Leadership skills beyond the bedside: professional development classes for the staff nurse.

Preparation for advanced leadership roles requires hospital-based staff nurses to develop skills beyond clinical expertise. Non-clinical activities such as poster and oral presentations, article publication, and professional portfolio development are ways to demonstrate these skills. This article cle discusses how an educational initiative was developed to provide instruction and mentoring for these areas of professional development. In addition, the relationship between this initiative and a clinical advancement ladder is discussed.