Role Selected:  Nurse Executive
          • Nurse executives play an increasingly important 
           role in providing high-quality, safe patient care.
          • Nurse executives…
           –Provide direction and guidance
           –Foster open discussions about quality
           –Share outcomes and interpret data
           –Role-model appropriate behaviors
           –Provide critical thinking within the 
            organization
                    (Lúanaigh & Hughes, 2016)
          Qualifications:  Nurse Executive
          • Senior nurse leaders who… 
           –Possess advanced nursing education
           –Have acquired management experience
           –Function effectively in a healthcare 
            organization 
           –Take responsibility for shared governance
          • Work not only in patient care, but take an 
           organization-wide, systemic view
                          (Woten, 2015)
        Competencies:  Nurse Executive
        • Nurse Executives must have these skills… 
         –Leadership
         –Professionalism
         –Business
         –Knowledge of healthcare environment
         –Communication
                    (Woten, 2015)
                                     Roles of the Nurse Executive
                                                                                           Chief Nursing 
                                                                                           Officer (CNO)
                                                                  Chief Nurse                                            Nurse 
                                                                   Executive                                           Executive 
                                                                     (CNE)                                           Director (NED)
                                                                                         Nurse                        (in the U.K.
                                                                                    Executive
                                                                               Chief                           Chief 
                                                                             Operating                       Executive 
                                                                           Officer (COO)                   Officer (CEO)
                                                                                                                                       (Woten, 2015)
        AACN Essentials and the Nurse Executive
        • “We must clearly articulate the unique substantive  
         knowledge within the discipline of nursing that informs 
         nursing administration practice and constitutes its 
         distinctiveness.” (Smith, 1993, p. 63)
        • The AACN Essentials define the scope of all Master’s-
         prepared nursing programs at colleges across America
        • These Essentials ensure that Master’s-prepared nurses are 
         equipped with “valuable knowledge and skills to lead change, 
         promote health, and elevate care in  various roles and 
         settings.” (AACN, 2011, p. 3)