Identifying leadership development needs.

BACKGROUND

Nurses and midwives are expected to fulfil leadership roles at all levels, but efforts to support them strategically are often unfocused.

AIM

To describe nurses' and midwives' clinical leadership development needs and their views on the issue.

METHOD

A survey was carried out with a random sample of nurses and midwives (911 responses), and 22 focus groups were conducted.

RESULTS

Leadership development need was greatest in the domain of "developing the profession", while it was lower in areas associated with "managing patient care".

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

As nurses and midwives move further away from direct care, their clinical leadership development needs increase. A number of recommendations are made for education and training programmes.