Nurse as Leader, A Pillar of Professional Identity

Abstract

The nurse as leader is a critical pillar of nursing professional identity to support ongoing development of nurses in a safe, effective, and healthy work environment. Defined as “inspiring self and others to transform a shared vision into reality” (University of Kansas School of Nursing, 2023), the Nurse as Leader Pillar is developed throughout a nurse's career. Starting with nursing school, students must learn nursing leadership skills and develop and integrate leadership characteristics into their practice. Professional development specialists must embed these characteristics into nursing education, as all nurses are leaders. Current nurses in practice must set the stage and model leadership in their environment as new nurses are introduced into the profession.