UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After nearly two years of pandemic-induced pressure for health care providers, especially nurses, it’s clear our health systems are due for a significant transformation. Penn State Nursing is positioning the next generation of nurses to lead that transformation and to enact true change. To achieve this lofty goal, the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing has launched a Leadership Academy entitled WE LEAD.
Aiming to give students the tools to amplify the nursing profession’s influence, the initiative is designed to develop leadership competencies in nursing students and empower them to help realize a new era of nursing in healthcare.
To aid in that goal, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 21, WE LEAD is hosting Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. FAAP, FASTMH, to speak on "Global Vaccines and Vaccinations: The Science and the Anti science," as well as a Q&A session at the end. The webinar event requires registration and will be available via Zoom.
According to Susan Leight, Director of the WE LEAD Leadership Academy, “leading” is foundational to all that is done in the nursing practice. Now, more than ever, nurses have an obligation to prepare the next generation of nursing leaders with the knowledge, skills, and competencies they need to build a culture of health around the world.
Leadership has been hotly researched and debated for years, with researchers trying to answer questions about whether good leaders are born or developed. Character traits are heavily analyzed and categorized into good leadership or bad leadership, even going as far as matching individual leadership styles with situational needs. An understanding of leadership has evolved; employers now embrace traits like connection or empathy and understand that leadership skills are akin to a muscle that needs to be developed, nourished, and exercised.
Nurses, as the most trusted profession and the largest segment of health care providers, are integral voices in healthcare’s transformation. With challenges like staffing shortages and the ongoing pandemic to be overcome, the role of the nurse leader is paramount — both to patients and their health systems.
WE LEAD uses experiential learning to add depth to the student experience, covering topics like entrepreneurship, negotiation, and innovation. The themes and curriculum were developed around the ANA’s Leadership Institutes pillars of ‘leading yourself, leading others and leading the organization.’
Currently, the program is designed to target upper division undergraduate students in their third year, regardless of campus location.
“Creating nursing leaders to transform lives and health around the world” is the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s mission and while it certainly underpins the tenets of the new leadership academy, it’s influence may be found woven throughout every facet of the college.
To learn more about the webinar event or the Leadership Academy, contact Dr. Leight at sxl6189@psu.edu.
Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is approved with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association Approver Unit, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Up to 1.0 contact hours may be awarded to participants who hold a valid RN license and attend the entire Nursing Continuing Professional Development program; partial contact hours are not awarded.