Nursing Students in an Expanded Charge Nurse Role: A Real Clinical Management Experience‪.‬

ABSTRACT Ensuring that baccalaureate nursing students obtain a measure of management and leadership proficiency is a challenge for nurse educators. Having senior students manage juniors in a clinical course modeled in a peer hierarchal pattern that emulates advanced beginner practice is a creative approach that is both realistic and achievable. Through specific learning experiences, students are exposed to typical management functions and asked to demonstrate management and leadership skills at an expanded charge nurse level. HISTORICALLY, baccalaureate nursing programs have allotted significant didactic time to the principles of management and leadership. Clinical management experiences, however, vary considerably. The curricular difficulty posed is finding a realistic arena to allow students the opportunity to transfer management theory into clinical practice at a level suitable for undergraduate students.