

Health care is a complex industry, consequently requiring a diverse group of health care executives leading initiatives for efficiency and effectiveness in patient care delivery. Value-based purchasing and pay for performance are at the top of the list for indicators of success, and many hospitals are merging into health care systems. The role of the system chief nurse executive is an evolving role to lead health care systems in clinical, operational, patient safety, and patient satisfaction processes and outcomes. The American Organization of Nurse Executives, being the voice for nursing leadership, convened a group of system chief nurse executives to address the role, function, and competencies needed for this significant and emerging role in health care. This article describes the role statement and system chief nurse executive competencies needed for success in the role. In addition, the next steps for addressing the needs of this group will be outlined in this article.