Specific, mutually agreed upon competencies associated with a nursing assignment can elevate the practice of clinical nurses at the bedside by providing clear guidance on what is expected. Though less often discussed, these types of clear expectations and mapped out mechanisms to achieve them, can also elevate the practices of nurse leaders at every level.
At Sibley Memorial Hospital, the successful nurse leaders play a key role in determining what it means to be a nurse leader and what competencies best capture the roles of nurse leaders.
“We have really great nurse leaders in our hospital,” says Allison Steinberg, M.S.N., M.P.H., O.C.N., N.P.D.-B.C., director of excellence in nursing practice and education. “This has been an effort to put their excellent work into a structured format — so we can be sure that both our current nurse leaders and those who are up and coming have a clear roadmap of what we consider a successful leader and how to achieve that success.”
The American Organization for Nursing Leadership list of nurse executive competencies forms the backbone of Sibley’s list. But rather than adopt a top-down approach to defining them and making assumptions about what is important, the nursing education team created a learning module that allows the leaders themselves to prioritize and define the competencies.
This hands-on involvement from the leaders gives the nursing education team insight into the type of programs and certifications they need to develop to support personal growth and professional development.
“It's an important year to make sure that nurses at every level feel supported — including our nurse leaders. Anything we can do to make sure that we understand and offer tools to help them meet their goals is what we want to do.”
The idea of defining competencies for nurse leaders is relatively new, despite the fact that clinical nurse competencies are quite common across every aspect of nursing practice. It’s also unusual for the nurse leaders to have such a significant voice in defining success and how to get there.
For nursing leaders who took part in the process, including Christine Inglisa, M.S.N., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C., director of medical-surgical and musculoskeletal nursing at Sibley, the competency module gave her the opportunity to help identify which aspects of nurse leadership she feels are crucial.
“Health care is ever-changing with advancements in medicine, technology and new maladies,” she says. “It is important for nursing leadership to be enriched with new information and best practices. Leadership competency-based platforms provide this opportunity for both novice and advanced nursing leaders to continue to learn and perform their best for those they serve.”
