NAC Board Leadership Preparation
Prepared by Linda Kay Walline Ph.D. RN
Nursing as a Profession
• Largest segment of the
healthcare workers
• Majority of time spent in direct
patient care
• Top profession for public trust
(Gallup)
• Influence patient flow, supplies
and equipment purchases,
safety measures and physician/
patient satisfaction
• Influence quality measures
(CMS, 2008) and HCAHP Scores
Perceptions Must Change
Nurses are perceived as not playing a substantial
leadership role in Health Care.
Why?
Board Positions Held
Nurses (36%)
Physicians
(20-23%)
Other
• Perception that nurses do not have
leadership skills
• Lack of understanding of nurses’
role in care quality
• Concern that nurses will lack holistic
approach & will focus only on
nursing/employee view
• Gender bias; board members pick
replacements with similar
backgrounds to their own (Pribil,
2009)
Nurses Contributions are Unrecognized
Nurses can & do Influence:
89%
Reduction
of Medical
Error
90%
Increase
in Quality
of Care
84%
86%
Promotion of
Wellness &
Preventative
Care
Improvement
of Healthcare
Efficiency &
Reduction of
Costs
Nurses should have more input and impact in planning, policy development,
and management (Khoury, et al. 2011)
2011 IOM Recommendation
Nurses Have Skill Sets That Fit:
– Close Proximity to Patients
– Scientific Understanding of Care Processes Across Continuum
– Inter-professional Collaborative Partnerships
– Lead Improvement & Redesign of the Healthcare System (IOM, 2011).”
Nurses be represented on:
-
Boards
Executive Management Teams
Other Key Leadership Positions
Nurses Need to “Lean In”
“….women (nurses) hold
themselves back in ways
both big & small, by
lacking self-confidence,
by not raising our hands,
& by pulling back when
we should be leaning in.”
“…Women (nurses) need to learn to keep their hands up, because when they lower
them, even managers (board members seeking replacements) with the best
intentions might not notice…”
“Having a Voice”
• ACA - more than access & increased
coverage:
• Improve health & healthcare
• Bend cost curve
• Let go of entrenched thinking
/assumptions about professional roles
• Inter-Professional Collaboration
Nurses are necessary in discussions on quality and costs.
Nurses Contributions to Boards
• Innovative solutions to improve safety/quality
• Understand importance of collaboration
• Great listening/interview skills; ability to ask appropriate questions
• Understand & respect wide range of professional roles & skills
required for patient care
• Effective team member
• Understand honesty, transparency, & integrity
• Patient advocate
• Awareness of connection between community & healthcare
What Board Service Brings to Nurses
• Expands leadership
skills and advances
their capabilities and
knowledge
• Enhances professional
networking
opportunities
Board Service, “Connects you to the world,” by giving you new perspectives
and making you proud to be a nurse
Becoming “Board Ready”
• Seek increased levels of responsibility at work or
volunteer roles
• Seek broad operational knowledge & experience to
appreciate complexity of organizational interaction
• Understand expectations & compatibilities of board you
are exploring
View video - Nurse Leaders in the Boardroom: The Skills You
need To Be Successful on a Board (Center to Champion
Nursing in America and RWJF) http://campaignforaction.org/webinar/nurseleaders-boardroom-skills-you-need-be-successful-board
Identify Mentors
Experienced leaders need to step forward to become mentors and guides
by encouraging newer nurses to develop expertise and leadership skills as
well as by offering suggestions on how to climb the ladder of leadership.
Nurses in the Boardroom Summary
1
2
3
4
5
• Create Personal Strategic Plan
• Be Passionate
• Start Locally
• Build Connections
• Educate Self & Recognize Importance of Life-Long Learning
References
• Hassmiller, S.B. (2011). Nursing leadership from bedside to
boardroom commentary. JONA, 41 (7/8), 306-308.
• Hassmiller, S. (2013). Taking the first steps to serving on a board.
Colorado Nurse, 113(1), 1-8.
• Hassmiller, S. and Combs, J. (2012). Journal of Healthcare
Management, 57 (1), 8-11.
• Khoury, C.M. and Blizzard, R. (2011). Nursing leadership from
bedside to boardroom: A Gallup national survey of opinion leaders.
JONA, 41 (7/8), 299-305.
• Pribil, L. (2009). Engaging Nurses in Governing Hospital and Health
Systems. Journal of Nursing Care Quality 24(1):5-9.
• Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.
Alfred A. Knopf, New York.