|
Background
This document summarizes the Task Force on
Nursing Administration Education's recommendations for the
graduate preparation of nurse administrators. These recommendations,
written jointly by the American Association of Colleges of
Nursing (AACN) and American Organization of Nurse Executives
(AONE) after a roundtable discussion (co-sponsored by the
Pew Health Professions Trust), articulated the future of nursing
administration education and the knowledge base and abilities
needed to function as an effective nurse administrator in
an emerging health care system. The recommendations that emerged
subsequently have been adapted to incorporate the recently
published The Essentials of Master's Education for Advanced
Practice Nursing. The AACN and AONE Boards endorsed this
document in 1996.
This document describing the Nursing Administration
specialty assumes that graduates of programs of study in Nursing
Administration will complete the Graduate Nursing Core required
of all master's degree nursing students. The Graduate Core
Curriculum Content grounds the nurse administrator in research;
policy, organization, and financing of health care; ethics;
professional role development; theoretical foundations of
nursing practice; human diversity and social issues; and health
promotion and disease prevention. (See knowledge and skills
graduate curriculum core, pp. 6-12, The Essentials of Master's
Education for Advanced Practice Nursing, 1996).
|
Graduate Nursing Core
(All master's degree nursing students)
|
|
|
Administration
|
APN Clinical Core
|
Community Health
|
|
Specialty Curricula
|
Specialty Curricula
|
|
Additional focused study, both theoretical
and clinical, should prepare nursing administration graduates
to assume leadership and management roles in organizations,
to assure the accountable clinical practice of nursing in
the organization, and to function as a member of organization
executive management teams. The educational preparation for
nurses in administration, therefore, should take place in
collegiate schools of nursing and include interdisciplinary
educational experiences in business, psychology, economics,
sociology and/or health service administration.
Assumptions Regarding Specialty Education
in Nursing Administration
The curriculum should recognize the whole
continuum of care from wellness to illness, focusing increased
emphasis on community-based care, integrated systems, and
community networks.
The curriculum should emphasize models of
effective partnerships; sharing of resources and understanding
clinical practice roles of all health care disciplines; and
functioning as a member of an executive level team.
The curriculum is not intended to prepare
the individual to provide direct client/patient services at
an advanced level, but should assist graduates to envision
a broadened career perspective on the changing scope of practice,
the nursing competencies expected by their level of academic
preparation, and the administrator's responsibility to improve
the capability and adaptability of nurses.
The curriculum should encourage and enhance
focused research and development efforts related to nursing
leadership and design and improvement of the care delivery
system.
The curriculum should provide broad administrative
clinical learning experiences that emphasize depth and breadth
in applying new knowledge as a health care leader, including
experiences that reflect exposure to new models of organizations
and health care practices.
Core Abilities Necessary for Nurses
in Administrative Roles
A core set of abilities are required for the
effective nurse in administrative roles. These include the
abilities to:
- develop and articulate a vision for nursing
practice in an organization in the context of complex health
care delivery systems
- employ management skills that facilitate
collaborative relationships
- select and use advanced analytic, problem
solving and communication skills
- make sound decisions that value effectiveness
and parsimony in use of resources
- think globally using information and communication
technology
- assume risk-taking behavior for the purpose
of enhancing quality health care
- advocate for consumers and community partners
- demonstrate creativity in problem definitions
and solutions
- foster and implement team-building strategies
that create partnerships and collaboration within nursing
and across health care disciplines
- embrace change and manage it effectively
- negotiate and resolve conflict
- effectively market the nursing practice
enterprise
- demonstrate effective public speaking
- establish relationships with community groups
around the issue of health
Core Content for Specialty Education
in Nursing Administration
The content in nursing administration programs
should expand and build on the content identified in the Graduate
Core Curriculum. Additional emphasis should be placed on:
- Strategic Management
- Organizational Development/Business Planning
- Leadership
- Policy Development
- Continuous Quality Improvement
- Financial Management/Cost Analysis/Micro-
And Macro-Economics
- Information Systems
- Human Resource/Outcomes Management
- Managed Care and Integrated Delivery Systems
- Systems Analysis
- Environmental Issues
- Marketing and Sales Strategies
- Negotiation Strategies
- Public Health/Community Based Systems
Core Practicum Experiences for Specialty
Education in Nursing Administration
In recognition of AACN's The Essentials
of Master's Education for Advanced Practice Nursing recommendation
that advanced practice nurses learn in practice settings,
graduate students in nursing administration should have comparable
clinical experiences in the administrative role. These experiences
should provide the students with opportunities to test their
roles in new models of organization and health care practices
across the health care continuum.
AACN and AONE should take a leadership role
in educating nurse administrators by creating a cadre of mentors
across the country to interact with future nurse administrators.
In addition they should provide continuing education in nursing
leadership and administration, establish national recognition
for quality educational programs, offer forums that address
evolving health care systems, identify research priorities,
and support student stipends for graduate study and continuing
education.
Future Directions for Specialty Education
in Nursing Administration
Because the health care system is evolving
and changing rapidly, continuous efforts to survey nurses
and employers to identify content and skills needed for educational
programs in nursing administration are essential. Likewise,
the nurse administrator student must recognize the essential
nature of lifelong learning. The need to educate nurse administrators
in an interdisciplinary framework will increase and necessitate
ongoing flexibility and expanded educational partnerships
between faculty in nursing administration programs and other
disciplines. Educational programs will take advantage of existing
educational endeavors focused on cultivating nursing leadership,
such as the Center for Nursing Leadership (assembled by AONE,
Hill-Rom and Healthcare Network) and the Wharton Fellowship
Program. Educational technologies and pre-packaged programs
to enhance and facilitate learning will be needed. Nursing
faculty and organizations in which nursing administration
students are precepted will need to be engaged in research
foci such as effectiveness of care, patient outcomes, strategies
to improve health status, as well as cost analysis of care.
Joint AACN-AONE Task Force on
Nursing Administration Education:
Carol Bradley, Co-Chair, AONE, Huntington
Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA
Rita Carty, Co-Chair, AACN, George Mason University, Fairfax,
VA
Marjorie Beyers, AONE, Chicago, IL
Ann Marie Brooks, AONE, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester,
NY
Geraldene Felton, AACN, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Anne Rhome, AACN Staff Liaison, Washington, DC
Approved by AACN Board of Directors - October
27, 1996
Ratified by AACN Members - March 24, 1997
Approved by AONE Board of Directors - May 7, 1997
|
