Overview

NURS 432 Management and Leadership in Nursing Practice is an introduction to the theory and practice of nursing leadership and management. The emphasis is on understanding the key skills employed by highly successful nurse leaders/managers such as thinking critically, communicating effectively, handling conflict, delegating successfully, building teams, controlling resources, improving quality, managing stress, and leading change. In addition there is a unit dedicated to multiple aspects of managing human resources.

A special feature of NURS 432 is a practice component (a virtual preceptorship). The virtual preceptorship is designed to help students integrate knowledge about the activities, roles, and responsibilities of nurse managers/leaders and to enable students to practice conceptual, technical, and interpersonal management and leadership skills. The successful nurse leader/manager is a person of influence; thus “becoming influential” is the overarching theme of the preceptorship. The virtual preceptorship exercises embedded in the course provide opportunities for students to translate theory into practice and to build their capacity to influence.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of NURS 432, the student will achieve or exceed the following learning outcomes:

• Compare and contrast nursing leadership and nursing management;
• Explore the organizational context within which nursing leaders/managers function;
• Discuss the skills required by nurse managers/leaders to create an effective work environment;
• Describe human resource procedures and processes utilized by nurse leaders/managers;
• Practice selected management/leadership skills through a virtual preceptorship experience; and
• Experience a deepened confidence in your ability to be a person of influence.

Course Structure

Evaluation

To receive credit for NURS 432, you must complete all of the required assignments and achieve a composite grade of at least “C-” (60 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Sullivan, E. J., & Decker, P. J. (2005). Effective leadership and management in nursing (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sullivan, E. J. (2004). Becoming influential: A guide for nurses. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Other Materials

Students will receive an Access Letter in the course package with instructions for gaining access to this online course. A variety of electronic journal articles and web sites are used in the course and paper copies are not included in the course package.