A framework for pre-qualifying nurses to build leadership skills.

Abstract

Nursing students are our future leaders in the healthcare sector. It is proposed that, for students to understand and demonstrate leadership knowledge, skills and attributes effectively, they need to: learn concepts, experience leadership roles, analyse their capabilities and develop these with the support of practitioners. The drive to improve nursing leadership does not come from within academia but from practitioners and other stakeholders, such as patients, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Health Education England, and this need is reflected in the university curriculum. This article reviews a final-year module on personal development for leadership and management and highlights the importance of continued practice support in developing leadership skills and confidence. The educational approaches, including lectures, the use of problem-based scenarios and enquiry-based learning, are explored and the inclusion of e-learning methods is discussed. Students are made aware that placement expectations are different from those in previous years. Recommendations include strategies to strengthen practice support for students who need to develop leadership skills.