AONL Nurse Leader Core Competencies
AONL is committed to developing and disseminating core competencies for nurse leaders in a variety of care settings and levels of responsibilities. These competencies have been developed by experts in the nursing leadership field and approved by the AONL Board of Directors.
Download the AONL Nurse Leader Core Competencies
AONL Nurse Leader Competencies Model
The AONL Nurse Leader Core Competencies provide the framework for the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with effective leadership--from first time leaders to experienced executives. The overarching core competencies encompass the breadth and depth of the nursing leadership specialty, across health care settings and leadership roles.
Specific to each leadership role are functional, or technical, competencies. These competencies distinguish the needed competencies in various roles and settings. Updated Links to role-specific core and functional competencies will be coming soon.
Download the Nurse Leader Core Competency Model
Additional References
- Peer Reviewed Article 1: AONL Nurse Leader Competencies: Core Competencies for Nurse Leadership
- Peer Reviewed Article 2: AONL Nurse Leader Core Competencies: a Framework Reaching Across the Continuum and Leadership Levels
Nurse Leader Skill Assessments
Self Assessment | 180 Assessment | Organizational Assessment
AONL offers evaluation assessments for nurse leaders looking to improve their skill set. Through these skills assessments you can evaluate your skills, knowledge and abilities for the nurse manager and nurse executive roles. The simple exercise of rating yourself and asking others to rate you provides tremendous insight on hidden strengths, blind spots and areas for development.
Functional AONL Competencies
Executives can use these competencies as a self-assessment tool, useful in the identification of possible areas for growth. Aspiring nurse leaders can use them in planning personal preparation for their careers. Health care organizations may utilize them as a guideline for job descriptions, expectations and evaluations of nurse leaders. Nurse educators can utilize them as a curriculum guideline for the educational preparation of nurses seeking expertise and knowledge in executive practice.
Reliability and validity for the AONL Nurse Executive Competencies are established by periodic job analysis/role delineation studies. These competencies are based on the Job Analysis Report: American Organization for Nursing Leadership Certified in Executive Nursing Practice, February, 2023.
The Nurse Manager Competencies are based on the Nurse Manager Learning Domain Framework and capture the skills, knowledge and abilities that guide the practice of these nurse leaders. The successful nurse leader must gain expertise in all three domains: the science of managing the business; the art of leading the people; the leader within.
Reliability and validity for the AONL Nurse Manager Competencies are established by periodic job analysis/role delineation studies. These competencies are based on the Job Analysis Report: American Organization for Nursing Leadership Certified Nurse Manager and Leader, February, 2023.
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Archived AONL Competencies
With the release of the AONL Nurse Leader Core Competencies, the following sets of AONL competencies will be archived beginning January 1, 2023, and considered historical.
The role of the system chief nurse executive (CNE) is a sub specialty of nursing leadership and requires its own set of competencies. Guided by the AONL Nurse Executive Competencies’ domains: communication and relationship building, knowledge of the healthcare environment, leadership, and professionalism, business skills the following competencies describe the skills, knowledge, and attributes of nurse leaders in the role of the system chief nurse executive. They are presented as information for both system nurse leaders and those who employ or work with them. They can be used as a guideline for job description development role expectations, evaluation criteria, and a self-assessment tool in the identification of possible areas for growth and career planning.
Post-acute care nursing leadership is as much a specialty as any clinical specialty and requires proficiency and competent practice specific to the executive role. Health care systems will consolidate and become a predominant model of integrated care delivery. As such, enterprise-focused executive nursing leadership is vital to the success of community systems. Nursing practice should be aligned to the future state of nursing and a consolidated model for care delivery where the hospital will not be centric to delivery model and the health care continuum will be the focus.
Health care systems increasingly are identifying strategies and interventions to improve the health of their patients and the communities they serve. Acute, ambulatory and post-acute care organizations are realizing the promotion of health and wellness outside their settings creates improved outcomes. This shift in care delivery focuses on partnerships across the health care settings and addressing specific health needs of particular populations.