Strengthening Nurse Leadership in Long-term Care: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study is to share an innovative program developed for Registered Nurses (RNs) working in long-term care settings in the Midwest region of the United States and outcomes of the Geriatric Nurse Leadership Academy for Long-Term Care (Leadership Academy). In the United States, the growth of the population over the age of 65 and the need to quality and competent care in long term care has grown exponentially. The Leadership Academy was developed as one component of a research grant aimed at improving the competency of RNs in long-term care (nursing home) settings. The goals of the grant, which also included two on-line educational programs along with the Leadership Academy, were to improve Gerontological nurse competency, enhance leadership skills, and impact job satisfaction and intent to remain in current practice. These are metrics that are evaluated annually by the American Health Care Association and found to continually be a concern for long term care facilities [1]. The Leadership Academy provided a venue for peer networking, mentoring and resources for the RN members who had completed at least one of the two online educational offering: Gerontological Nurse or Nurse Leader. These courses prepared the RNs to sit for national certification exams in these specific areas. In this community based participatory approach, the volunteer Leadership Academy Board and members actively participated in the process, helping to develop a business plan that lead to sustainability of the group and a Best Practices in Long Term care document that was accepted by the five-community based long term care partners in the project. Valuable lessons from both the successes and challenges encountered during the program were learned that could help improve the success of future programs to support nurses working in nursing homes.