Overview
Nursing 432 is an introduction to nursing leadership and management theory and practice. The emphasis is on understanding the essential skills employed by highly successful nurse leaders and managers, such as thinking critically, communicating effectively, handling conflict wisely, delegating successfully; all these enabling them to build teams, direct resources, improve quality, manage stress, and lead change skilfully in their diverse workplaces. In addition, there is a unit dedicated to future trends aimed at helping you to develop self-awareness in leading your career, as all nurses are leaders regardless of their actual position.
A special feature of Nursing 432 is the Community of Learners Discussion Forum where you get to interact with all students enrolled in the course, and not only your colleagues from your specific tutor section. This forum aims to help you develop a community of practice as you learn from each other and embrace leadership as you integrate knowledge about the activities, roles, and responsibilities of nurse managers and leaders; the forum also enables you to practice conceptual, technical, and interpersonal management skills. The application experiences embedded in the course provide opportunities for learners to translate theory into practice to build their capacity to influence, lead, and manage.
Evaluation
To receive credit for Nursing 432 Management & Leadership in Nursing Practice students must complete all the required assignments and achieve an overall composite grade of 64% (C). All submitted assignments must follow the current edition of the APA Publication Manual.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Who am I as a Leader and a Manager? | 15% |
| Assignment 2: Scenario Analysis | 20% |
| Assignment 3: Change Implementation | 25% |
| Assignment 4: Design Your Own Healthcare Organization | 30% |
| Assignment 5: Community of Learners: Forum Discussions | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Walton, N. A., & Waddell, J. I. (Eds). (2025). Yoder-Wise's leading and managing in Canadian nursing (3rd ed.). Elsevier, Inc.
Other materials
There are several readings and videos included throughout the course. Clicking on the link of the resource allows you to access it directly via the Athabasca University online library or the internet. Each unit has a reference list that contains all required and supplemental resources.