4/25/23, 1:54 PM Differentiating nursing leadership and management competencies - ScienceDirect

Nursing Outlook
Volume 55, Issue 4, July–August 2007, Pages 169-175.e4

Article
Clinical practice

Differentiating nursing leadership and management competencies

Bonnie Mowinski Jennings RN, DNSc, FAAN , Cynthia C. Scalzi RN, PhD, FAAN, James D. Rodgers III BA, RN, BSN
, Anne Keane RN, EdD, FAAN, CRNP

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As the foundation of evaluating content for nursing leadership and administration courses, leadership and
management competencies were identified from a literature review of 140 articles published between
2000–2004. Similarities and differences among the competencies were assessed. A large intersection of
common competencies was discovered, indicating a lack of discrimination between leadership and
management competencies. Arguably, this fusion ignores the different purposes served by leadership and
management. Alternately, the convergence of leadership and management competencies might reflect that
traditional distinctions have narrowed. Nevertheless, ambiguity persists regarding essential leadership and
management competencies and the way they are reflected in nursing curricula. If concerns about the work
environment are to be remedied for patients and staff, nurse educators are urged to act quickly to identify
requisite competencies and better align course content with them. This will better prepare nurse
administrators to succeed in their arduous work.

Section snippets

Methods

The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and MEDLINE were used to identify
the literature over 5 years—from 2000–2004. In CINAHL, “administration” is a subheading within the
subject heading “management”. Information in the scope note suggested using both management and
administration in the search. Thus, the major search words—leadership, management, and administration—
were each combined with additional subject headings—competencies, knowledge, skills, abilities,…

A General Description of the Literature

Individuals from 16 disciplines authored these articles, reflecting a widespread interest in leadership and
management. The first author was most often a nurse (n = 67), followed by individuals in business (n = 19),

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4/25/23, 1:54 PM Differentiating nursing leadership and management competencies - ScienceDirect

medicine (n = 14), and health care management (n = 8). Authors from psychology, pharmacy, physical
therapy, respiratory therapy, theology, and veterinary practice (n = 1 each) also addressed competencies for
leadership and management.

Most articles (n = 62) were published in nursing…

Discussion

Both educational programs and professional nursing organizations address numerous leadership and
management competencies, either directly or indirectly, in their curricular recommendations and standards
statements. Questions arise, however, about the adequacy of these responses given the pace of change in
today’s health care systems. In this analysis, leadership competencies were addressed almost twice as often
as management competencies. Although this underscores the popularity of leadership,…

Conclusion

Based on this analysis, the boundaries between nursing leadership and management competencies have
narrowed. This narrowing blurs the differences traditionally noted between the 2, requiring new approaches
to conceptualizing curricula. The challenge for educators becomes one of examining and revising curricula
to ensure that course content will help students acquire the competencies they need to succeed in
contemporary administrative positions.

There must be thoughtful, deliberate consideration…

Bonnie Mowinski Jennings is an Independent Health Care Consultant in Alexandria, VA.…

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Bonnie Mowinski Jennings is an Independent Health Care Consultant in Alexandria, VA.

Cynthia Scalzi is an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA.

James D. Rodgers III is a Health Care Consultant for Neural Capital Management, LLC in New York, NY.

Anne Keane is an Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Class of 1965 25th Reunion Term Professor in Nursing at
the School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

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