Emerging Nurse Leader

A leadership development blog

The Nurse Leader Agenda: 10 Priorities That Matter Right Now

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN If you ask a group of nurse leaders what keeps them awake at night, staffing will usually top the list. But in 2026, the leadership agenda has become far more complicated than filling open nursing positions. Today's nurse leaders are managing a workforce that looks very different from the one they led just five years ago. Teams are … [Read more...]

What We Risk When Novice Nurses Go Part-Time

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC In today’s healthcare environment, flexibility is often hailed as the ultimate cure for nurse burnout and the key to retaining staff. Across the country, health systems are reimagining traditional staffing models to accommodate the evolving expectations of the modern workforce. One of the most noticeable emerging trends is that novice … [Read more...]

Assessing Novice Nurse Density on Units and Shifts

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN The work I am doing right now on the Inverted Pyramid of Nursing Experience ™ is resonating with not only nurse leaders but also preceptors and charge nurses. Consider the story a charge nurse shared during one of our recent workshops: I think what you are talking about here helps to explain why I feel my work as a charge … [Read more...]

Developing Pronoia in Leadership

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN I recently spoke with a nurse leader colleague who told me she was having trouble staying optimistic. She noted, I almost feel a little paranoid and am definitely under extreme budget pressure from every direction. The nursing staff is not happy, and it is easy to see why. Volumes are up, and workload is through the roof, but … [Read more...]

Coaching Novice Nurses Through Mistakes

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN In a novice-dense clinical environment, mistakes are not just individual missteps—they are warning signs of cognitive overload, task saturation, and the systemic challenges facing early-career clinicians. When a novice nurse makes an error or experiences a near-miss, a leader’s immediate response shapes how the novice will react far … [Read more...]