2015 Nurse Leader Institute
The Louisiana Action Coalition’s Nurse Leader Institute graduated its first class on Friday, November 13. Thirty-two registered nurses from across the state participated in the comprehensive five-day program.
“According to data from the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, 17.9 percent of RNs holding a managerial position plan to retire in the next five years,” said Barbara Morvant, MN, RN, project director for the Nurse Leader Institute and Louisiana Action Coalition Core Leadership Team member. “Our purpose was to develop a nurse leadership course to prepare registered nurses for leadership positions across the health care delivery spectrum and academia.”
Sixteen seasoned nurse leaders served as faculty for the program. Participants included nurses from a variety of clinical and educational settings across the state.
“The Nurse Leader Institute was created to provide nurse managers and emerging nurse leaders with the tools they need to be successful,” said Morvant. “We sent out a nurse leadership needs assessment earlier this year to all of Louisiana’s registered nurses. They identified this kind of training as a high-priority need, and we responded.”
Curriculum included segments on budgeting, communication, recruitment and retention, staff performance, quality improvement and personal leadership skills.
Sherry Peveto, MSN, RN, assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Kitty Degree School of Nursing, said, “Technical skill, critical thinking and interpersonal skills - the instruction provided a clear framework that I can use to teach, coach, and challenge nursing students to become highly proficient in all three areas. In the new world of value-based purchasing, interpersonal skills will be the key to acquisition of all healthcare dollars. Technical and critical thinking have always been a given.”
“I would say that the Nurse Leader Institute is an investment for the future of quality healthcare,” said Kerrie Redmond, RN, BSN, director of Women’s Services at Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma. “The mentoring was so valuable, and really inspired me to reach higher as a clinician and nursing leader in my facility.”
Those who completed the Nurse Leader Institute are now eligible to participate in a nine-month mentorship program during which each will be matched with an experienced nurse leader in his or her area of practice/interest. Those nurse leaders successfully completing both the Nurse Leader Institute and the mentorship program will be recognized as members of the Circle of Leaders through the Louisiana Nurses Foundation, Inc.
“We are happy to have this one under our belts,” said Morvant. “Given its level of success, we feel confident that making the Nurse Leader Institute an ongoing program is the right thing to do.”
Development of the Nurse Leader Institute was funded by donations from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Gifted Healthcare LLC and the Great 100 Nurses Foundation.
