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Certificate

Nurse Leadership

Shaping Confident Nurse Leaders With a Top Provider of Custom Executive Education

Nursing education prepares nurses for the day-to-day clinical environment, but it seldom includes tools and knowledge that set up top clinical performers for a successful career in nurse leadership.

Two leaders who are uniquely positioned to fill this gap in affordable and impactful leadership education have come together to co-develop our Certificate in Nurse Leadership: OpusVi™ is backed by some of the largest healthcare systems in the U.S., and Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE) has been consistently ranked among the Top Global Custom Executive Education Providers by The Financial Times for two decades.

96%

of surveyed graduates would recommend this course to other current/aspiring leaders.

96%

of surveyed graduates agreed that the course content and learning objectives were relevant to their leadership development needs.

24 CNE Units

are awarded upon graduation, allowing nurses to meet their CE requirements.

4-6

hours of study effort per week.

Duke CE

has been consistently ranked among the Top Global Custom Executive Education Providers by The Financial Times for two decades.

The #1

ranking was earned by Duke CE for being the Top Provider based in North America, Africa, Asia, and the UK (#2 worldwide, The Financial Times).

Empowering Leaders to Drive Impactful Strategy

We empower nurse leaders to consider workforce dynamics, the strategic landscape in which healthcare operates, finance, and policy so they can plan strategically and anticipate challenges that may affect the workplace in the future.

Making the transition from caregiver to leader requires expanding one’s skillset, changing routines, and building new relationships. It’s also an identity shift. Each individual’s transition is unique, but there is a pattern leaders go through before they feel confident and effective — in other words, leadership can and should be taught.

OpusVi™ and Duke CE’s Certificate in Nurse Leadership helps learners become authentic, self-aware, and adaptive leaders.

Benefits to the Learner

Build confidence as a leader to advocate for yourself, your team, and patients

Build confidence as a leader to advocate for yourself, your team, and patients

Find self-fulfillment in your leadership role and build resilience

Find self-fulfillment in your leadership role and build resilience

Build robust networks needed to secure alignment, resources, and commitments within the health system

Build robust networks needed to secure alignment, resources, and commitments within the health system

Benefits to the Organization

Build an engaged workforce with inspired and inspiring leaders

Build an engaged workforce with inspired and inspiring leaders

Elevate team effectiveness and achieve optimal organizational performance

Elevate team effectiveness and achieve optimal organizational performance

Enable better patient care, satisfaction, safety, and reduced medical errors

Enable better patient care, satisfaction, safety, and reduced medical errors

Empower leaders to set common goals and define a shared direction

Empower leaders to set common goals and define a shared direction

Succeed in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment

Succeed in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment

Shape a workforce that is excited to adapt to disruptive technologies and healthcare trends

Shape a workforce that is excited to adapt to disruptive technologies and healthcare trends

Brochure

Brochure

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Program Outline

Designed for nurses looking to enhance key leadership skills, the course includes a unique combination of evidence-based content, practical tools, insightful examples, and structured application to move the learner from insight to action. This approach, coupled with interactivity and collaboration with other nurses and skilled facilitators, creates a rich experience and provides nurse leaders with the mindset, skills, and confidence to lead in a manner that is authentic to who they are.

  • Module One: Leading Self
    • Week 1: Becoming an Authentic Leader
    • Week 2: Making the Transition to Nurse Leader & Building Relationships
    • Week 3: Building Personal Resilience
  • Module Two: Leading Others
    • Week 4: Motivating and Coaching Others
    • Week 5: Aligning People and Work & Elevating Team Effectiveness
    • Week 6: Addressing Performance Issues
  • Module Three: Leading Change
    • Week 7: Leading in a VUCA World & Why is Change so Hard for People?
    • Week 8: Frameworks for Accelerating Organizational and Individual Change
    • Week 9: Communication Skills to Drive Change: Influence and Storytelling
  • Module Four: Leading Organization
    • Week 10: Thinking Strategically about Healthcare & Working Across Boundaries
    • Week 11: Unlocking Financial Value in Healthcare
    • Week 12: Being Regulatory Ready 
    • Wrap Up

Graduates of our Certificate in Nurse Leadership program will be able to:

Lead Self:

  • Explore the concept of authentic leadership and build a leadership brand that effectively represents one’s true self to others
  • Recognize the value of a growth versus fixed mindset
  • Discuss the habits, skills, and behaviors that can best facilitate the transition into leadership
  • Use collaborative communication techniques and networking effectively
  • Identify where energy gaps exist and learn tactics for building resilience, avoiding burnout, and creating a climate of mindfulness

Lead Others:

  • Identify strategies to foster exceptional employee satisfaction, engagement, and teamwork 
  • Apply a coaching model that develops and supports employees through clear and measurable goals, actionable feedback, and accountability
  • Describe how and when to delegate and coordinate work in ways that will develop others while achieving desired results
  • Explain the attributes of highly effective teams and the steps to build and facilitate them
  • Assess how to create operating guidelines, trust, and psychological safety within the team environment
  • Plan for performance conversations that address problem behaviors or sub-par results and develop performance improvement plans

Lead Change: 

  • Discover what VUCA means and how the context of healthcare creates both challenges and opportunities for nurse leaders
  • Explore frameworks for accelerating change for individuals and organizations
  • Create frequent and effective communication campaigns in order to sustain successful change initiatives

Lead Organizations: 

  • Appreciate how financial performance is planned, executed, and evaluated; and identify ways to positively contribute to business performance
  • Understand how to work more effectively within matrixed environments
  • Explore how nurse leaders can collaborate and work effectively across boundaries
  • Explore concepts of positive politics and strategic persuasion as leadership tools for effective collaboration
  • Know what is expected of regulators and ensure regulatory readiness

Our program is designed for new and experienced nurse leaders alike. It’s best suited for: 

  • Actively practicing nurses, both bedside nurses and nurse leaders, as the learning content explores nursing-specific topics
  • Nurses who are interested in exploring leadership topics from a nursing perspective, such as exploring the team collaborative, driving change, being an advocate, and the transition from the bedside to nurse leader
  • Nurses who are interested in leadership roles within the nursing field
  • New nurse leaders learning to lead a team
  • Experienced nurse leaders, including those who hold BSN, MSN, or PhD in Nursing degrees, and want to refresh their knowledge and perspectives

Our Learning Experience

  • Social: Engage and network with fellow learners
  • Relevant: Developed with experienced nurse leaders
  • Guided: Expert nursing instructors give you guidance and feedback
  • Asynchronous: Study on your own schedule
  • Bite-sized: 4 hours of study per week
  • Compassionate: Focuses on resilience and mental health

Bringing Wellness to the Workplace

With the growing demands and pressures of healthcare, it’s imperative for nurses to cultivate well-being. OpusVi™ has partnered with Thrive to offer Well-being Interludes throughout this program to support you as you offer your support to your community and colleagues. These mindfulness breaks allow you to de-stress, engage more deeply with the content in your program, and complete an optional well-being check-in.

Each Interlude contains a Reset to Check In in the form of a short physical exercise, an opportunity to learn from Thrive experts, Microsteps and hands-on tools to build new healthy habits, inspiring articles, and a meditation Reset to Check Out.

As a student enrolled in our Certificate in Nurse Leadership, you will have complimentary access to the Thrive app with daily tips, advice, and inspiration to build healthy habits for a whole year.

Verified, Immediate Impact

We develop our programs with experienced nurse leaders to ensure a highly applicable and relevant curriculum. Student surveys are conducted with each cohort to ensure that we deliver tangible results. As of September 13, 2022, respondents have put the following skills into practice while still studying the program:

80%

Coaching for performance and development

70%

Developing clear and measurable goals and objectives that build accountability

71%

Building and facilitating effective teams

59%

Conducting performance conversations to address problematic behavior

78%

Leading and managing change

42%

Managing the department budget

70%

Managing energy and avoiding burnout for themselves and their teams

66%

Navigating leadership transitions

Mary-Ann White

Graduate of the Certificate in Nurse Leadership

Mary-Ann White

Graduate of the Certificate in Nurse Leadership

The course not only taught me how to develop as a true leader in the nursing profession, but also helped me understand what leadership means for my own personal development. The tools and information that I learned during the course gave me the confidence to be a great leader. The modules were straight-forward and I was able to meet some wonderful people from different walks of life and career paths in healthcare.

Sherry Stofko, MSN, RN-BC

Certificate in Nurse Leadership

Sherry Stofko, MSN, RN-BC

Nurse leader, professional development coach, and mentor

“As an adult learner, I appreciated that assignments came in the form of self-reflective exercises which prompted me to think about how the learning content affects my daily work and myself.”

Julia Profit-Johnson, RN, BSN

Certificate in Nurse Leadership

Julia Profit-Johnson, RN, BSN

Birthing Center Manager at Bailey Medical Center and Secretary/Treasurer for the Oklahoma Nurses Association (ONA)

“I was really impressed with the content. All topics were relevant and ‘real-time’. I found it interesting that it covered all subjects that would be important for nurse leaders, whether it was finance, communications within the team or to executive teams. It prepares those who want to progress to the next level of leadership.”

Ann Marie Roque, RN, MSN

Certificate in Nurse Leadership

Ann Marie Roque, RN, MSN

Charge nurse at the cardiac catheterization laboratory at St. Joseph Medical Center

"One particular unit gave me the understanding that as a nurse leader, confidence is part of my role and that I can do more than I give myself credit or permission for. It’s not an easy path, but when the right tools are provided to us, we can be better leaders. The program gave me time to reflect on what kind of leader I am, as well as how I am taking care of myself."

Where Our Students Come From

What You Will Earn

  • A Certificate in Nurse Leadership from Duke CE
  • 24 Continuing Education Credits from AKH. Inc

About Duke CE

Part of Duke University, Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE) is the premier global provider of leadership solutions in context and the No. 1 provider of Custom Executive Education in North America. They are a blend of a business and university — but distinct from both. From the business world, they bring an outcomes-driven focus on client service and real-world insight into the challenges leaders face. From their university heritage, they bring academic rigor and research. The Financial Times has ranked Duke CE among the top three globally in Custom Executive Education for 20 consecutive years. Duke University is consistently ranked in the top 10 U.S. News & World Report ranking for national universities and in the top 20 globally.

Developed With Top

Faculty

Frequently Asked Questions

The program addresses key challenges nurse leaders face in a rapidly changing healthcare environment, including Leading Self, Leading Others, Leading Change, and Leading the Organization. It explores authentic leadership and transitioning from bedside to nurse leader, team effectiveness and addressing performance issues, leading organizational change, thinking strategically about healthcare, and being financially and regulatory ready.

The program takes 12 weeks to complete with approximately 4 hours per week of study time.

Yes, plan on working 4 hours per week on the program, but feel free to spend more time at your discretion.

No, the program does not carry academic credits. You can, however, earn up to 24 Continuing Nurse Education Units (CNE's) upon successful completion of the course provided by our accredited provider of nursing continuing education, Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare, AKH Inc.

Yes. Upon graduation, a certificate of completion is provided by Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE). Duke CE is the leadership development unit of Duke University and is the premier global provider of leadership solutions in context. You will also be able to claim  24 CEUs.

No, all coursework is 100% online. Everything can be completed from the comfort of your own home, office, or mobile device.

The learning experience is a blend of self-paced, multimedia learning content, course discussions, self-reflective exercises with instructor feedback, Well-being Interludes, and a live online simulation to help you improve your leadership skills.

The program is offered as a complete package for individual students, which includes all four modules. However, we do offer customized learning solutions for organizations. To discuss workforce development solutions, please contact our Enterprise Team.

We understand that with the ripple effects of COVID-19 on top of the usual demands of the nursing profession, and other daily responsibilities, you might be apprehensive about adding more to your workload.

Firstly, we want to thank you for doing all you do! Secondly, we think it’s great that you’re still considering continuing your education. Thirdly, we want to reassure you. This program was created with nurses who know the daily demands of the profession. Our 12-week program is conducted 100% online through a learning management platform called Canvas, which is very user-friendly and straightforward. We estimate 4 hours per week in order to complete the coursework. Many students find they can successfully manage a full-time job along with other responsibilities when completing the course. To remind you to take care of yourself, we have added Well-being Interludes in partnership with Thrive to the program.

Our 12-week Certificate in Nurse Leadership, all conducted online through a learning management platform called Canvas, is a certificate (not a certification). Upon graduation, a certificate is provided by Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE). Duke CE is the leadership development unit of Duke University and is the premier global provider of leadership solutions in context.

The Certificate in Nurse Leadership with OpusVi™ and Duke CE will give you the tools, confidence, and ability to make decisions that will affect positive change within your team, your organization, and for you as an individual. As of September 2022, 76% of our graduates reported feeling more capable at their current job. 19% reported receiving a salary increase within 6 months of completing the certificate. Duke CE has been consistently ranked among the Top Global Custom Executive Education Providers by The Financial Times for two decades, and completing a certificate from this prestigious organization is likely to improve your overall career opportunities.

However, please note that we are in no position to guarantee a salary increase once the certificate has been completed.

We recommend looking into our Healthcare Leadership program with Duke CE if you are interested in a more general approach to healthcare leadership.

This course is offered by Duke CE, the leadership development unit of Duke University. Duke CE has been consistently ranked among the Top Global Custom Executive Education Providers by The Financial Times for two decades. They deliver impact and insight in over 80 countries and have educated more than 300,000 leaders. In 2022, Duke CE was #2 worldwide, and the Top Provider based in North America, Africa, Asia, and the UK.

To determine its rankings, The Financial Times surveys clients across various categories. Duke CE is ranked #1 in Design and in the top two for Preparation, Teaching Methods, Aims Achieved, International Clients, and Overseas Programs.

Additionally, our Certificate in Nurse Leadership was created with nurse leaders from Dignity Health Global Education's extensive healthcare network — in short, top education and healthcare experts have come together to create a truly exceptional program.

The price of this 12-week online certificate is $1,995.

This program is for new nurse leaders looking for career progression into a managerial role and/or experienced nurse leaders looking to develop their leadership abilities further.

As a highly relevant program developed with experienced nurse leaders, the Certificate in Nurse Leadership is a blend of generally applicable leadership principles and specialized knowledge that helps nurse leaders build their nursing-focused tool set.

You simply need a computer or mobile device to work on. Whether it be an iPad, Google phone, Mac, or PC, it doesn’t matter. We ensure all content adapts to suit your needs with no boundaries. You also have access to technological support — unlikely you’ll need it but it's there if you do!

You do not require any prerequisite training or courses to take this program.

However, the program was developed with research from Duke CE and practical experience and insight from nurse leaders within the Dignity Health Global Education network to enhance the capabilities, resiliency, self-satisfaction, and effectiveness of nurse leaders. As such, it is most appropriate for nurses currently practicing who are looking to build the skills and mindset to navigate leadership challenges they are experiencing in their daily nursing practice and team dynamics.

If you aren’t currently a practicing nurse, we recommend you explore our Certificate in Healthcare Leadership with Duke CE.

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Nurse Leadership
Nurse Leadership

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