Search

Why you should read this article: • To understand the role of executive nurse directors in delivering the nursing agenda • To enhance your knowledge of the challenges and opportunities experienced by executive nurse directors in undertaking their roles • To recognise the importance of further developing the evidence base to support the executive nurse director role The executive nurse director role is complex and there is significant variation in the expectations and responsibilities placed on it. The main function of the role is to deliver the nursing agenda and ensure that safety and quality remain the focus of the executive board. However, it is unclear what evidence exists regarding the challenges and opportunities experienced by executive nurse directors. This scoping review, undertaken as part of the Stronger Study, explores the literature published from 2009 onwards on the challenges and opportunities affecting executive nurse directors' ability to deliver the nursing agenda in the UK. Findings from the review suggest that the importance attached to the executive nurse director role is not matched by the amount of research available. Strengthening the executive nurse director role requires a stronger evidence base and an awareness of the benefits of the role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with Anne Marie Rafferty, professor of nursing policy and dean of the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing Midwifery at King's College London in England, is presented. Rafferty discusses when and why she developed an interest in nursing research. She relates that her greatest inspiration as a nurse was probably her mother. She advises someone who is new to research in nursing to follow his or her passion but be practical.

The executive nurse director role is complex and there is significant variation in the expectations and responsibilities placed on it. The main function of the role is to deliver the nursing agenda and ensure that safety and quality remain the focus of the executive board. However, it is unclear what evidence exists regarding the challenges and opportunities experienced by executive nurse directors. This scoping review, undertaken as part of the Stronger Study, explores the literature published from 2009 onwards on the challenges and opportunities affecting executive nurse directors' ability to deliver the nursing agenda in the UK. Findings from the review suggest that the importance attached to the executive nurse director role is not matched by the amount of research available. Strengthening the executive nurse director role requires a stronger evidence base and an awareness of the benefits of the role., Competing Interests: None declared, (© 2020 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.)