1
D030 EXECTUIVE SUMMARY – NURSE EXECUTIVE ROLES
Executive Summary for Nurse Executive/Nurse Leadership Roles
The purpose of this executive summary is to discuss the roles/responsibilities, skills and
characteristics, competencies, education, and experience needed to be a Chief Nurse Executive
or nurse leader. My references include data gathered from various trusted sources such as the
American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN), the American Nurse Credential Center (ANCC), nurse manager interview,
and other academic articles as well. Our focus will be on Chief Nurse Executives (CNEs). A
CNE is also known as a nurse administrator, and examples include a director of nursing or vice
president of nursing depending on the organization (Greenwood, 2017). We will begin with a
nurse leader definition, discuss the nurse leader roles and responsibilities, and cite how the nurse
management roles have evolved and expanded.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Defining Nursing Leadership. Before discussing a nurse executive's roles, it is essential
to know the definition of nurse leadership as roles/duties, skills and characteristics,
competencies, and education are all components that make up a successful CNE. Whitehead et
al. (2017) state that there are many definitions of nursing leadership. However, most importantly,
nurse leadership should contain three themes: the democratic theme, working to achieve a
common goal, and a collegial theme, where leaders influence through respect and unity instead
of an authoritarian approach. And lastly, the enhancement theme is the idea that outcomes
represent an improvement. Therefore, nursing leadership is a process where an individual
influences a group of people to work together to achieve a common goal, and this process should
remain constant (Luanaigh & Hughes, 2015). This definition of a leader is reflected throughout
, 2
D030 EXECTUIVE SUMMARY – NURSE EXECUTIVE ROLES
this summary in various components that make up a nurse leader, Chief Nurse Executive, or
nurse manager.
CNE Roles/Responsibilities. A CNE is responsible for overseeing a group of
departments, an entire hospital, or several hospitals (Greenwood, 2017). A nurse manager reports
to a CNE. The roles of a CNE include leadership, providing stewardship to their workforce,
advice, strategic planning, creating a vision for their workforce, and many other functions
(Luanaigh & Hughes, 2015). Managing teams, handling finances, creating new policies, and
representing the healthcare organization and its mission statement are also roles of a CNE
(University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, 2020). Collaboration with interprofessional
teams, quality improvement (QI) of patient care, reducing per capita health care costs, and
contributing to improving the health of the general populations are also responsibilities a CNE
performs (American Organization of Nursing Leadership, 2015).
Listed below are more of the CNE roles:
Provide advice & work across multiple areas relating to health care business
and patient experience
Understand and translate systems, budgets, strategy, and models of care
Apply critical thinking, varied expertise, knowledge, and extraordinary
interpersonal capabilities
Create a compelling vision for the professional practice of nursing and
midwifery through their strategic thinking, workforce and organizational
development, and business planning to provide safe and reliable care
D030 EXECTUIVE SUMMARY – NURSE EXECUTIVE ROLES
Executive Summary for Nurse Executive/Nurse Leadership Roles
The purpose of this executive summary is to discuss the roles/responsibilities, skills and
characteristics, competencies, education, and experience needed to be a Chief Nurse Executive
or nurse leader. My references include data gathered from various trusted sources such as the
American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN), the American Nurse Credential Center (ANCC), nurse manager interview,
and other academic articles as well. Our focus will be on Chief Nurse Executives (CNEs). A
CNE is also known as a nurse administrator, and examples include a director of nursing or vice
president of nursing depending on the organization (Greenwood, 2017). We will begin with a
nurse leader definition, discuss the nurse leader roles and responsibilities, and cite how the nurse
management roles have evolved and expanded.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Defining Nursing Leadership. Before discussing a nurse executive's roles, it is essential
to know the definition of nurse leadership as roles/duties, skills and characteristics,
competencies, and education are all components that make up a successful CNE. Whitehead et
al. (2017) state that there are many definitions of nursing leadership. However, most importantly,
nurse leadership should contain three themes: the democratic theme, working to achieve a
common goal, and a collegial theme, where leaders influence through respect and unity instead
of an authoritarian approach. And lastly, the enhancement theme is the idea that outcomes
represent an improvement. Therefore, nursing leadership is a process where an individual
influences a group of people to work together to achieve a common goal, and this process should
remain constant (Luanaigh & Hughes, 2015). This definition of a leader is reflected throughout
, 2
D030 EXECTUIVE SUMMARY – NURSE EXECUTIVE ROLES
this summary in various components that make up a nurse leader, Chief Nurse Executive, or
nurse manager.
CNE Roles/Responsibilities. A CNE is responsible for overseeing a group of
departments, an entire hospital, or several hospitals (Greenwood, 2017). A nurse manager reports
to a CNE. The roles of a CNE include leadership, providing stewardship to their workforce,
advice, strategic planning, creating a vision for their workforce, and many other functions
(Luanaigh & Hughes, 2015). Managing teams, handling finances, creating new policies, and
representing the healthcare organization and its mission statement are also roles of a CNE
(University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, 2020). Collaboration with interprofessional
teams, quality improvement (QI) of patient care, reducing per capita health care costs, and
contributing to improving the health of the general populations are also responsibilities a CNE
performs (American Organization of Nursing Leadership, 2015).
Listed below are more of the CNE roles:
Provide advice & work across multiple areas relating to health care business
and patient experience
Understand and translate systems, budgets, strategy, and models of care
Apply critical thinking, varied expertise, knowledge, and extraordinary
interpersonal capabilities
Create a compelling vision for the professional practice of nursing and
midwifery through their strategic thinking, workforce and organizational
development, and business planning to provide safe and reliable care
