How to move into the next era of health care.

Executive nursing practice has evolved from the traditional role in a single institution to a complex role in an integrated health care network. Nurse executives are challenged to use their strengths, which traditionally served them toward promotion in the past, and add new competencies that will facilitate promotion in the new corporate structure. Executive nurses must recognize the gap that exists in these two types of competencies and be able to develop skills in communication, persuasion, networking, and decision making in order to market themselves in the corporate world. Significant contributions can be made by nurse executives to facilitate the growth of a health care network. These contributions are made by merging business and clinical knowledge to help the network standardize patient care and evaluate outcomes. Through this process the network can demonstrate a quality product to the community and payers of health care.