Elizabeth A. Curtis, Jan de Vries, Fintan K. Sheerin
This article provides an introduction to the issue of nursing leadership, addressing definitions and theories underpinning leadership, factors that enhance leadership in nursing, and the nature of leadership content taught in undergraduate programmes. Highlighted are differences between leadership and management, and the notion that leadership can be ‘learned’. The authors also point out that there is a discrepancy between how leading undergraduate nursing programmes prepare students primarily in the transition of education to practice, and the suggestion from a number of nursing publications that leadership in nurses should be fostered throughout their education. Key words: Nursing leadership n Management n Factors that enhance leadership n Undergraduate programmes he importance of effective leadership in health care has been emphasized by a number of authors (Dunham and Fisher, 1990; Hewison and Griffiths, 2004; Carney, 2006; Greenfield, 2007; Sutherland and Dodd, 2008), and nursing leadership is pivotal to this as nurses represent the largest discipline in health care (Oliver, 2006; Marquis and Huston, 2009; Roussel et al, 2009; Sullivan and Garland, 2010). Research on leadership has demonstrated a positive relationship with improved patient safety outcomes (Tregunno et al, 2009); healthy work environments (Shirey, 2009); job satisfaction (Heller et al, 2004; Sellgren et al, 2007); lower turnover rates (Gelinas and Bohen, 2000); and positive outcomes for organizations, patients (Wong and Cummings, 2007) and healthcare providers (Cummings et al, 2005). While it can be argued that there are many challenges confronting nurse leaders at the present time (new roles, new technology, financial constraints, greater