Nursing Administration and Leadership
Education
If you are a registered nurse who is interested in a leadership role in a health care organization, the Nursing Administration and Leadership (NAL) concentration offers a flexible and rewarding career path for you. Over the past three decades, this concentration has gained a reputation for educating some of the nation’s top nursing leaders. With a vision of shaping the future of health care through innovative nursing leadership, the NAL concentration prepares nurses to play an essential systems-level role in promoting and sustaining high quality and safe patient care. Students learn advanced knowledge and skills in the areas of leadership, administration, management, health care finance, budgeting, outcomes management, and evidence-based organizational practices in health care.
- Post-Baccalaureate Plan of Study
Full- and part- time students may begin in both the fall and spring semesters. Full-time students can complete all credit hours in five academic semesters. The VCU School of Nursing faculty offers a unique experience for students through coursework and clinical experiences using a combination of on-line and on-site modalities. On-site coursework is taught using an executive format where students come to campus only five times each semester for Friday and Saturday classes. Students not only engage in classroom and on-line learning, they also participate in an intensive clinical experience where they partner with the same preceptor over three semesters to develop a capstone project that benefits the student’s learning as well as the organization where the clinical experience is completed. The capstone project is chosen by the students in collaboration with the NAL faculty along with their preceptor and focuses on an area of administration and leadership that matches the interests and career goals of the student. Students in the NAL concentration complete 270 clinical hours in which they are supervised by qualified nurse leaders who have experience in key administrative positions in complex health care organizations and are committed to student education. Students enrolled in the VCU School of Nursing NAL concentration have the unique opportunity to complete clinical experiences in a variety of health care settings, including the VCU Health System in Richmond, VA, a Magnet Certified Level One Trauma Center, consistently ranked as one of the best academic medical centers in the U.S.
- Post-Master’s Certificate Plan of Study
The post-master’s option in the NAL concentration is designed for nurses who have already earned a master’s degree in nursing and wish to assume a leadership role in a health care organization. The post-master’s certificate plan of study is arranged to meet the individual needs of students and offers flexibility for those who may be working full time.
Certification
The NAL concentration is designed for nurses who seek the educational preparation that is needed to be an effective leader in the delivery of safe, high quality care to patient aggregates in a variety of settings. Although extremely important to the nursing profession and the delivery of care in complex organizations, NAL graduates do not focus on direct care to individuals and, for this reason, regulatory recognition beyond the Registered Nurse license is not required. Like other advanced practice roles, however, successful performance in a advanced leadership role in complex health care organizations requires the specialized knowledge and skills that are acquired through graduate-level education. Students who complete the NAL concentration are prepared to succeed in a nursing leadership position and are eligible, depending or employment role, to apply for several different Nursing Administration Certification Exams offered through the American Nurses Credentialing Center of the American Nurses Association or the American Organization of Nurse Executives.
Demand for Nurse Administrators and Organizational Leaders
Graduates of the VCU School of Nursing NAL concentration are in high demand because they are educationally prepared to assume a variety of roles in acute care, long-term care, or community-based health care organizations. Graduates who have successfully completed the NAL concentration have assumed a variety of leadership roles in health care, including positions as Chief Nurse Officer, Nurse Manager, Nurse Clinician, Clinical Nurse Coordinator, Performance Improvement Specialist, Nurse Recruiter, and Nurse Lobbyist…just to name a few. Given the evolving state of health care, employers are looking for master’s prepared nurses who have the education and skills to be successful in an administrative or managerial role in a variety of health care organizations. This concentration has a reputation for preparing graduates who become successful leaders in health care.
Nursing Administration Leadership Concentration Coordinator
Lauren Goodloe, Ph.D., RN, NEA-BC
More information
For additional information about the NAL concentration and questions about the application process, please contact the Office of Enrollment and Student Services (OESS) at VCU_Nurse@vcu.edu. or call 804-828-5171.
We look forward to working with you as you consider the educational opportunities at VCU School of Nursing.
The following websites provide additional information about Nursing Administration and Leadership:
