Overview & Resources

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows program is a three-year advanced leadership program for nurses who aspire to lead and shape health care locally and nationally. Fellows strengthen their leadership capacity and improve their abilities to lead teams and organizations in improving health and health care.

Each year the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows (ENF) program selects a cohort of up to 20 highly qualified nurses in senior executive positions to participate in the three-year fellowship. Major components of the leadership development program include:

• Advanced curriculum, employing best practices from the field of leadership development, delivered through face-to-face program sessions and technology-facilitated intersession activities (years 1–3)
• Intensive and ongoing executive coaching and mentoring from program faculty and outside experts (years 1–3)
• Team-based action learning and implementation of team projects (years 1–2)
• Self-directed, individual leadership development activities and implementation of a bold individual leadership project (years 2–3)
• Lifetime premium membership to the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) myCCL online learning community, which includes 24/7 access to the latest research and practice in leadership development (beginning in year 1)
• Opportunity for post-program leadership development activities
• Membership in the nationwide ENF Alumni network

While the program allows fellows to remain at their home institution, program activities will require approximately four weeks per year (only some of which will require travel). The fellowship is designed to enhance current leadership activities and professional development; therefore, the time that fellows dedicate to the ENF program will benefit themselves and their organizations. Fellows must secure a commitment from their home institution for release time and continued compensation so that they are free to attend and participate in all program activities. Some activities will involve the use of technology that will support synchronous and asynchronous individual and team learning.

The program will target 20 leadership competencies focused on leading self, leading others, leading the organization and leading in health care. A key curriculum goal is to help fellows apply the knowledge and skills they obtain to the leadership challenges and opportunities they face in their work.

2011 Application Statistics

• 138 applications received
• 40 applicants are APNs

Applicants by Employment Sector