ABSTRACT
Nurse leadership has been an integral focus for BHCS since its precursor, the Texas Baptist Memorial Sanitarium, opened its doors in 1909. Then-superintendent of nurses, May Marr, established a training school for student nurses to prepare them for serving patients in the 250-bed hospital. A reputation for nursing quality developed further at the organization in 1912, when Johns Hopkins-trained Helen Holliday Lehman became superintendent of nurses and enhanced the organization’s focus on nurse education.1 Today, nurse leadership at BHCS continues to be characterized by a strong focus on education, development, and professionalism, as well as structural empowerment, standardization, evidence-based practice, research, empirical outcomes, and community outreach. Through its commitment to nurse leader ship, BHCS aligns with the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) call for nurses “to take more leadership roles and collaborate fully with other professionals in providing essential health care to a growing number of people.”2 BHCS uses the five Magnet domains (transformational leadership; structural empowerment; exemplary professional practice; new knowledge, innovation, and improvement; and empirical outcomes) as a blueprint for how the nursing organization should function. Magnet principles are embedded in all areas of work and design.3,4
Nurse leaders at BHCS have five overall areas of focus:
1. Transformational leadership-including the Shared Governance Model, planning and strategy, promotion of evidence-based practices, education and development, and achieving Magnet status for BHCS hospitals.4
