Emerging Nurse Leader

A leadership development blog

The Hidden Reason Length of Stay May Be Increasing

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN If you ask any Chief Nursing Officer what is driving their stubbornly high Length of Stay (LOS), you will likely get a familiar list of macro-bottlenecks: delayed physician orders, transportation challenges, physical therapy clearances, or a shortage of post-acute nursing beds. But there may be another explanation that is happening … [Read more...]

Checklists as a Launchpad for Critical Thinking

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN Last week, during a session, a nurse leader posed a very interesting question. Her unit, like many in acute care today, is staffed by a novice-dense team of nurses. Her question was about the tradeoffs between providing extensive checklists and promoting critical thinking. She pointed out that in a novice-dense environment, reliance … [Read more...]

The Path Back to Us: Rebuilding Broken Trust

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN I was recently reminded of how difficult it can be to rebuild broken trust in talking with leaders whose health system experienced a nursing strike. Trust acts as the essential "glue" holding a unit together. When conflict occurs—whether due to a strike, staffing shortages, a difficult clinical event, a CNO fired without apparent … [Read more...]

Why Nurse Recognition is More Complicated Today

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN As I have spoken with nurse leaders at events during Nurses' Week, I realize how much more complicated it is to plan meaningful recognition programs today. While leaders strongly desire to reward and recognize staff, they are sometimes very disappointed by nurses' low participation in these events and, in some cases, their criticism … [Read more...]

Pulling the Future Forward

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By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN I have recently been talking with nurse leaders about the Inverted Pyramid seen in so many acute care environments today. Our traditional staffing methodologies, leadership strategies, and care delivery mechanisms are failing because they were built in a world where nursing experience was abundant at the bedside. Today, we are in … [Read more...]