Next-gen nurse leaders need Ph.D.'s

A "new generation of bold nurse leaders" can lead the charge to transform healthcare, according to a commentary in Nurses magazine.

The nursing pool must be larger and more diverse and more nurses will need doctoral degrees, according to the article, written by Susan Hassmiller and Julie Fairman, co-directors of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars Program, and Lorina Marshall-Blake, president of the Independence Blue Cross Foundation.

"We must take bold, decisive action to ensure there are enough Ph.D.-prepared nurses to not only advance health care research, but to educate the nurses we need to be on the front lines delivering quality care in our communities," they wrote.

Nonprofit foundations are investing millions in scholarships for advanced nursing education, including graduate and doctoral scholarships, according to the article. Cohort scholar programs are providing additional opportunities for the next generation of nurse leaders.

In addition to advanced education and certification, future nurse leaders need leadership mentors and an understanding of how to put abstract leadership skills to work in the real world of healthcare, FierceHealthcare previously reported.

They'll also need to break real-world barriers. Only 6 percent of 1,000 hospital boards surveyed nationwide included nurses as members, in part because of perceptions that nurses aren't as important as doctors.

To learn more:
- here's the article