Chief Nurse Blog: Nursing Matters August 2022

This month’s blog showcases ICN’s professional, personal and organisational nursing leadership investments. Advancing the ICN strategic directions for global health impact, strategic nursing leadership and enabling our NNAs to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), universal health coverage and primary health care are paramount.

In this blog, I will highlight two of ICN’s flagship leadership programmes whose success is a result of the stellar work of scholars, alumni, directors, facilitators, regional partners, generous sponsors and the ICN Board and team.

1) ICN’s acclaimed Global Nursing Leadership Institute (GNLI)™ is a strategic policy leadership programme focused on strengthening political and policy influence. Committed to the SDGs, scholars use their competencies to improve health outcomes. Now in its 14th year, GNLI offers a unique development opportunity to experienced senior global nurse leaders across the world. Over 300 scholars from 80 countries have graduated between 2009 and 2021; and 81 nurse leaders from more than 40 countries took part between 2019-2021, due to the valued support of the Burdett Trust. Our GNLI 2022 cohort boasts 31 scholars from 23 countries beginning virtually in September. One of the core goals of the GNLI is to equip the scholars with the skills to build and develop group projects for implementation

GNLI 2020 Regional Projects

GNLI 2021 Regional projects underway

ICN’s growing GNLI Alumni Network (GNLI-AN) met in January 2022 with the cohorts since 2009 (13 cohorts, 368 Alumni invited). The PAHO alumni group met again in April and June. Regional facilitators drive their regional meetings and will sit on the ICN GNLI Alumni Network Steering Committee, convening later this year. Remaining engaged and connected regionally and globally to provide mutual support and collaboration in a leadership community of practice is key for important issues affecting nursing and health. GNLI alumni have gone on to become Chief Nursing Officers for their countries, ICN Board members, and Presidents of their NNAs; their influence and policy impact exponentially growing year on year. To date, 14 GNLI Alumni are also ICN Certified Global Nurse Consultants (CGNC). Bravo to all scholars and certified nurse consultants!

2) ICN’s Leadership for Change Programme (LFC) was established in 1995. Over 70 countries have educated thousands of early career nurses with the leadership skills that are required to implement organisational change for the purpose of improving nursing practice and achieving better health outcomes. LFC focuses on enhancing nurses’ effectiveness for leading change to enhance patient and work environment safety, quality of health services, better access to care and strengthening nursing roles.

During June-July 2022, more than 30 nurses graduated from LFC Cambodia and LFC Bahamas (Eleuthera and Grand Bahama). Congratulations!

In late July, LFC China, in collaboration with the Chinese Nursing Association and generous support from Johnson & Johnson, launched Workshop 2 in Hunan province focusing on: change project progress updates, social capital, negotiation skills, organisational politics, office politics, how to write and implement policy, how to influence and work with politicians, and quality improvement.

LFC India, in collaboration with the Indian Nursing Council, conducted Train the Trainer (ToT) Workshop 2 with Cohort 1 in July, and Cohort 2 this month, aimed at reviewing interactive strategies and best practices for being an effective trainer.

LFC is also taking place under license with the Korean Nurses Association and the Taiwan Nurses Association, with workshops highlighting leadership and management, situational awareness, health and healthcare in the organisation, healthy workplace environments, effective leadership, leadership self-assessment, emotional intelligence and traits of good leaders.

Upcoming LFCs will take place in Norway, Bangladesh, Suriname, and the United Arab Emirates.

ICN Chief Nurse “Intention to Lead” Commitment Challenge:

• Assess your leadership pulse to tailor your learning development.
• Amplify your leadership success - tag us as scholars, trainers and alumni when posting successes, publications and knowledge sharing @ICNurses.
• Update your email to stay connected as ICN alumni!
• From 1 September, submit your abstracts for the ICN Congress in Montreal in July 2023!
• From 1 September, register for Congress!

These are exciting times indeed! Lead on for the profession and global health! Amplify and leverage your nursing and health contributions for generations to come!

Yours in nursing leadership,

Michelle

Dr. Michelle Acorn, DNP, NP PHC/Adult, CGNC, FCAN, FAAN

¹Angela Wignall, Diana J. Mason Mandate from the pandemic: Nurses as policy leaders https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12742