Question

• Discuss the role of the educator as an organizational leader and change agent.  

Answer 1

If you are an educator, you have also earned a position of leadership. You do not have to be a dean or a vice-president to be a leader. A leader is one who has the ability to guide and direct others towards a path of change. In essence, you are a change agent. Change agents are those who have the knowledge and skill to know what changes are for the best and can bring others on board in implementing those changes. Leading others down the path of change starts with knowing what changes are best.

As educators, we understand that our careers are based on evidence. Nursing practice is driven by evidence. We do what has been studied and shown to produce best patient outcomes. We also understand that our teaching is based on evidence as well. Educational research is an area of study in which educators must remain well-informed in order to change our teaching methods to accommodate the way adults learn. So, by examining the evidence, we can determine if our organization puts into practice those well-studied and discovered methods that have shown to be beneficial to our students and their patients.

If we realize that our organizational practices do not meet the recommendations shown in the literature, we have a responsibility to act as a change agent and lead our institutions to pursue better ways.