If you see yourself taking on a leadership role in healthcare, consider studying to become a nurse executive. Nurse leadership is a great way to make a positive impact on your organization’s success and the quality of patient care.
What is a nurse executive? Nurse executives are the brains of an organization and create new policies, inspire collaboration and ensure that it achieves its mission.
Job titles for nursing executives include clinical nurse leader, manager and chief nursing officer. Let’s explore the nurse executive role and what it takes to become a leader.
What Is a Nurse Executive?
A nurse executive holds the most senior administrative role in a nursing organization. They lead the nursing team, oversee the management side of patient care services and make administrative decisions that support the organization’s goals.
Learn More About USAHS Nursing Programs
What is the Role of a Nurse Executive?
The day-to-day activities of a nurse executive vary, depending on the size of the healthcare organization and the professionals they manage. However, we have outlined the typical nurse executive roles and responsibilities below.
Manage Teams
Nurse executive roles and responsibilities may include managing nurses and other interprofessional team members in their area. They typically handle a variety of managerial duties, including employee hiring, training, performance reviews and shift scheduling. Nursing executives mentor new team members, facilitate communication and collaboration and design strategies that support the professional development of their staff.
Handle Finances
Nurse executive roles and responsibilities may also include overseeing the finances of their healthcare organization. They may be responsible for creating a budget that includes everything from employee salaries to patient care equipment and IT improvements. Nursing executives are often in charge of monitoring insurance reimbursements and proposing and implementing cost-reduction methods.
Create New Policies
Nursing executives may shape, improve and create new organizational policies. These policies may relate to recordkeeping, patient care workflows, communication procedures and other organizational processes.
Represent the Healthcare Organization
Finally, nurse executive roles and responsibilities include representing an organization at professional conferences and on committees. They may advocate on behalf of patients and staff on matters of public health policy.
Where Do Nurse Executives Work?
Nursing executives work in a variety of healthcare settings, including:
- Hospitals
- Healthcare clinics
- Home health agencies
- Nursing schools
- Rehabilitation centers
- Nursing homes
- Consulting firms
How to Become a Nurse Executive
Nurse executives need clinical care experience and skills in leadership and management. To become a nurse executive, candidates must first receive advanced education and certification. Consider if a nurse executive role is the correct level of nursing for you.
Nursing Executive Education Requirements
The following educational path is ideal, but other paths are possible for becoming a nursing executive.
- Earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) (typically four years).
- Pass the NCLEX-RN and work as a registered nurse for one to two years.
- Earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), a Master of Health Administration (MHA) or a Master of Business Administration (typically two years). USAHS offers an online BSN to MSN program that lets you directly enroll in our MSN program to advance your education. Alternatively, earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) (two–four+ years, depending on prior degree earned**). At USAHS, you can enroll in an online BSN to DNP program with the opportunity to choose nurse executive as a leadership path. Additionally, some MSN and DNP programs, like USAHS’, offer a Nurse Executive role specialty.
- Complete your nurse executive certification requirements, such as the Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP) certification, the Nurse Executive Certification (NE-BC) or the Nurse Executive, Advanced Certification (NEA-BC) credential.1, 2, 3
- Take continuing education courses to stay on top of nursing trends, research and technologies.
Nurse Executive Competencies and Qualities
The American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) has identified five core competencies that successful nurse executives must develop.4
- Communication and relationship management: Effective communication in nursing is critical. Nurse executives facilitate group discussions, consensus building and conflict resolution sessions. They manage relationships among members of their in-house team, and with external stakeholders and community members. In a nurse executive role, they should establish an environment that values diversity and engages staff in decision-making.
- Knowledge of the healthcare environment: Nurse executives must be educated in the principles of evidence-based practice, quality improvement, risk management and patient safety. Nursing executives must also possess a broad knowledge of patient care delivery systems, as well as healthcare economics, policy and governance.
- Leadership: Nurse executives mentor current and future nurse leaders. They should identify their management style and be able to adapt it to the situation at hand. In a nurse executive role, they must make decisions that support the overall healthcare organization.
- Professionalism: As role models for the healthcare organization, nurse executives should maintain professionalism that others can emulate. They must hold themselves and others accountable for complying with standards of ethics and corporate compliance. Nursing executives should serve as advocates for optimal healthcare in the community.
- Business skills and principles: Nurse executives must possess a thorough understanding of the business side of healthcare. Alongside financial management, someone in a nurse executive role must also be versed in human resources management, marketing strategy and information technology.
There are several qualities that nurse executives should consciously cultivate. These include personal traits like integrity, flexibility, emotional intelligence and perspective, as well as soft skills like communication, critical thinking and the ability to make good decisions under pressure.
Becoming a nursing executive will offer you many opportunities to develop as a professional, a leader—and a human being. If this could be your path, take the next step and apply now.
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) offers Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Post-Graduate Nursing Certificate programs designed for working nurses. Our degrees are offered online, with optional on-campus immersions*. Role specialties include Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Nurse Educator,*** Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP),*** and Nurse Executive. The MSN has several options to accelerate your time to degree completion. Complete coursework when and where you want—and earn your advanced nursing degree with a work-life balance.
*The FNP track includes one required hands-on clinical intensive and the PMHNP includes one required virtual clinical intensive as part of the curriculum.
**Time to completion may vary by student, depending on individual progress, traditional vs. accelerated pathway, credits transferred and other factors.
***Call for availability
Sources
- American Organization for Nursing Leadership, “Certified in Executive Nursing Practice Certification,” AONL, 2024, https://www.aonl.org/initiatives/cenp.
- NurseJournal Staff, “ Nurse Executive Career Description,” NurseJournal, October 10, 2023, https://nursejournal.org/executive-nurse/.
- American Nurses Credentialing Center, “Nurse Executive Certification (NE-BC®)”, ANCC, 2024, https://www.nursingworld.org/our-certifications/nurse-executive/.
- American Organization for Nursing Leadership, “Nurse Executive Competencies,” AONL, 2023, https://www.aonl.org/system/files/media/file/2019/06/nec.pdf.
