The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program Linda Cronenwett, PhD, RN, FAAN Co-Director Distinguished Professor and Former Dean, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing Mano y Corazón Binational Conference of Multicultural Health Care Solutions, El Paso, Texas, September 27-28, 2013

1. Executive Nurse Fellows Program
National Program Office
Center for Creative Leadership
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Executive Nurse Fellows Program
Linda Lawson DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Administrative Director for Health Care Transformation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow
Sierra Providence Health Network

2. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
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Purpose
• The Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows
Program is a three-year advanced leadership program
for nurses who aspire to lead and shape health care
locally and nationally.
• Fellows strengthen their leadership capacity and
improve their abilities to lead teams and organizations
in improving health and health care.
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

3. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
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Eligibility Criteria
• Executive Nurse Fellowships are open to nurses who
currently hold senior leadership positions in health
services, scientific and academic organizations, public
health and community-based organizations or systems,
or national professional, governmental, and policy
organizations.
• Applicants must be citizens of the United States or its
territories or have permanent residency status at the
time of application.
• Applicants must have the support of their employing
organization to engage fully in all curricular, action
learning, and leadership project components of the
program.
• Racial, ethnic and gender diversity is embraced in this
program. Candidates with diverse leadership
backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

4. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
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Selection Criteria
• A strong professional record that reflects positions of
increasing leadership responsibility and the potential to
achieve higher levels of leadership effectiveness.
• Vision, passion and capability to make a substantial
impact on health and health care.
• Insight, courage and evidence of a commitment to
lifelong growth and development.
• Capacity and willingness to learn in collaborations with
other Executive Nurse Fellows through action,
reflection, feedback and support.
• Ability to commit to three consecutive years of
structured learning, self-study and project activity while
continuing one’s employment.
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

5. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
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Approximate Dates and Deadlines
September 2013
• Call for applications
November 1, 2013 (1PM ET)
• Informational Web conference for applicants –
register online at www.executivenursefellows.org
January, 2014
• Deadline for receipt of applications (specific date in
call for applications at RWJF online application
website beginning mid-September, 2013)
May 4-6, 2014
• National advisory committee conducts face-to-face
interviews with semifinalists
Late May
• Notification of acceptance
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

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National Program Tagline
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Applications and Awards
•Applications accepted only through the
RWJF
Application and Review Online system
•Total Awards - Up to 20 fellowships
Website: www.executivenursefellows.org
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

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National Program Tagline
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Program
• Advanced curriculum, employing best practices from the
field of leadership development, delivered through seven
face-to-face seminars plus technology-facilitated
intersession activities (years 1-3);
• Intensive and ongoing executive coaching and mentoring
from program faculty and outside experts (years 1-3);
• Team-based action learning during implementation of
team projects (years 1-2);
• Self-directed, individual leadership development activities
for which funding is available (years 1-3);
• Lifetime membership in ENF alumni network and my CCL
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

8. Executive Nurse Fellows Program
National Program Office
Center for Creative Leadership
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Executive Nurse Fellows
Josefina Lujan 2009
Elias Provencio-Vasquez 2009
Sandra Ryan 2011
Linda Lawson 2012

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National Program Tagline
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Fellows Improve skills as leaders…
…to impact health care system by more effectively:
•Leading Self: Increasing self awareness, developing
adaptability, managing self/resiliency, learning agility,
leading with purpose
•Leading Others: Managing teams, building and
maintaining relationships, leveraging diversity and
difference, developing others, communicating effectively
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

10. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
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Fellows Improve skills as leaders…
…to impact health care system by more effectively:
•Leading Organizations: Leading change, making
decisions, managing politics and influencing others,
boundary spanning, setting vision and strategy, and
transformative leadership and culture change
•Leading in Health Care: Appreciating paths to leadership
and the unique opportunities and challenges of leadership
on boards/expert panels and through professional
organizations, inter-professional contexts,
political/legislative action, and efforts to improve health and
health care
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program

11. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
ENF Program Goal
Create a cadre of nursing leaders with enhanced
leadership capacity who drive improvements in:
•Population Health
•Access, cost, and quality of American Health Care
Systems
•Identification and Formation of Future Health
Professionals
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 12

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National Program Tagline
National Program Approach
Use latest adult learning principles & design methodology:
•Focus on leadership development
•Is highly interactive and experimental
•Is relevant and applicable to each Fellow’s organizational
context
•Includes opportunities to discuss and apply learning to
broader health care context
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 13

13. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
National Program Focus
•Leading Change and Transition
•Executive Presence and Communication
•Executive Leadership
•Creativity and Innovation
•Paying It Forward
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 14

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National Program Tagline
Outcomes and Competencies
Leading Self Leading Others Leading the
Organization
Leading in
Health Care
Increasing self
awareness
Managing effective
teams &
workgroups
Leading change Exerting leadership
in and through
professional
organizations
Developing
adaptability
Building &
maintaining
relationships
Solving problems,
making decisions &
managing work
Exerting leadership
on boards & expert
panels
Managing yourself Leveraging diversity
& difference
Managing politics &
influencing others
Exerting leadership
in inter-professional
contexts
Learning agility Developing others Boundary spanning Exerting leadership
through political /
legislative action
Leading with
purpose
Communicating
effectively
Setting vision &
strategy
Exerting leadership
by improving
healthcare
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 15

15. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Projects
•The project will be relevant to meaningful
issues in health and health care
•Has a stretch component: It should be a
challenge to complete
•Has a boundary spanning component
(requires working across various silos)
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 16

16. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Projects
Josefina Lujan RWJF ENF 2010
•Binational Partnership to Develop a
Culturally Competent Nursing Workforce
•A binational partnership between Texas
Tech University Health Sciences Center
Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing and
the nurse educators of Cd. Juarez, MX
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 17

17. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Project
Josefina Lujan RWJF ENF 2010
The specific aims of the project were to improve the
health of the residents of the El Paso-Cd. Juarez,
MX borderplex by:
1) increasing the number of available culturally and
clinically competent nurses (8) and
2) promoting the prevention of childhood obesity
through breastfeeding as envisioned by the Baby
Café Model in the United Kingdom through
establishment of four Baby Café’s in Cd. Juarez, MX.
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 18

18. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Project
Elias Provencio-Vasquez RWJF ENF 2010
Designing, Implementing and Evaluating a
Registered Nurse Internship Program
Del Sol Medical Center and UTEP School of Nursing
• The current national nursing shortage is causing
Schools of Nursing to produce high number of BSN
nurse to enter the workforce.
•There is minimal emphasis on supporting transition that
the new nurse will encounter when transferring from a
student role to the complex and fast paced nursing role.
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 19

19. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Projects
Elias Provencio-Vasquez RWJF ENF 2010
This project supported two of the IOM
recommendations for the Future of nursing
1)BSN workforce and
2)Nurse residency programs
The project focused on “bridging” the gap
between academia and service. I created and
alliance between UTEP School of Nursing and
Del Sol Medical Center
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 20

20. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Projects
Elias Provencio-Vasquez RWJF ENF 2010
A structured Del Sol Medical Center BSN, RN
internship program in the final semester of the
nursing program provided the hospital with
insight into a new nurses’ performance prior to a
job offer and provided the new nurse with
exposure to his/her area of interest
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 21

21. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Projects
Elias Provencio-Vasquez RWJF ENF 2010
The project:
•Improved competencies of new graduate nurses to assure
safe and highly quality patient care
•Improved graduate understanding of the continuum of care
•Ensured satisfaction for RN interns and preceptors
•Assured employment offers are extended to those who are
a good match with Del Sol’s strategic goals
•Increased the proportion of BSN prepared RNs at Del Sol
•Lowered orientation costs and FTEs
•Improved RN recruitment and retention to specific specialty
areas
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 22

22. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Individual Growth Projects
Elias Provencio-Vasquez RWJF ENF 2010
UTEP School of Nursing and Del Sol Medical
Center have implemented 3 successful cohorts
of interns and we continue to support this
innovative program
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 23

23. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Action Learning Leadership Project
•Focus on either health systems concern or
a significant health or nursing issue
•Requires outreach to other health leaders
or partners
•Focuses on a problem or challenge that is
complex in nature without one obvious
solution
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 24

24. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Action Learning Leadership Project
Sandra Ryan RWJF ENF 2011
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 25

25. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Re-envisioning Clinical Education for
Advanced Practice Nursing Programs
•Team Members:
L. Lauzon Clabo, J. Giddens, P. Jeffries,
B. McQuade-Jones, P. Morton, S. Ryan
•Learning Project Coach: Ernestine Taylor
•Sponsors: Sue Hassmiller & Andrea Brassard
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 26

26. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Re-envisioning Clinical Education for
Advanced Practice Nursing Programs
Problem Statement
A new, effective, efficient, and sustainable model
for nurse practitioner (NP) clinical education is
needed that will prepare NPs to provide quality
care in a complex healthcare system and result
in an increased number of NP graduates to
meet workforce demands.
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 27

27. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Objectives
•Two overarching objectives for this action
learning project were:
• Start national dialog in which the status-quo
of current clinical model is questioned
• Discuss new models of clinical education
with innovators and influential leaders
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 28

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National Program Tagline
Outcomes
•National dialog: Action Learning Team wrote an
editorial “A Perfect Storm: A Window of
Opportunity for Revolution in Nurse Practitioner
Education” which was published in Journal of
Nursing Education in October, 2012.
•National Think Tank with thought leaders
representing across multiple health care
professions. March 2013, AARP HQ, DC
•White Paper summarizing seven themes that
came from discussion at the think tank around
clinical education.
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 29

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National Program Tagline
Outcomes (continued)
American Association of College of Nursing
•Conducted a national survey to gain
understanding of current challenges of clinical
education
•Developed a National Task Force-to study the
current state of clinical education
National League of Nursing and the
Convenient Care Association
•Historic meeting to discuss workforce needs and
implications of challenges in clinical education
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 30

30. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Collaborative Leadership
• Learn how to work more effectively when managing
conflict or collaborating with diverse individuals
• Learn and practice a model for working more
effectively across boundaries
• Understand your own conflict management strengths
and weaknesses for increased effectiveness
• Recognize and explore the dynamics that shape
collaborative work
• Utilize your own - as well as others- experiences to
promote learning
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 31

31. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Collaborative Leadership (continued)
•Speak your truth
•Lean into discomfort and lean into each other
•Commit to non-closure
•Embrace paradox
•Seek intentionality, not perfection
•Create a learning community
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 32

32. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Boundary Spanning Leadership
5 Common Boundaries
•Vertical: Across levels & authority
•Horizontal: Across function & expertise
•Stakeholder: Across external groups &
interests
•Demographic: Across diverse groups &
differences
•Geographic: Across markets & distance
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 33

33. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
Boundary Spanning Leadership:
3 Strategies and 6 Practices
• Managing Boundaries
• Buffering: creates safety
• Reflecting: fosters respect
• Forging Common Ground
• Connecting: builds trust
• Mobilizing: develops community
• Discovering New Frontiers
• Weaving: advances independence
• Transforming: enables re-invention
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 34

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National Program Tagline
Conflict Handling Modes
•Competing: “My Way or the Highway”
•Accommodating: It Would Be My Pleasure”
•Avoiding: “I’ll Think About It Tomorrow”
•Collaborating: “Two Heads are Better Than One”
•Compromising: “Let’s Make a Deal”
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 35

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National Program Tagline
Seven Responses to Conflict Resolution
• Perspective Taking: Understand others point of view
• Creating Solutions: Co-creating
• Expressing Emotions:
• Reaching Out: Extending an olive branch
• Reflective Thinking: Stop. Look. Listen
• Delay Responding: Take a time out
• Adapting: What’s right with this picture
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program 36

36. National Program Name
National Program Tagline
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows
Thank You
RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program/June 11, 2010 37