Free Resources for Nurse Leader Development

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

“Sharpening our own saw is the most powerful investment we can make in our life – an investment in ourselves, in the only instrument that we have with which to deal with life and to contribute.” – Stephen Covey

I am often asked by nurse leaders what they can do to develop and grow as nurse leaders. Today, there is strong evidence that the best leaders are the best learners. As an outcome of their research with leaders globally, Kouzes and Posner in their book The Truth about Leadership identify ten truths about leadership. One of those truths is that leadership is a pattern of practices, behaviors, skills and abilities that can be learned. Developing expertise in leadership takes practice. There is no fast track to leadership. The challenge to continue to grow and learn as a leader is one that each person must accept for themselves. Personal leadership development is just that—personal. There are many excellent free resources that can help you do this. The following are some of my recommendations of free resources to help you grown as a leader and stay informed about changes in the healthcare environment:

Resources for Nurse Leader Development (almost all are totally free)

Hospitals and Health Networks

Hospitals and Health Networks is published by Health Forum and is the official publication of the American Hospital Association. Free digital and magazine subscriptions are available for nurse leaders. The publication covers a wide range of healthcare leadership topics. Podcast interviews with health leaders are also available on the site.

http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag/index.jsp

FierceHealthcare

FierceHealthcare is a daily newsletter that is a leading source of healthcare management news. This is an excellent resource for nurse leaders on a wide range of healthcare leadership topics. Subscriptions are free.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/

Kaiser Health News

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news organization committed to in-depth coverage of health care policy and politics of interest to healthcare leaders. A free email news subscription is available.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/?utm_source=khn&utm_medium=internal&utm_campaign=nav-bar

Dr. Tim Porter-O’Grady Podcasts

Dr. Tim Porter-O’Grady is an internationally known thought leader and futurist in the area of nursing leadership. He has recorded 25 free podcasts on the topic of nursing leadership.

http://tpogassociates.com/blog/?cat=13

The Nurse Managers Blog HC Pro

Blog posts 3 times each month on topics of interest to nurse managers by a company that produces many leadership education products.

http://blogs.hcpro.com/nursemanagers/

Institute for Health Care Improvement Open School

The IHI is internationally recognized for work in quality improvement. They now have an open school on the internet that is used by many universities and health systems. This site contains 19 foundational courses on patient- and family-centered care, quality improvement, patient safety, managing health care operations, and leadership for a modest subscription fee. http://www.ihi.org/offerings/IHIOpenSchool/Pages/default.aspx

Harvard Business Review Ideacast

The HBR IdeaCast, from the publishers of Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Press, and hbr.org, features breakthrough ideas and commentary from the leading thinkers in business and management. These are weekly podcasts and you can subscribe to them for free on Itunes.

https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/hbr-ideacast/id152022135?mt=2

Ted Talks on Leadership

TED is a nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. The Ted talks on leadership are wonderful short videos from some of the most creative thinkers in the world on leadership.

http://www.ted.com/search?cat=ss_all&q=leadership

YouTube Channel Leading at Google

These are free leadership videos by well-known leadership experts such Jim Kouzes, Tony Schwartz and Marshall Goldsmith. They were filmed at Google headquarters as part of Google’s leadership development for their employees.

http://www.youtube.com/course?list=ECB74595015191C796

Michael Hyatt Intentional Leadership Blogs and Podcasts

Michael Hyatt is a well-known blogger and podcaster on leadership topics.

http://michaelhyatt.com/category/leadership

If you have suggestions for other resources/sites that would be helpful for nurse leader development – feel free to leave a comment.