The Implementation of a Leadership Development Program and Its Impact on Nurse Managers Self-Reported Competency Levels

The nurse manager has a crucial role in healthcare organizations. The responsibilities include ensuring the care provided to patients is safe, caring, effective, and fiscally responsible (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2013). Additional responsibilities include liaison, which ensures that the healthcare organizations’ vision, mission, essential values, and beliefs are carried out at the unit level, as well as providing care utilizing evidence based practice to attain high quality outcomes (ANA; Cipriano, 2011; Weber, Ward, & Walsh, 2015; Zori, Nosek, & Musil, 2010). The nurse manager is essential to ensuring the provision of a healthy work environment for staff (Fennimore & Wolf, 2011; Sherman, Bishop, Eggenberger, & Karden, 2007; Sullivan, Bretschneider, & McCausland, 2003). Retention of staff, staff satisfaction, and patient satisfaction are directly linked to the nurse manager (Zori et al., 2010). The intent of a nurse to leave their job is directly related to the leadership and management by the nurse manager (Homberg, Van Der Heijden, & Valkenburg, 2013). Even though the nurse manager role has a high degree of importance for patients, staff, and the healthcare organizations, many in the position are not prepared for this crucial role (McKinney, Evans, & McKay, 2016; Zwink et al., 2013). Nurse managers that are not provided with appropriate leadership development can result in high turnover rates for staff, and poor patient and staff satisfaction, which ultimately negatively affect the fiscal health of the organization. A previous nurse manager survey indicated that nurse managers were interested in leadership development. The Nurse Manager Skills Inventory Tool was utilized to measure the nurse managers self-reported competency levels prior to and post leadership development program at a large medical center in New Jersey (American Association of Critical Care Nurses [AACN], 2006)