Leadership: Seizing the opportunity

Connecticut Nursing News, Jun-Aug 2001 by Polifroni, W Carol

Rousseau (in Dewey 1916) said, "education we receive from three sources . . . Nature, men and things. The spontaneous development of our organs and capacities constitutes the education of Nature. The use to which we are taught to put this development constitutes that education given by Men. The acquirement of personal experience from surrounding objects constitutes that of things. Only when these three kinds of education are consonant and make for the same end, does a man tend towards his true goal."

This quotation about education can just as easily be applied to leadership... learning from nature, people and things. Today's leaders must learn from the environment, from the surroundings, from the setting and from the milieu. The leaders of today's health care delivery systems and educational settings must learn from people and they must, by necessity and by design, learn from and about things.

Leadership is the capturing of the moment, it is the skills and knowledge necessary to know when to act and to know when to walk away, and it is the ability to put the pieces together. Nature, men and things can not stand alone. A leader brings them into a cohesive whole that shapes and molds the current situation to situate oneself and the profession for future success. The educational leader we feature in this issue and the leaders to come meet the challenges head on, they bring the parts together and work to create a sum that benefits the whole of nursing. Ann Branchini speaks. of opportunities and transitions. Opportunities from `nature, people and things' leading to transitions in one's personal and professional life.

Ann Branchini, -MSN, RN, Director of the Three Rivers Community College Nursing Program was interviewed by E. Carol Polifroni, PhD, RN as part of a Connecticut Nursing News series featuring our new leaders in nursing education.

Interview questions for new deans and directors from the editorial board of Connecticut Nursing News.

1) Why did you choose educational administration at this point in your career and how did you get to that point?

Ann chose educational administration at this time in her career because the timing was right and the opportunity was there. Her masters degree in Adult Health Nursing from Marquette University enabled her to work as a clinical nurse specialist, where she refined her skills in the art and science of working with individuals, teaching others and achieving organizational and personal fulfillment. A move to Connecticut provided her an opportunity to expand her experience in the area of teaching. After thirteen years of teaching nursing, and achieving the status of professor with tenure at Three Rivers Community College, Ann embraced the opportunity to serve in an enhanced leadership role. It now seemed appropriate to blend her skills as a clinical specialist with those of an accomplished educator into a new role of educational leadership.

2) How do you envision practice and education working together to address the nursing shortage and all other key issues facing the profession?

For the survival of the profession, collaboration is essential. Ann spoke eloquently about the pleasure she has experienced as a result of the collaboration within her own community and the collaborative efforts of nurse leaders she has worked with throughout the state. She believes that service and education must partner more for their mutual success. Nurses with an interest in teaching need to be involved in the teaching of nursing students, and faculty in schools of nursing need to share their expertise with clinical and community agencies. When dollars are tight and resources are limited, Ann sees the power of the community of nursing.coming together to help each other survive and thrive in the immediate and long-term future.

3) Are you in the process or can you envision doing something for the profession that may dramatically alter your own program?

Dramatic alteration or dramatic anything is not Ann's style of leadership. Ann believes that responsiveness based on awareness of the steady and progressive nature of change and movement is more beneficial and withstanding than dramatic action at any one point in time. Change is necessary in all parts of the profession to adapt to the realities of healthcare today. The future is not known and nurses must adapt to new information, new ideas and new energies to rise above the turmoil of the time. On the other hand, leaders have a responsibility to be aware, and have the courage to take steps that are bold and direct, for the benefit of the profession and those we serve.

4) Do you have ideas on how we as nurse educators could make better use of technology to increase the effectiveness of our nursing programs?

Tehnology has changed so much of what we do as educators and yet cannot alter the entire landscape. We can use increased simulation in the classrooms, we can use distance learning to meet the needs of our diverse learners, we can enhance technology within the classroom itself through multimedia presentations, we can even use technology to enable faculty to remain connected to students out in the community. However, there is little that replaces or can substitute for both the time and experience of the face-to-face learning that takes place in the clinical setting. Technology can open doors but the energy produced between the experienced educator and excited learner are what makes the learning encounter a positive one for the student, the faculty member and ultimately the patient receiving care.