Abstract
The demand for knowledgeable and skilled nursing leaders at the first, middle, and executive levels of management in healthcare organizations drove a multiphased project concerning the types of nurse managers that will be needed in the future and their educational needs. In Part 1 (June 2003), national nurse leaders identified the increased need for knowledgeable and skilled nurses in first-line, mid-level, and executive management positions in the healthcare delivery system. This article describes the second Vision 2020 survey of nurse managers in Massachusetts on the current and future demand for nurse managers and their academic preparation and continuing education needs. It concludes with a model curriculum revision for a master's program in nursing management for the public urban university in Boston.
Changes in technology, the care delivery system, nursing practice, and nursing education demand thoughtful and comprehensive evaluation of employer expectations from nurse managers, new curriculum and approaches to preparing nurse managers, and more input from current nurse managers in both system design and curriculum. Although nursing administration curricula have traditionally focused on nursing care delivery in acute care settings, 1 all types of healthcare organizations require skilled nurse managers. Those organizations include nursing homes, hospitals, assisted-living facilities, residential care programs, home healthcare agencies, ambulatory care centers, student infirmaries, and many others. 2-4
Vision 2020: Future Nurse Managers Project was a 3-phase process to explore the redesign of the nursing administration curriculum and more specifically leadership and management content at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Phase 1 involved a literature review and evaluation of the current curriculum. Phase 2 of the project collected data through two surveys to identify the educational preparation, experiences, skills, and knowledge that are important for nurses who are seeking management positions. Phase 3 is the development of curriculum and program revisions. This article reports on the second Phase 2 survey of nurse managers and summarizes the initial Phase 3 curriculum revisions.