Developing nurse leaders across the Americas: evaluation of an online nursing leadership course

Abstract

Development of leadership capacities in the nursing workforce is essential to achieving universal health in the Region of the Americas. This evaluation considered the effectiveness of an online leadership course offered in English and Spanish to nurses throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The online course was an asynchronous eight-module leadership nursing course created and offered by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Virtual Campus. A retrospective, descriptive design was used to evaluate learner performance data from the modules. Learner performance on the course was analyzed. Electronic surveys were distributed to individuals who withdrew prior to course completion to obtain information regarding the reason for withdrawal. In all, 289 individuals from 41 countries participated in the online course. Learner performance demonstrated improvement from pre- to post-test. The most frequent reason for not completing the course was being too busy with other obligations. The Spanish-language course version received more enrollment applications than any other course in the virtual campus’ 12-year history. The evaluation concluded that continuing education that develops nursing leadership is desired across Latin America and the Caribbean. Online education through the PAHO Virtual Campus may be a low-cost yet powerful means of disseminating knowledge to the nursing workforce throughout the Americas.

Nurses’ preparation for transitioning into positions of leadership—A Caribbean perspective

“…Within nursing organisations that are staffed by younger, more inexperienced nurses in positions of leadership, this could be an extremely challenging prospect as there could be serious implications for the organisation's productivity level. In an environment like the Caribbean where there continues to be brain drain of experienced professionals due to push/pull factors, this is particularly worrying from a leadership replacement perspective (Ortega et al, 2018;Salmon et al, 2007). Pfrimmer, Elenbaas, Melanson-Arnold, Harris, and…”

“…The recently published Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery (GAPFON) report indicated that a common theme among participants in every region where consultations were conducted was the concern about the quality of leadership within nursing (Sigma Theta Tau International, 2017). During nursing training, priority is given to the development of core clinical skills with little emphasis on the development of leadership skills (Ortega et al, 2018).…”

“…With changing epidemiological profiles and international agreements contributing to the growing demands on the health sector, especially in nursing, adequate levels of preparation of individuals who can seamlessly transition into positions of leadership are required. Gentry, Logan, and Tonidandel (2014) While nurses are exposed to the principles of leadership and management during their initial training, the curriculum is primarily clinical and technical with little emphasis on leadership (Ortega et al, 2018).…”

“…Within the context of the Caribbean, there are serious concerns among nursing and administrative leaders at the policy level (PAHO/ WHO, 2016) about the level of preparation as well as the structure and availability of support systems in supporting the transitioning of nurses into positions of authority (Ortega et al, 2018). This is exacerbated by the observation that while nurses represent more than 50% of the workforce, their voices are diluted or unheard within the context of leadership within health systems (Sigma Theta Tau International, 2017).…”

Empowerment of front‐line leaders in an online learning, certificate programme

“…Online education for leadership among practicing nurses is needed (Buckner et al, ; Dyess, Sherman, Pratt, & Chiang‐Hanisko, ). A study by Ortega et al of 289 nurses from 41 countries reported an online leadership programme was useful (Ortega et al, ) and all three cohorts improved in performance from pre‐test to post‐test. Of note, the programme included leadership as part of the components along with other aspects (e.g.…”