Overview

At The Nursing Centre, we understand that the role of the Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) is challenging.  And that's why we're taking a special interest in providing unique developmental programs that focus on the leadership skills required to be a NUM today.

The Leadership for Nurse Unit Managers Workshop is designed to enhance the leadership skills of NUMs and foster ongoing professional development in this important role. Participants will earn continuing nursing education (CNE) points.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Compare and contrast the relationship between leadership and management in the health care setting
• Identify the opportunities for leadership in relation to: 
  • The organisation
  • The team
  • The patient
• Understand the key behaviours of exemplary leadership
• Apply a 'leadership thinking' approach to selected scenarios from the workplace
• Identify three personal strategies to strengthen their leadership capacity as a NUM

Leadership Framework

The Leadership for NUMs Workshop uses the Kouzes & Posner leadership model, the Leadership Challenge, as the core framework of leadership exploration.  The five practices of exemplary leadership to be explored include:

• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

Additionally, NUMs are provided with access to contemporary Australian research in nursing competency models, including the Ascent to Competence Model by Dr Tracy Levett-Jones of the University of Newcastle, and to a wide variety of mainstream leadership and related thinking, case studies and challenges.

The Leadership for Nurse Unit Managers is not a clinical program.  It is designed to compliment other forms of NUM development which have a focus on mainstream management and clinical skills.

Participant Feedback

Here's what some of our past participants have said about their experiences of the program:

• 'I think this was a new fresh approach to senior nurse leadership.'
• 'Gilly was great.  Her ability to really define leadership and get off the usual management issues was great.  Refreshing to actually have content that was practical instead of what generation we belong to!!'
• 'The promise of a structured approach to leadership development.'
• 'The presentation by Gilly gave me food for thought and ways of looking at things from a different perspective.'
• 'Very stimulating day.  It's always great to hear from other members of the network.  And I like the way Gilly challenges the "norms".  It certainly made me re-think things that have become "tradition" for no good reason.'
• 'I think the program is starting to get everyone thinking a bit differently and challenging how they do things - and I am happy to admit that I am checking my behaviour and the way I ask staff for their opinion or involvement in a task.'

Facilitator

The facilitator is Gilly Johnson, director & founder of the Australian Mentor Centre and The Nursing Centre.  Gilly has worked extensively with nurses and health care professionals since 2002 in a range of roles supporting health care workforce initiatives.  She is passionate about supporting nurses to embrace the importance of their role and to function in a way in which brings impact to the organisation, the team and the patient.  She is a member of the Australian Institute of Management, Australian Institute of Training Development, and Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has presented a numerous state and national nursing and healthcare conferences on the topics of nursing support systems, mentoring for nurses, leadership for nurses.

(c) The Nursing Centre, 2009. The Nursing Centre is a division of The Australian Mentor Centre.