Strategy as Solution Developing a Nursing Strategic Plan

Having a strategy for the implementation of evidence-based practice and the creation of a
research agenda for nursing is critical. Tapping into nurses clinical and intellectual curiosity generates
an amazing array of potential researchable questions and enriches our patients lives with answers to questions
that otherwise wouldnt be addressed. That being said, its hard for chief nurse executives and
nursing leaders to know exactly where and how to get started creating and implementing a nursing re-
search agenda. I often think about a trip to the local mall. My first stop is to the mall map to first figure
out where I am in the midst of the very big place and then to figure out how I am going to get where I need to
be. So what is the mall map for the chief nurse? I would offer that the creation of a strategic plan for
nursing services is the map for our work, and a logical place for our focus is to generate new knowledge.
What exactly is a strategic plan, and how do the best nurse leaders in the country go about creating
and implementing one? What are some of the best ways to engage clinical nurses in the process? What are
some of the critical factors in leveraging all that your organization has to offer? How can a nursing strategic
plan integrate nursing research activities into the life of a healthcare organization?
Strategic planning is a process by which the guiding members of an organization envision its
future and develop the necessary procedures and op-erations to achieve that future.
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The planning
process includes creating a shared vision, understanding the current state of nursing services, and conducting
a gap analysis based on that current state. The beauty of a strategic plan is that it helps to identify your
strengths and opportunities and also address the gaps of any weaknesses that might exist in your services.
Once gap analysis is complete, a realistic understanding of the distance between reality and a preferred vision
can be determined.
The development of strategic objectives to get to that vision is the foundation for the next phase:
developing tactics and action plans. The most effective and dynamic strategic planning processes include as
many nurses as possible to provide input and share thoughts about a preferred future.
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Large group meetings
and leveraging technology solutions as simple as online survey software allow many clinical nurses to help with
prioritization and rank-ordering solutions. It can be tempting to address operational issues and urgent reactive
concerns, but strategic planning goes beyond that.
What are some of the key critical factors in leveraging all that your organization has to offer when
developing a strategic plan for nursing? Including key partners in the planning process is significant.
Representatives from human resources, marketing, strategic planning, and finance all can offer rich perspectives
and support during the process. Most organizations have a strategic plan and the incorporation of the
organizational plan into the nursing strategy is important. Examining the strategic plan through the lens of
what nursing can offer and spending time designing strategies that leverage the competitive advantage of
nursing often lead to creative and innovative tactics. In addition, organizational strategies can include the
nursing plans to maximize the integration of the work and lessen the infrastructure requirements for getting
the work done.
Formal planning includes measurement of outcomes
3,4
and an evaluation process. For each strategy
and set of tactics, measurement is critical to determining whether the vision is being reached. Organizations
often use balanced scorecard approaches to measuring and displaying quarterly and annual
performance.The creation of a strategic plan allows endless possibilities for stretching the vision for nursing.
A nursing strategic plan can incorporate nursing research activities by defining nursing research as a
strategic objective and developing tactics toward the creation of a nursing research agenda. Clinical
nurses as bedside scientists elevate the profession and the practice of nursing. When given the latitude to
develop the clinical agenda, nurses offer clinical issues and concerns that are the perfect starting place for the
creation of researchable questions and generation of new knowledge. In addition to formal council and research
meetings, Magnet
A
organizations have found creative ways to gather this informationVincluding
flipchart and post-it note offerings gathered in staff meetings, contests, lunch and learn sessions where
clinical research questions are generated, and the creative use of technology to allow for interaction. Some
of the more formal tactics to ensure that nurses participate in research activities include incorporating
research accountability into shared governance councils, performance tools and reviews, and clinical lad-
der requirements.
A strategic plan for nursing is not a panacea for all of the tremendous pressures and challenges nurse
leaders face today. But strategy can push us to dream bigger and reach higher as a profession. Strategic direction
can integrate all parts of the care team, help to align scarce resources toward a common vision,
can drive innovation, and can build excitement as milestones are met and positive change occurs. It
moves us from reactive response to proactive high performance as nurses, and that is a preferred state
that our patients expect.