Nursing Leadership

Management and leadership skills are essential for all professional nurses. The skills are "community based" in that it is the community in which we serve that defines the needed abilities of managers and leaders in healthcare systems. The focus of this course is an introduction to varied theoretical frameworks that support principles of leadership and management in nursing and in all types of organization settings. Emphasis is placed on developing, enhancing, and demonstrating leadership skills. Students are exposed to practical situations in the management of patient care in various health care settings. This course provides an opportunity for the senior nursing student to investigate the role of nurse managers and leaders and to prepare for the practice of nursing management within various health care settings. Organizational structure, methods of nursing care delivery, comparison of management and nursing processes, decision-making, change, communication skills, collaboration, team building, ethical considerations, interpersonal skills of effective nursing leadership and management, and organization issues related to the quality of client, family, and personnel outcomes are integrated in the course. Prerequisites: All 300-level Nursing courses completed.