History
In 2000, it had become increasingly apparent there was an immediate and pressing need for opportunities for leadership development for nurses.
Significant changes in health care systems and structures, new models of care and accountability, impending retirements and a need to attract and keep different cohorts of nurses with complex retention requirements all required a new kind of leadership. Major changes in leadership roles and practices were needed to develop critical transformational and visionary leadership skills at many levels of health care organizations. Leadership development was becoming an important component of a complex strategy to overcome current system problems.
Few programs existed for nurses in leadership roles to better understand and utilize leadership concepts such as engaging and motivating professionals, developing human capacity, building learning communities, leading self-managed work teams, and managing practice change. Leadership development was beginning to be seen both as an investment in the present – by helping the system adapt quickly to new requirements and challenges – as well as an investment in the future – by providing for necessary leadership succession.
Understanding the importance of the issues, the Nursing Secretariat at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care provided seed funding to the Nursing Effectiveness, Utilization, and Outcomes Research Unit at the University of Toronto in the winter of 2001 to establish a Nursing Leadership Institute in Ontario. In August of 2001 the first group of 75 nurse leaders came together at the BMO Institute for Learning in Toronto.
By 2004, over 500 nurses had participated in the leadership Institute. We had received many requests for an Institute geared to a broader audience of individuals in varying health care leadership roles and settings. At the time there were very few opportunities available for health professionals to learn leadership and team building strategies together. We were very aware that much of the recent thinking indicates that if health professionals are to really engage in teamwork and active collaboration around client-centered care then it is critical that they learn about leadership, collaboration and team building together, and that they have access to evidence-based models and real life application exercises and simulations.
The first inter-professional Health Leaders Institute (HLI) was held in November, 2005 at the Institute for Learning with 69 registrants from 20 healthcare organizations. Since then 6 inter-professional Institutes have been held including one that was organized solely for 96 clinician leaders at SickKids.
To date over 2300 health professionals from across Canada have attended the leadership institutes. Please see testimonials for their comments.
Crisis Looms in Nursing, John Goddard (Staff Reporter), Toronto Star, May 8, 2004
“Leadership can spring from the most unexpected source. That’s the opinion of the creator of a unique school…” Continue reading (pdf)
