Undergraduate Nursing Degree: Overview of leadership education in Portugal

Abstract

Background: Effective leadership in nursing practice is associated with students’ preparation during their academic training. Objective: To identify leadership content in Portuguese undergraduate nursing programs. Methodology: Online consultation of course unit syllabuses of 17 undergraduate nursing programs from 39 higher education institutions, whose content was available, conducted between-December September-December 2018. Data were organized using Excel software to characterize the course units, and content analysis was performed using IRAMUTEQ 0.6 alpha 3 software. Results: Leadership content was identified in course units that present the terms “management” and/ or “administration,” associated with “nursing” and/or “health,” and other related terms, particularly “health care organization.” Conclusion: Leadership education is present as content in all programs, although it is not taught as a specific course unit in any undergraduate nursing degrees studied. Leadership education is recognized as essential for developing students’ abilities and skills. No links between leadership education and clinical practice were found in the course units.