As a clinical nurse educator, I plan to become a leader in the development of a nursing education curriculum that the institution with which I will work will implement. There are three pathways that I will explore in the process of developing the leadership role, namely gaining knowledge, self-awareness, and acting. According to Miles and Scott (2019), a leader must develop the knowledge and skills required to influence other individuals and teams within the organization. I will explore this pathway as a means to realize the ambition of mobilizing the forces of fellow educators to develop suitable curricula for CNE in different educational sessions and programs. The process will also involve intense research into the elements to include in the curricula and the instructional and evaluation strategies for the courses included in the curricula.
The second pathway is self-awareness as a leader, which involves gaining a sense of being a leader and personal accountability for leadership development (Miles & Scott, 2019). The process will include recognizing the leadership skills that I will need to grow and taking the necessary actions to improve my skills in the areas where I have deficiencies. Leadership coaching, mentorship sessions, and practice in my current settings will be valuable tools in the process of developing my self-awareness. The third pathway is acting, which will incorporate the application of knowledge and skills in leadership and the specific area of leadership focus to inspire individuals, teams, and the organization to take certain directions (Miles & Scott, 2019). With the leadership skills and competencies acquired from the second pathway and nursing education, I will be able to actively take the leadership role in developing curricula for CNE at the institution.
My plan for professional growth entails the completion of the Master of Science degree in Nursing (MSN) with a specialization in nursing education, followed by the pursuit and completion of relevant professional certification courses. In my current practice as a clinical nurse, I am acquiring some of the clinical competencies needed for success as a nurse educator, including IV administration, catheterization, and the use of electrocardiograms. Since these are essential nurse educator competencies, there is a need for proficiency in their execution (Brennan & Olson, 2018). Apart from applying some of the procedures in my current clinical practice, I am taking extra training sessions to perfect my skills in the three areas of competency by attending workshops, organization-led training sessions, and other avenues of acquiring the skills. The MSN degree is the avenue through which I will develop the competencies in curriculum development and the practical education of students in clinical nursing. After the completion of the program – or towards the end of the program, I will take the two certifications offered by the National League of Nurses (NLN) for CNE. They include the Certified Nurse Educator (CNE®) and Certified Clinical Academic Nurse Educator (CNE®cl) programs. I intend to complete them within six months after completing the MSN program.
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