Cardiovascular nursing was given birth only about 30 years ago. We have made tremendous strides since the 1960s. The care of cardiovascular patients has virtually been transformed within these three short decades. We have advanced our scientific foundation for cardiovascular nursing from a complete void to a rich and diverse body of knowledge that offers guidance for many of our clinical practices. These enormous changes are often taken for granted or as simply part of a rapidly changing health care system. However, systems do not change themselves; people change them, and often against great odds. Who are the courageous and visionary people who have led the way; transformed research, education, and practice; educated a generation of clinicians and budding scholars; and mentored hundreds of new and developing leaders?
The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (JCN) has provided the opportunity to identify and honor seven of these nurses as transformational leaders in cardiovascular nursing. The seven individuals * were chosen based on the results of a three-round Delphi survey of the JCN Editorial Board members. These leaders were chosen based on their contributions to research, education, practice, and the profession and on having significantly influenced the substance and direction of cardiovascular care. It is a privilege to honor: Kathleen Dracup, DNSc, RN, CS, FNP; Cathie E. Guzzetta, PhD, RN, FAAN; Martha N. Hill, PhD, RN, FAAN; Marguerite R. Kinney, DNSc, RN, FAAN; Carolyn L. Murdaugh, PhD, RN, FAAN; Susan J. Quaal, PhD, RN, CVS, CCRN; and Elizabeth Hahn Winslow, PhD, RN, FAAN.
Transformational leaders are characterized by facilitating others' sense of meaning, reaching for their goals without compromising themselves, coaching and mentoring others, acknowledging meaningful contributions, assisting in the development of others' full potential, leading by example and along new or difficult paths, and resolving problems while alleviating the symptoms. 1 Covey 1 indicates that this kind of leader embodies a strong sense of what is good, of purpose, and of ethics. In this way, leaders can transform people, situations, and organizations. In essence, they transform the future.
Of the numerous questions we have about these leaders, if desired, one could read about much of what these seven nurses did that made substantive changes. However, we took the unique opportunity to explore what has never been written or possibly ever openly discussed: that is, howthese leaders transformed our thinking, our vision, our care of cardiovascular patients, our specialty, and our future. By understanding how these transformational leaders have responded to challenges, concerns, issues, demands, and anticipated trends (that is, their skills and habits of responding), we too may learn about becoming more skillful and adept in making the difference we hope to make.
The difficulty in understanding leaders' skills is that people are typically least able to articulate aspects of their everyday skilled performance. Benner and Wrubel 2 explain that the most familiar, everyday aspects of a skill or practice are so smooth, rapid, unconscious, taken for granted, and nonreflective that they escape the notice of the performer. Thus, the performer is not mindful of them and is unable to explicitly spell them out. 3 Expert leaders can, however, describe in detail their responses and concerns from an actual situation as it unfolded. Their stories can therefore teach us not only what transformational leaders do that is so important, but also provide an understanding of why and how. Stories can provide the essential wisdom that may assist developing leaders in seeing or creating possibilities for themselves and/or others. Hence, these seven leaders were asked to share memorable situations, stories. that: 1) convey salient lessons they learned by themselves or from others, in positive or breakdown circumstances, and 2) describe situations in which they coached or mentored others.
To further uncover how these leaders transform others, we asked people whom these leaders had mentored to share stories that described some significant lessons they had learned from the leaders. Again, by making their evervday way of being more visible, we hoped to better understand how these leaders make a difference and to capture skills and habits that may escape the notice of the leader herself. The following nurses graciously submitted the pearls of wisdom they had gleaned from their mentors: Vicki J. Coombs, MS, RN, CCRN; Sandra B. Dunbar, DSN, RN, FAAN, and Patricia Hooper-Kyriakidis, PhD, RN; Lori D. Finlay, MS, APRN, CCRN, CS; Julie Fleury, PhD, and Colleen Keller, PhD, FNP; Dorrie K. Fontaine, DNSc, RN, FAAN; Ann F. Jacobson, PhD, RN; and Debra K. Moser, DNSc, RN.
Most of the authors, the leaders and those they mentored, commented that "this is the hardest manuscript I have ever written." Unlike the scientific writing most are accustomed to, this work called for articulation of meaning and significance issues that do not typically rise to the level of verbalization. It called for articulating major influences in one's life. Again, people remember what is most meaningful and it is remembered in terms of the specific situations in which it occurred. Thus, the mentees were also asked to share the lessons they had learned by recounting the situations in which the lesson was learned.
Embedded within the stories on the following pages are the central skills, concerns, meanings, practices, and habits of thinking that guide transformational leaders in cardiovascular nursing and excellent mentoring. It is striking to notice how consistent the central themes are among these leaders. Passion and commitment are pervasive in what these leaders teach and in the pursuit of their goals. Their passion typically intensified their persistence and determination to accomplish or effect change. Each leader manifests a deep curiosity, instills that curiosity in others, and is therefore an astute and lifelong learner. To transform the scope and magnitude of cardiovascular nursing, each leader has developed the courage to confront adversity, dare to be different, and take career-determining risks. Despite the challenges, each has maintained a high level of honesty and integrity that is exquisitely coupled with compassion, generosity, and kindness. Basic in all the leaders are their knowledge, experience, and high expectations. Each leader has mentored the next generation of cardiovascular leaders, researchers, scholars, and clinicians. It was interesting, but not surprising, to read, in retrospect, that Covey 1 characterizes transformational leaders in the same way.
These transformational leaders have and surely will continue to inspire many blossoming clinicians, educators, researchers, and leaders who aspire to make their contributions. Although the path can be lonely and frustrating, the wisdom and vision of these leaders, our cardiovascular stars, shine bright to light the way into the coming millennium.
As the editor for this issue. I was honored to work with such a stellar group of leaders, scholars, and clinicians. I want to express my appreciation to them for writing "the hardest manuscript they ever had to write," for sharing their extraordinary pearls of wisdom with JCN readers, and for the diverse and original ways in which they conveyed their stories. I am certain that lessons shared will assist many budding and aspiring leaders in their future development and endeavors. And finally, I would like to thank Joan Vitello-Cicciu and Barbara Riegel for inviting me to be the issue editor, and particularly Joan for her enthusiastic assistance, advice, and support.
- Patricia Hooper-Kyriakidis, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor; University of California, San Francisco; Department of Physiological Nursing; San Francisco, California; Issue Editor
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