Rethinking health professions’ education leadership: Developing ‘eco-ethical’ leaders for a more sustainable world and future

Abstract

In this commentary, we discuss health professions’ education (HPE) leadership in relation to planetary health emergencies, suggesting that an ‘eco-ethical leadership’ approach is highly relevant. Building on both traditional and more contemporary leadership approaches and the need for HPE to be socially and environmentally accountable, we define the key features of eco-ethical leadership and its underpinning beliefs and values, then expand on these features in terms of leadership at intrapersonal, interpersonal, team, organisational and system levels. Eco-ethical leadership is needed to tackle a range of ‘wicked’ problems – a changing climate, environmental pollution, deforestation, all of which threaten global biodiversity and human civilisation. Such leadership requires passionate individuals to role model the behaviours and actions that are required to bring people along with them, not least the learners, many of whom are already concerned about their future. Eco-ethical leadership (and followership) offers an integrated approach for HPE, centred around sustainability, values, collaboration, justice, advocacy and, if need be, activism. The environment cannot not wait. Eco-ethical leaders already exist but their numbers are small. They are required in key positions in academia and healthcare to drive the agenda in partnership with learners, many of whom are already environmental advocates and activists.     

After “Hello” with a wounded warrior: A student journey

The article describes the journey of a terror-stricken student growing into an adept healthcare provider; representing courageous personal and professional growth after a “Hello” in a nursing school immersion experience. The journey includes the student’s emotional maturity and courage, recognizing the uniqueness of military culture, realizing the magnitude of the patient’s losses, ascertaining patient concerns, personal recovery goals and long-term support network. Together recovery milestones are recognized and achieved. The article underscores the importance of nurse education in facilitating student’s effective nurse-patient communication techniques considering diverse cultural elements, and consistently applying these theoretical concepts into practice. Assignments geared toward a holistic patient perspective can serve to develop student leadership progress toward becoming informed and engaged citizens, enlarging worldviews and a heightened awareness of relevant global issues, and spark passion related to national policy reform. Commitment to professional ownership of personal and professional growth throughout nursing school leads to positive transitions as a seasoned healthcare provider.     

Being effective at the top table: developing nurses' policy leadership competencies

Nurse leaders at all levels, from ward to board to international stage, need to be savvy about politics, policy and power. They should be at the top table in every health‐related organization, and they should know how to make an impact in these challenging environments. Yet top nurses worldwide have few opportunities to develop their policy leadership competencies. The ICN Global Nursing Leadership Institute is a rare and successful example. For 10 years it has prepared top nurses from round the world to drive policy that improves population health, enhances health care, and advances the profession ‐ a major theme at ICN Congress, Singapore, June 2019. Jane Salvage, programme director, introduced GNLI at a packed session in the main hall, and two alumnae, Jed Montayre (New Zealand) and Michelle Gunn (Australia), described their transformational experiences of it.     

Leading together towards a stronger ‘us’: An experimental test of the effectiveness of the 5R Shared Leadership Program (5RS) in basketball teams

ObjectivesLeadership has been suggested to be a key factor in gaining a competitive advantage as a team, with shared leadership being a better predictor of team functioning than vertical leadership. Although the benefits of shared leadership are well-documented, evidence about how to implement a shared leadership structure remains sparse. This leaves coaches with three key challenges: (1) identifying the best leaders; (2) defining what roles those leaders should fulfill; and (3) developing their leadership skills. Solutions to these challenges have been proposed in the 5R Shared Leadership Program (5R^S) — a leadership development program that seeks to implement an effective structure of shared leadership within sports teams.DesignTo test the effectiveness of 5R^S program, we conducted an experimental-comparison group intervention in which eight national-level basketball teams (N = 96) completed a questionnaire at two points in time (i.e., pre- and posttest). The teams in the intervention condition completed the 5R^S program, in which we identified the leadership structure in their teams (through Shared Leadership Mapping), appointed the best leaders in their leadership role, and then developed their identity leadership skills.ResultsThe results revealed that the 5R^S program was successful in strengthening athlete leaders’ identity leadership skills, and as a result also team members’ identification with their team. Furthermore, in contrast to athletes in the comparison condition, athletes in the 5R^S condition were able to maintain their levels of intrinsic motivation and commitment to team goals, while also reporting improved well-being.ConclusionsThe present study provides encouraging evidence that, by implementing a structure of shared leadership and by promoting athlete leaders’ identity leadership skills, the 5R^S program is able to improve the team’s functioning and the well-being of its members.     

Gerontological Nursing Leadership in the Advancing Excellence Campaign: Moving interdisciplinary collaboration forward

Nursing was not a part of the coalition of multiple nursing home stakeholders at the roll out of the Advancing Excellence Campaign (AEC). In January 2007, several nurse organizations proactively approached the AEC leadership, were welcomed and immediately began to volunteer for leadership positions such as committee chairs and conference coordinators. This paper presents an exemplar of how a proactive stance, even when not initially included, allowed nurses to secure chairs at the decision making table of this quality campaign and contribute to improved resident outcomes.