Nursing management in the Nordic countries: a health system perspective.

Top-level nursing management by chief nurses is greatly needed to improve health services and their outcomes in all countries. But the question is: What knowledge and which skills are required for executive leadership and how important are each? The answers have come from over 150 chief nurses in five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) who responded to a mail survey and, in doing so, contributed to a better understanding of nursing management's function, main knowledge and skill requirements.