Developing nursing leaders: an overview of trends and programs.

Nurses need to acquire new leadership skills to meet the demands of their positions. Until recently, the healthcare industry has focused on continuing education to meet licensure requirements and to achieve advanced clinical certifications. Given increasingly complex leadership challenges, we are seeing the emergence of leadership development programs designed to enhance leadership effectiveness in the service of broader strategic objectives. By learning more about these opportunities, nurse executives can make better decisions for themselves and other nursing colleagues.