Leadership in nursing education

There is a great deal written about nursing leadership - in the research literature, policy (think clinical leadership) and in the national media. Leadership certainly seems to be at the heart of quality nursing practice. But what about leadership in nursing education? Leadership at all levels is vital to the development of innovative, creative, quality education. Leaders take measured risks; they experiment with a view to developing practice; they support others to be creative and to do things that are out of the ordinary. What we also need to do is to make sure that as we work differently in these evolving education and healthcare contexts, is to ensure that we find ways to build the evidence-base. I recognise that this is a challenge - funding is not always forthcoming for research in education, but there are real opportunities to understand the impact of changing educational provision on patient care and health outcomes. 

As part of my Florence Nightingale Leadership scholarship, I am obviously looking at my own leadership development with the aim of improving myself both personally and professionally. But one of the fantastic aspects of the scholarship is the opportunity that I have had to 'shadow' others - senior nurses, senior academics, senior police officers and others. As I think of the challenges of leadership in nursing education, evidence building and creativity in practice, I am pleased to have had the chance to see others' leadership in action.