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New Program Develops Leadership,
Business Skills
for Today’s Nurses
The nursing profession has changed dramatically over the years, and today’s nurses play a vital role as full-fledged members of the health care team. They not only are on the front line of support for patient care, but they also are finding it important to understand research and best practices, staffing standards and formulas, health care economics, how excellence is built in cultures, and how quality is measured.
The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston has developed the Nursing Leadership and Administration in Health Services Master’s Program in response to this growing need for expanded nursing education.
This special advanced, non-clinical degree – rooted in organizational development and psychology and other business sciences, as well as nursing – aims to teach nurses leadership skills for both the clinical setting and the academic world. It focuses on showing nurses how to work in teams through customized, guided learning of contemporary leadership and business practices, using case studies, projects and program evaluation.
“The program was developed after we did an analysis of the top nursing administration programs in the United States,” said Pamela K. Triolo, Ph.D., program designer and director. “We took the best practices of leadership development from around the country, in the hospital sector, the for-profit sector and the academic world, and integrated them into our program.”
Totaling 36-39 hours, the UT School of Nursing program includes courses in statistics, research and theory. The focus of the 14 hours in leadership is on organizational development, performance improvement, leadership science and managing human resources. Six hours of elective courses in business, informatics, instructional design or finance can be taken at any university around the country.
“This program is phenomenal,” said Rose-Mary Ashworth, a nurse and senior clinical research specialist at the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. “I took my first class for the program this summer, and I have already learned so much. Nurses need to be leaders, and to be a good leader you must not only look, listen and act, you must also continually learn. This course has stretched me far beyond what I thought I could do, and I have learned and grown so much as a result. I recommend this course for all nurses.”
Triolo, who has 20 years of executive experience in hospitals and has been a chief nurse of two academic health centers, said, “We are looking for high-performing, committed nurses who want to make a difference in health care, either in formal management positions or in clinical and teaching roles.”
The program is accepting applications from interested nurses. For more information call (713) 500-2104.
By Shannon Rasp, Public Affairs