Charge Nurse Perspectives on Frontline Leadership in Acute Care Environments

A recently issued report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the United States on the Future of Nursing included a recommendation that nurses should receive leadership development at every level in order to transform the healthcare system. Charge nurses, at the frontline of patient care in acute care settings, are in key positions to lead this change. This paper presents findings from research conducted with nurses in the Tenet Health System. Charge nurses from ten facilities who attended a one-day work shop were surveyed to gain insight into the experience of being a frontline leader in today's acute care environment. The relationship of these findings to the IOM report and the implications for both the Tenet Health System and other healthcare organizations that are working to support nurses who assume these challenging roles are discussed.