Kleinmans (2003) and Cejka Searchs (2005) reports
are based on United States samples, and it is possible
that data from Australian samples may differ.
That post-registration formal education for nurses
incorporates leadership or managerial skills as key competencies
is not surprising, as nurses with specialized
skills may often be required to provide supervision and
advice to other nurses who do not possess these skills
(Coalition of National Nursing Organisations 2011).
The reason why leadership and managerial education is
included in such courses is the result of external drivers
(such as regulatory accreditation), which influence curricula
content. Comprehensive work by the American
Association of the Colleges of Nursing in the paper The
Essentials ofMasters Education in Nursing (Essentials)
supports the suggestion that leadership training is an
important aspect of the advanced practice curriculum
(American Association of College of Nursing 2011). The
Essentials document is the result of an extensive consultation
process across American colleges, partner organizations
and the education health sector, and reports on
nine essential knowledge and skill areas for masters level
nursing programmes. Essential Two is organizational
and systems leadership, and states that masters programmes
should equip students with leadership skills
that emphasize ethical decision-making, effective working
relationships and a systems-focussed perspective
(American Association of College of Nursing 2011). This
document is both influential and unique in that it not only
identifies learning objectives around leadership skills, but
it also identifies sample content. In this way, the Essentials
document differs significantly from the Australian
documents, which do not include sample content. The
content in the Essentials is directly comparable to the
managerial curriculum content and broadly includes:
leadership theory (styles approaches and strategies); data
driven decision-making; communication (interpersonal
and organisational); conflict resolution (management,
mediation and negotiation); change theory; systems theory;
health care systems and organization relationships;
health care finance; operations research; and teamwork
(American Association of College of Nursing 2011).