The DNP/NP as a Leader in Healthcare Technology

The IOM (2003) identified the need for interdisciplinary teams that could collaborate, communicate and integrate care across settings.  This is quite a challenge for providers that live in remote, rural areas.  New and innovative strategies are required in order to allow for interdisciplinary teamwork at a distance.  This requires a leader that has a great understanding of how to best work with people when distance is a factor as well as how to think creatively.  In order to develop these leadership skills, the DNP/NP students participate in curricular initiatives designed to prepare them to think “out of the box”. During the first week of the Leadership course, the students attend a workshop on Emotional Intelligence, a significant predictor of success in leadership. Students then complete the DISC Profile in order to identify their behavioral types.  They discuss the impact that each behavioral style has on the way they interact in teams.  The students then conduct on-line team projects taking into consideration how their behavioral styles impact their roles.  This is vital in helping the students recognize how they can develop and lead teams using on-line technology.

Many of the students are in rural areas and plan to remain there upon graduation. They need the ability to readily access cutting edge health care information, provide evidence based decision support, consult with specialty providers, coordinate care to home bound patients, and manage interdisciplinary teams in order to decrease health care disparity. Through the leadership curriculum, students learn how to research existing technologies, develop plans for implementation, and evaluate the impact the technology has on practice.  The DNP/NP provider is well equipped to serve as the leader in implementing these modalities and thus enable better coordination of care between health care professionals and patients.  Examples of DNP/NP initiatives will be presented.