Resolution: Nursing leadership

This resolution passed.

Members can view a recording of the debate here (part 1) and here (part 2).

That this meeting of RCN Congress asks RCN Council to lobby all governments across the UK to recognise and champion the contribution and impact of nurse leadership at all levels from the bedside to the boardroom as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plethora of nursing roles and areas of practice are testament to the agility with which we adapt to access and manage care that is necessary to focus on the immediate and future needs of patients and clients. The pandemic has highlighted the complexity of nursing and the enormous agility of nurse leadership to rally the profession. Nurses are described as “providing a beacon of rationality that people have learned to trust” (McDonald, 2022). 

Nurses are integral to the delivery of front line safe and effective patient care, development and overseeing of mass vaccination centres, test, and trace processes, managing, and setting up the previous ‘Nightingale’ hospitals and they collaborate strategically with multi-professional leaders designing and delivering innovative practice placing the patient at the centre of delivering safe and effective care. Nurse leaders must be involved in influencing what is best for the profession so that the highest standards of nursing care can be delivered to populations. Thus helping others to understand the complexity of nursing skills, attributes, core beliefs and behaviours and the acknowledgement of being a highly educated profession. 

The RCN (2022) has actively supported amendments to increase the visibility of nurses – most recently to the Health and Care Bill which called for the Bill to include an executive Director of Nursing role in the minimum core membership of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs in England), as well as a representative of nursing on ICBs. Although these amendments did not pass, it has been suggested that these requirements will be included in secondary legislation. 

It was noticeable, during the Covid crisis, that our national nursing leaders were not as regularly seen healthcare leaders alongside their scientific and medical colleagues during high profile public briefings and information settings across the four UK Countries. For example, at the height of the pandemic the England Chief Medical Officer was visible at press briefings daily, whereas the England Chief Nursing Officer was not a regular inclusion into the briefings. Behind the scenes nurses continued to influence the public health agenda however, they need to be more visible, their voices must be heard by the public alongside their colleagues.

Nurses have a positive public profile, offering reassurance and an air of compassion to the public, they are trusted especially in times of chaos (McDonald, 2022, Kappler 2022). It is imperative that nurse leaders are visible across the wider governmental and strategic landscape, across the UK, this will not only potentially have a positive impact on wider public health but be an inspiration to our future workforce. The key priorities in nurse leadership are influencing professionalism, raising the voice and leadership of the profession, positively impacting on workforce and the education of future nurses and midwives across all areas of practice, UK wide (White, 2016).

Nurses are expected by society to lead them through complex situations and identify several options based on the most up to date evidence, knowledge base and expertise, making “moral, legal and feasible choices” (McDonald 2022). Our CNOs and nurse leaders need to be clearly and regularly visible as the beacon of nursing across all sectors and be recognised and respected as such. 

Reading lists for each agenda item can be found here.

References

Kappler, M (2022) Chief Nursing Officer, just what the doctor ordered for a health care system in chaos. Healthing. https://www.healthing.ca/policy/chief-nursing-officer-2022/ [Accessed 01.04.2022]  

McDonald T (2022) Appetite for risk in the C-19 policy environment. International Nursing review. 69 (1) p7-12

RCN (2022) Parliamentary Briefing – Lords Report Stage 1 March 2022.

White, J (2016) Nursing and Midwifery in Wales. Key Priorities 2016-2021. nursing-and-midwifery-in-wales-key-priorities-2016-2021.pdf (gov.wales) [Accessed 01.04.22]