Nurse leaders and the innovation competence gap

Background: Nurses are well-positioned for innovation in health care delivery, although innovation is not generally learned in formal educational programs. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess critical competencies for innovation success among nurse leaders in academia and practice, the perceived gaps on those competencies, and teaching methods that would be helpful in developing competencies related to innovation. Method: A Web-enabled descriptive survey design was used to capture nurse leaders' perceptions of important innovation competencies and how they assess their level of competence in the particular innovation domain. Preferred approaches for innovation pedagogy were also queried. Discussion: Respondents indicated significant gaps in 18 of 19 innovation competencies. Implications are for inclusion of innovation competencies in formal and continuing nursing education. The most preferred innovation pedagogical approaches are case studies of failures and successes and project- and field based approaches. Traditional lectures are the least preferred way to address innovation competency gaps. Conclusions: There is a significant gap in innovation competencies among nurse leaders in practice and academia. The way we teach innovation needs to involve closer collaboration between academia and practice.