Authors

  1. Section Editor(s): Waxman, KT DNP, MBA, RN, CNL, CHSE, CENP, FSSH, FAONL, FAAN
  2. Editor-in-Chief

Article Content

NURSING SCIENCE FOR LEADERSHIP IN THE NEW DECADE

This issue is focused on nursing science for leadership. Our Guest Editors, Nora Warshawsky and Pat Yoder-Wise, have put together an issue with manuscripts derived from the 2021 Annual Conference of the Association for Leadership Science in Nursing (ALSN). When I think about nursing science, I think of the legacy of nurse researchers over the decades and most recently, Dr Warshawsky. Nora has contributed to the science of nursing and nursing leadership through her research, and many of my DNP students cite her work in their papers. By the time this issue is published, Nora will have left her position as Associate Editor for Nursing Administration Quarterly (NAQ) and I want to personally thank her for her contributions over the last 3 years. She has helped enhance the NAQ offerings, was the creator of our column "Continuing the Conversation," and has been a great partner!

  
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Let's talk a moment about nursing science. Nursing scientists have been around since the early 1800s. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) became a champion for nursing as a profession in England and internationally. She founded the first professional school of nursing, and her book, Notes on Nursing, became the foundational text for nursing students as well as for women providing care at home. Nightingale also was a pioneer in the use of statistics, using histograms (pie charts) to great effect to persuade others of the efficacy of nursing improvements on patient health.1

 

The nurse scientist role is critical for expanding evidence-based decisions and nursing research. There are many implications for nursing practice: organizations should consider including the nurse scientist role to facilitate evidence-based practice and expand opportunities for nursing research.2 Typically, nurse scientists have a PhD degree but not always. There a many master's prepared scientists and although the DNP is not a research doctorate, some DNPs do conduct research. The partnership of a PhD and a DNP can be a wonderful dyad when conducting research, and hospitals around the country are implementing this model. While there are more DNP programs (>400 to date) than PhD programs (>135 to date),3 we need to increase the number of PhDs in nursing to conduct and disseminate research.

 

This issue features articles like the one written by Dr Molly McNett and colleagues that includes how to create a business case for quality improvement projects that is right in alignment with our Finance Matters column topics. Nurse leaders need to be able to speak in financial terms as part of their daily vocabulary. Nursing scientists' and nurse leaders' competencies should include business acumen, and these competencies are noted in the recent AONL Nurse Leader competencies as well as the AACN essentials.

 

Finally, we are introducing our "Hot Topics for Nurse Leaders" column in this issue written by Carol Bradley. She writes about Prioritizing the Prelicensure Nursing Pipeline. I am sure you can relate to what she writes about. This column will be featured in each issue, so if there are hot topics of interest to you, please let us know.

 

Enjoy the issue, and thank you for all you do for nursing, our patients, and our communities.

 

-KT Waxman, DNP, MBA, RN, CNL, CHSE, CENP, FSSH, FAONL, FAAN

 

Editor-in-Chief

 

Nursing Administration Quarterly

 

REFERENCES

 

1. Baylor University. 13 famous nurses who shaped the world of nursing. https://onlinenursing.baylor.edu/news/13-famous-nurses-who-shaped-world-nursing. Accessed December 29, 2022. [Context Link]

 

2. Brant JM. Bridging the research-to-practice gap: the role of the nurse scientist. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2015;31(4):298-305. doi:10.1016/j.soncn.2015.08.006. [Context Link]

 

3. American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). DNP fact sheet. https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/DNP-Fact-Sheet. Accessed December 29, 2022. [Context Link]