Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars program leadership training.

BACKGROUND: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars program was created to address the nursing shortage via development of the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing.

PURPOSE: The leadership training combined development at the scholar's home institution with in-person didactic and interactive sessions with notable leaders in nursing and other disciplines.

METHODS: A curriculum matrix, organized by six domains, was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively.

DISCUSSION: What set this program apart is that it immersed junior faculty in concerted leadership development with regard to all aspects of the faculty role so that teaching interactively, making use of the latest in information technology, giving testimony before a policy-making group, participating in strategic planning, and figuring out how to reduce the budget without jeopardizing quality were all envisioned as part of the faculty role.

CONCLUSION: The domains covered by this program could easily be used as the framework to plan other leadership-development programs for the next generation of academic leaders.