View the Nurse Executive Competencies on the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) website

Nurse executive competencies are a set of skills and abilities that are essential for nurse leaders in healthcare organizations. These competencies encompass various domains, including finance, communication/relationship management, leadership, professionalism, and business skills.

To identify your strengths in relation to these competencies, reflect on your past experiences and accomplishments as a nurse. Consider areas where you have excelled, received positive feedback, or demonstrated effective leadership and communication skills. These could be indicators of your strengths as a nurse executive.

Regarding the three to five competencies you feel you still need to work on, I’ll provide some examples related to finance and communication/relationship management:

1. Financial Management: This competency involves understanding financial principles, budgeting, and resource allocation. If you feel this is an area for improvement, you could focus on gaining a deeper understanding of financial concepts, seeking educational opportunities in healthcare finance, or collaborating with financial experts within your organization to enhance your knowledge.
2. Strategic Communication: Effective communication is crucial for nurse leaders to build relationships, engage stakeholders, and facilitate collaboration. If you believe this is an area you can further develop, you could work on enhancing your communication skills, including verbal and written communication, active listening, and presentation skills. Seeking feedback from colleagues or participating in communication workshops or courses can also be beneficial.
3. Relationship Management: Nurse executives need to build and maintain positive relationships with various stakeholders, including staff, patients, interdisciplinary teams, and community partners. If you feel this is an area that requires improvement, you could focus on enhancing your interpersonal skills, conflict resolution abilities, and fostering collaboration within your team. Developing emotional intelligence and actively seeking opportunities to build relationships can also contribute to strengthening this competency.

To integrate this knowledge into developing your comprehensive clinical/practicum project, you can incorporate these identified areas for improvement as goals in your project. For example, if your project involves financial management, you can set objectives to enhance your understanding of healthcare finance principles and apply them in your project. Similarly, if your project involves collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, you can prioritize improving your communication and relationship management skills to effectively engage and work with various stakeholders.

Remember to create a plan that includes specific actions, timelines, and resources needed to work on these competencies. Additionally, seeking mentorship, networking with other nurse leaders, and leveraging professional development opportunities can also contribute to your growth in these areas.