Growing Future Nurse Leaders to Build and Sustain Healthy Work Environments at the Unit Level

There is growing evidence in the nursing literature regarding the positive impact of healthy work environments on staff satisfaction, retention, improved patient outcomes, and organizational performance. The establishment of a healthy work environment requires strong nursing leadership at all levels of the organization, but especially at the point of care or unit level where most front line staff work and patient care is delivered. Growing future nurse leaders is a long term quest. It can be challenging for today’s leaders to predict what knowledge, skills, and abilities will be needed to lead in the future. This article presents a review of the literature regarding the importance of healthy work environments in healthcare organizations and the significant role of nurse leaders in building and sustaining these healthy environments. It also discusses the development of leadership skills by presenting the Nurse Manager Leadership Collaborative Learning Domain Framework, a widely used competency model for nursing leadership development that can serve as a useful resource in the development of leaders at the unit level.