- Email: [email protected]
Developing the Next Generation of Leaders in Maternal-Child Health Nursing
JOGNN
IN FOCUS EDITORIAL
Developing the Next Generation of Leaders in Maternal-Child Health Nursing Karen H. Morin
Correspondence Karen Morin, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, University of West Georgia, 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118. [email protected] Karen Morin, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, is a professor emerita, College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI; Director of the Center for Nursing Inquiry, Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI; and visiting professor, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA.
ccording to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN; 2014), approximately one million nurses are projected to retire between 2025 and 2030. Many of these nurses hold formal leadership positions in academic and health care organizations. As the resulting emphasis on leadership development becomes more focused, the questions foremost in our minds include “Who will assume leadership positions in the field of nursing?” and “How can we help prepare the next generation of nurse leaders?”
A
The need to develop nurse leaders is ever present. A cursory search of the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) with the search term developing leaders yielded 937 results. Although many of these results were nursing specific (Bernard, 2014; Fitzpatrick & Sorenson, 2015), the development of leaders is also of interest to colleagues in nutrition (Escott-Stump, 2014) and oral health (Kalenderian, Taichman, Skoulas, Nadershahi, & Victoroff, 2013) as well as to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Kavanaugh, Menser, Pooler, Mathis, & Ramos, 2015). Several scholars reported the outcomes of discipline specific leadership programs that vary in length from a few months (Kavanaugh et al., 2015) to more than one year (Bernard, 2014). The articles in this In Focus series demonstrate how a leadership development program operationalized by the implementation of a clinically based project contributed to personal leadership development and improved patient outcomes. This 18-month mentored program, the Maternal-Child Health Nurse Leadership Academy (MCHNLA), is an evidence-based leadership model with global applicability consistent with adult learning principles. The MCHNLA was launched in 2003, and during the past 10 years, participant and patient outcomes have evolved and been clarified.
The author reports no conflict of interest or relevant financial relationships.
http://jognn.awhonn.org
In the first article, Morin and colleagues describe the MCHNLA program to provide a more de-
tailed context for the remaining articles in the series. We describe the creation and evolution of the MCHNLA, which is the result of a partnership between an international nursing organization, Sigma Theta Tau International, and a private industry, Johnson & Johnson, to address the growing need for leadership development. Using an evidence-based leadership model (Kouzes & Posner, 2012), participants work with a mentor and a faculty member to develop and refine their leadership abilities as they implement clinical projects designed to enhance patient outcomes. The MCHNLA has had a positive effect on leadership development that is measured over time. The effect on patient outcomes has also been impressive, as evidenced in the articles in this series. These articles reflect the collaborative relationship among fellows, mentors, and MCHNLA faculty that demonstrates the essence of the program. In the second article, Brower, Trefz, and Burns discuss how participation in the MCHNLA changed clinical practice and taught leadership skills. Within the context of a continuous quality improvement project, they provide a cogent argument for addressing the detrimental outcomes of the use of products containing toxic chemicals on a mother/baby unit. The authors explored alternative product options acceptable to patients and nursing staff and describe the implementation of the project and outcomes for patients and the MCHNLA fellows. They report significant cost savings as a result of their efforts and indicate that additional efforts in relation to increasing awareness about toxic hazards have been embraced. As evidence of the effect of the MCHNLA, the participating fellow was promoted to a coordinator position. In the third article, Chrupcala, Edwards, and Spatz describe how an infant-driven feeding (IDF) practice was implemented in a newborn/infant intensive care unit. Edwards and Spatz have prior experience with the MCHNLA: Edwards was a fellow, and Spatz was a mentor. In this continuous
C 2015 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
631
IN FOCUS EDITORIAL
Developing the Next Generation of Leaders in Maternal-Child Health Nursing
quality improvement project, they served as mentor (Edwards) and faculty (Spatz), which demonstrates a basic premise of the MCHNLA: leadership development is continuous. Recognizing the benefits of IDF, and building on information from prior less successful efforts, the project team identified champions, formed a multidisciplinary team, educated and reeducated staff, and created patient/family education materials. Leadership skills are discussed within the context of the Kouzes and Posner (2012) leadership model. In the fourth article, Stikes, Arterberry, and Logsdon describe another continuous quality improvement project undertaken while they were participating in the MCHNLA. The MCHNLA positioned them well to lead the implementation of a patient education program based on national health literacy standards. Stikes and colleagues show the critical role health literacy plays in a person’s ability to oversee his or her health and on individual health outcomes. Patient satisfaction, a key outcome, improved significantly following implementation of the project. The fellow and mentor demonstrated leadership skills as they challenged the way things had previously been done in the institution, created a shared vision, and worked collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team.
significant effect on patient care and how a welldesigned leadership development program can influence participant growth as a leader. Each fellow identified a clinical issue, sought the wisdom of a mentor, and took advantage of a well-established partnership designed to develop leadership abilities. The user-friendly leadership model enhanced their success and continues to be used as participants assume new and different leadership roles. In truth, participants are well prepared for leaderful practice (Raelin, 2011). By working in interdisciplinary teams, they have learned to acknowledge the leadership abilities of team members, recognize the shared leadership contributions of others, invite collaboration and input, and be compassionate with team members. The MCHNLA faculty, fellows, and mentors have much of which to be proud, and these successes position nurse leaders and those for whom they care well for the future!
REFERENCES American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2014). Nursing shortage fact sheet. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www. aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/NrsgShortageFS.pdf Bernard, N. (2014). Who’s next? Developing high potential nurse leaders for nurse executive roles. Nurse Leader, 12(5), 56–61. doi:10.
In the final article, Green, Rider, and Ratcliff describe how engagement in the MCHNLA facilitated the development and implementation of a continuous quality improvement project designed to increase nurse confidence and competence when dealing with obstetric emergencies. They discuss how they designed the educational program, created an interdisciplinary team that included nurse leadership, the chief medical officer, and the chief of obstetrics, and implemented the project. They expanded on how data collection was undertaken. Overall project results were very positive: nurse confidence and competence increased significantly as did cost savings.
1016/j.mnl.2014.01.014 Escott-Stump, S. A. (2014). Leadership with a little “L”. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(5), S6. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2014.02.020 Fitzpatrick, nurse.
S.,
&
Journal
Sorenson, of
G.
(2015).
Professional
The
Nursing,
leaderful
31,
79–80.
doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.02.002 Kalenderian, E., Taichman, R. S., Skoulas, A., Nadershahi, N., & Victoroff, K. Z. (2013). Developing the next generation of leaders in oral health. Journal of Dental Education, 77, 1508–1514. Kavanaugh, L., Menser, M., Pooler, J., Mathis, S., & Ramos, L. R. (2015). The MCH training program: Developing MCH leaders that are equipped for the changing health care landscape. Maternal Child Health Journal, 19(2), 257–264. doi:10.1007/s10995-0141574-0 Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2012). The leadership challenge (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Raelin, J. (2011). From leadership-as-practice to leaderful prac-
The authors of the articles in this In Focus series demonstrated how individuals can have a
632
JOGNN, 44, 631-632; 2015. DOI: 10.1111/1552-6909.12731
tice. Leadership, 7(2), 1–29. Retrieved from http://lea.sagepub. com/content/7/2/195
http://jognn.awhonn.org
IN FOCUS EDITORIAL
Developing the Next Generation of Leaders in Maternal-Child Health Nursing Karen H. Morin
Correspondence Karen Morin, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, University of West Georgia, 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118. [email protected] Karen Morin, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, is a professor emerita, College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI; Director of the Center for Nursing Inquiry, Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI; and visiting professor, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA.
ccording to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN; 2014), approximately one million nurses are projected to retire between 2025 and 2030. Many of these nurses hold formal leadership positions in academic and health care organizations. As the resulting emphasis on leadership development becomes more focused, the questions foremost in our minds include “Who will assume leadership positions in the field of nursing?” and “How can we help prepare the next generation of nurse leaders?”
A
The need to develop nurse leaders is ever present. A cursory search of the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) with the search term developing leaders yielded 937 results. Although many of these results were nursing specific (Bernard, 2014; Fitzpatrick & Sorenson, 2015), the development of leaders is also of interest to colleagues in nutrition (Escott-Stump, 2014) and oral health (Kalenderian, Taichman, Skoulas, Nadershahi, & Victoroff, 2013) as well as to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Kavanaugh, Menser, Pooler, Mathis, & Ramos, 2015). Several scholars reported the outcomes of discipline specific leadership programs that vary in length from a few months (Kavanaugh et al., 2015) to more than one year (Bernard, 2014). The articles in this In Focus series demonstrate how a leadership development program operationalized by the implementation of a clinically based project contributed to personal leadership development and improved patient outcomes. This 18-month mentored program, the Maternal-Child Health Nurse Leadership Academy (MCHNLA), is an evidence-based leadership model with global applicability consistent with adult learning principles. The MCHNLA was launched in 2003, and during the past 10 years, participant and patient outcomes have evolved and been clarified.
The author reports no conflict of interest or relevant financial relationships.
http://jognn.awhonn.org
In the first article, Morin and colleagues describe the MCHNLA program to provide a more de-
tailed context for the remaining articles in the series. We describe the creation and evolution of the MCHNLA, which is the result of a partnership between an international nursing organization, Sigma Theta Tau International, and a private industry, Johnson & Johnson, to address the growing need for leadership development. Using an evidence-based leadership model (Kouzes & Posner, 2012), participants work with a mentor and a faculty member to develop and refine their leadership abilities as they implement clinical projects designed to enhance patient outcomes. The MCHNLA has had a positive effect on leadership development that is measured over time. The effect on patient outcomes has also been impressive, as evidenced in the articles in this series. These articles reflect the collaborative relationship among fellows, mentors, and MCHNLA faculty that demonstrates the essence of the program. In the second article, Brower, Trefz, and Burns discuss how participation in the MCHNLA changed clinical practice and taught leadership skills. Within the context of a continuous quality improvement project, they provide a cogent argument for addressing the detrimental outcomes of the use of products containing toxic chemicals on a mother/baby unit. The authors explored alternative product options acceptable to patients and nursing staff and describe the implementation of the project and outcomes for patients and the MCHNLA fellows. They report significant cost savings as a result of their efforts and indicate that additional efforts in relation to increasing awareness about toxic hazards have been embraced. As evidence of the effect of the MCHNLA, the participating fellow was promoted to a coordinator position. In the third article, Chrupcala, Edwards, and Spatz describe how an infant-driven feeding (IDF) practice was implemented in a newborn/infant intensive care unit. Edwards and Spatz have prior experience with the MCHNLA: Edwards was a fellow, and Spatz was a mentor. In this continuous
C 2015 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
631
IN FOCUS EDITORIAL
Developing the Next Generation of Leaders in Maternal-Child Health Nursing
quality improvement project, they served as mentor (Edwards) and faculty (Spatz), which demonstrates a basic premise of the MCHNLA: leadership development is continuous. Recognizing the benefits of IDF, and building on information from prior less successful efforts, the project team identified champions, formed a multidisciplinary team, educated and reeducated staff, and created patient/family education materials. Leadership skills are discussed within the context of the Kouzes and Posner (2012) leadership model. In the fourth article, Stikes, Arterberry, and Logsdon describe another continuous quality improvement project undertaken while they were participating in the MCHNLA. The MCHNLA positioned them well to lead the implementation of a patient education program based on national health literacy standards. Stikes and colleagues show the critical role health literacy plays in a person’s ability to oversee his or her health and on individual health outcomes. Patient satisfaction, a key outcome, improved significantly following implementation of the project. The fellow and mentor demonstrated leadership skills as they challenged the way things had previously been done in the institution, created a shared vision, and worked collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team.
significant effect on patient care and how a welldesigned leadership development program can influence participant growth as a leader. Each fellow identified a clinical issue, sought the wisdom of a mentor, and took advantage of a well-established partnership designed to develop leadership abilities. The user-friendly leadership model enhanced their success and continues to be used as participants assume new and different leadership roles. In truth, participants are well prepared for leaderful practice (Raelin, 2011). By working in interdisciplinary teams, they have learned to acknowledge the leadership abilities of team members, recognize the shared leadership contributions of others, invite collaboration and input, and be compassionate with team members. The MCHNLA faculty, fellows, and mentors have much of which to be proud, and these successes position nurse leaders and those for whom they care well for the future!
REFERENCES American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2014). Nursing shortage fact sheet. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www. aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/NrsgShortageFS.pdf Bernard, N. (2014). Who’s next? Developing high potential nurse leaders for nurse executive roles. Nurse Leader, 12(5), 56–61. doi:10.
In the final article, Green, Rider, and Ratcliff describe how engagement in the MCHNLA facilitated the development and implementation of a continuous quality improvement project designed to increase nurse confidence and competence when dealing with obstetric emergencies. They discuss how they designed the educational program, created an interdisciplinary team that included nurse leadership, the chief medical officer, and the chief of obstetrics, and implemented the project. They expanded on how data collection was undertaken. Overall project results were very positive: nurse confidence and competence increased significantly as did cost savings.
1016/j.mnl.2014.01.014 Escott-Stump, S. A. (2014). Leadership with a little “L”. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(5), S6. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2014.02.020 Fitzpatrick, nurse.
S.,
&
Journal
Sorenson, of
G.
(2015).
Professional
The
Nursing,
leaderful
31,
79–80.
doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.02.002 Kalenderian, E., Taichman, R. S., Skoulas, A., Nadershahi, N., & Victoroff, K. Z. (2013). Developing the next generation of leaders in oral health. Journal of Dental Education, 77, 1508–1514. Kavanaugh, L., Menser, M., Pooler, J., Mathis, S., & Ramos, L. R. (2015). The MCH training program: Developing MCH leaders that are equipped for the changing health care landscape. Maternal Child Health Journal, 19(2), 257–264. doi:10.1007/s10995-0141574-0 Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2012). The leadership challenge (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Raelin, J. (2011). From leadership-as-practice to leaderful prac-
The authors of the articles in this In Focus series demonstrated how individuals can have a
632
JOGNN, 44, 631-632; 2015. DOI: 10.1111/1552-6909.12731
tice. Leadership, 7(2), 1–29. Retrieved from http://lea.sagepub. com/content/7/2/195
http://jognn.awhonn.org