This highly successful, exclusive program, is practical and specific to the needs of nursing administrators and nursing managers holding an earned master's degree. Meticulously planned and continually updated, it will add critical skills and meaningful insights in the areas of finance, labor/human relations, leadership, team building, politics, risk management, and the changing health care environment. To earn the Certificate the equivalent of three days of electives must be completed in addition to the six core courses.  Please see the role excellence program brochure for more information.  Check the Calendar for more Continuing Education opportunities.

"I had taken the Role Excellence certificate program a few years ago and found it be a great educational opportunity as well as a wonderful way to network. I have often spoken of the program over the years. It was the best management curriculum that I have had so far."

Kathy Lunney, BSN, MS, RN
Assistant Vice President Nursing/Education, Kingston Hospital Kingston, NY

Key Benefits

• Reinforce your value to your health care institution through a new depth of knowledge.
• Have fun while you learn practical and important information.
• Open lines of communication with others who share similar backgrounds, experiences, and aspirations.
• Hear successful leaders share basic and sophisticated techniques to increase your administrative skills.
• Spend time with exciting and experienced professionals who are of the latest developments in this complex and changing field.
• Cultivate your number one asset… power.
• Leave with valuable reference materials, which will help you to do a better job when you return to work.
• Find out how experts prepare and present a budget and what changes in health care mean for revenues.
• Expand your abilities to prevent and resolve conflict.
• Find out what you need to do to decrease your liability and increase quality of care.

Core Courses

Leadership Strategies

Everybody uses them, but how do you get maximum results? Investigate your own leadership style. Explore concepts of mind mapping and the relationship to the future of health care. Understand essential components of transformational and visionary leadership styles. Find out about surviving as a leader in today's environment including techniques on how to manage your followers as well as your boss.

Labor/Employee Relations

What are critical elements in disciplining and dealing with problem employees? What are your responsibilities in a unionized setting? Learn key concepts in collective bargaining, as well as the latest on employment law including FMLA and the ADA. Find out how to maximize your effectiveness with labor/employee relations from an attorney's and an administrator's perspectives.

Power and Politics

Do you use power to your best advantage? Find out what you can do to become more comfortable with change, improve communication, and resolve conflict. Understand the nuances of your organization's cultural milieu. Discover how you cannot only survive but build power within today's health care organizations . . . and make it work for you.

Law, Risk Management and Nursing

Increase your savvy regarding risk management activities. Learn the essentials for decreasing your liability while increasing quality care. Explore liability issues from professional, non-professional, managerial, educational and institutional perspectives. Develop strategies and tactics for optimizing the use of standards. Find out what you need to know regarding your responsibilities with personnel laws.

Understanding Hospital/Health Care Financial Systems

Legislation from Federal and State government, aggressive contracts with managed care, capitation, for profit systems, integrated systems, advances in medical technology and alliances and mergers leave organizations scrambling in order to prepare for the future. Broaden your knowledge of a financial statement; appreciate the managed care payment program for Medicare and Medicaid; review controversies related to legislation; and develop a working knowledge of cash flow issues including the search for capital. Here is a really unique opportunity to become better versed in the complex, ever-changing area of hospital finance from an expert in the field.

Team Building and Human Relationships

Discover ways to enhance your role in team leadership and group performance. Learn successful strategies for meeting employee needs in an integrated interdisciplinary work system. Take advantage of an opportunity to fine tune your skills in: motivational tactics, enhancing team membership and performance standards. Find out how to maximize output and work more effectively with the groups for which you have responsibility.

Electives

To earn the Post-Master's Certificate, the equivalent of three days of electives must be completed in addition to the core courses. Choice electives will be based on supplemental information mailed to you at the earliest possible date. Electives can be chosen from Spring 2010 offerings such as:

• Managing Change: New Models, Mindsets and Methods
• Incorporating Evidence-Based Practice into Nursing Practice
• Crucial Competencies for Resolving Organizational Conflict
• Money Management: Utilizing the Basic Budgeting Process
• Independent Study

"Thank you for the course you coordinate at Villanova. It has been a real pleasure to learn in such a collegial environment. I had the benefit of exposure to several groups, all of them stimulating, knowledgeable and talented."

Kay M. Rauchfuss, MSN, RN
Director, Nursing Services
Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia