Have multiple designations? Find the right subscription for you!

Get Pricing

Buy this program now and claim the introductory rate!

$500.00

$400.00

Get Access

or

Unlock Preferred Pricing for Your Organization →
  • All courses and corresponding transcripts are accessible for the life of the subscription.
  • An internet connection is required. We recommend using Google Chrome to take our courses. Other browsers we support: Edge, Firefox and Safari.
? FAQ

Nursing Leadership Excellence Certificate Program

Advance Your Nursing Career with Flexible,
Self-Paced Leadership Training

Are you a nurse ready to lead with confidence, drive positive change, and make a greater impact in your healthcare organization? The Nursing Leadership Excellence Certificate Program is designed for current and aspiring nurse leaders who want to strengthen their leadership skills, improve healthcare outcomes, and advance their careers.

This comprehensive, self-paced online program includes 8 exclusive, interactive ANCC-approved modules that align with national healthcare leadership standards and offer practical strategies and tools for immediate application across diverse healthcare settings.

Earn a leadership certificate to enhance your career while fulfilling continuing education (CE) requirements for your professional license renewal.

Courses in this program are pre‑approved for a total of:

  • 21 CE/contact hours for Nurses (ANCC)
  • 19.5 CEs for Case Managers (CCMC)
  • 17.5 CEs for Rehabilitation Counselors (CRCC)
  • 6.5 CEs for Social Workers (NASW)

Gain practical skills in communication, delegation, team management, quality improvement, and more!

Smiling nurse in blue scrubs standing with arms crossed in a hospital, with healthcare colleagues in the background. Text reads: Nursing Leadership Excellence Certificate Program.

 

Who Should Enroll?

  • Charge and Lead Nurses
  • Nurse Managers and Supervisors
  • Nurse Educators
  • Clinical Coordinators and Supervisors
  • Nurses preparing for leadership roles
  • Aspiring leaders

 

Key Benefits

Smiling nurse in navy scrubs proudly holding a framed Certificate of Achievement from CareerSmart Learning, standing in a bright healthcare setting.
  • Developed by experienced nurse educators and healthcare leadership experts.
  • Learn at your own pace—anytime, anywhere.
  • Upon successful completion of the program, participants will automatically receive a downloadable and printable certificate to verify and showcase their achievement.

 

What You’ll Learn – Course Modules Overview

A diverse group of six healthcare professionals smiling and standing together in a modern medical facility. They are wearing scrubs and lab coats, with stethoscopes around their necks, representing teamwork and professionalism in healthcare.

Applying Leadership Theories in Healthcare

Explore core leadership theories and frameworks to guide your nursing practice, inspire teams, respond to healthcare challenges, and improve care outcomes.
Course Objectives
  • Describe and differentiate key leadership theories.
  • Identify how leadership theories can be applied in healthcare settings to improve healthcare outcomes, using the Structure-Process-Outcome Theory and Trip Aim and Quadruple Aim frameworks.
  • Apply unique leadership skills and strategies to lead by example, promote evidence-based practice, communicate effectively, build and maintain relationships, and respond to challenges in healthcare.
Two healthcare professionals in light blue scrubs reviewing a clipboard together in a well-lit indoor setting. One holds the clipboard and a highlighter, while the other points to the document. Both appear focused on their task.

Mastering the Art of Delegation in Nursing

Improve patient safety and team efficiency by learning how to delegate with confidence and clarity. Explore tools and strategies to overcome common pitfalls and barriers, apply clinical standards, and continuously evaluate and enhance delegation practices.
Course Objectives
  • Define delegation within the nursing profession.
  • Identify common delegation pitfalls and their impact on patient care.
  • Implement strategies to overcome delegation barriers.
  • Understand the importance of effective communication in delegation.
  • Integrate standards of care into delegation decisions.
  • Identify methods and tools to evaluate and enhance delegation practices.
A group of healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, gathered around a laptop, smiling and engaged in discussion.

Team Dynamics in Healthcare

Learn to lead cohesive healthcare teams by effectively managing conflict, communicating with purpose, retaining talent, and fostering a culture grounded in collaboration and shared goals.
Course Objectives
  • Describe how healthcare leaders shape team dynamics.
  • Describe selected leadership styles and how each style can affect team dynamics in a healthcare setting.
  • Identify communication strategies that improve team collaboration.
  • Identify common sources of conflict within healthcare teams and conflict resolution techniques.
  • Describe how leaders can create a continuous learning culture.
  • Discuss strategies to enhance team-based decision-making and problem-solving.
  • Describe strategies for staff retention.
  • Identify and apply collaborative leadership strategies that enhance the team and foster a culture of mutual respect and shared goals of various healthcare disciplines.
A diverse group of professionals collaborating in a Hospital laboratory setting.

Conflict Resolution in Healthcare

Strengthen your ability to manage conflict with empathy and professionalism. Learn practical strategies to navigate tough conversations, reduce workplace tension, and promote equity in healthcare settings.
Course Objectives
  • Recognize common sources of conflict among healthcare teams.
  • Understand the importance of active listening, empathy, and assertive communication in conflict management.
  • Apply leadership approaches to conflict situations with an emphasis on transformational leadership qualities such as inspiration, motivation, and the ability to drive positive change and principles to manage conflict.
  • Understand the importance of critical thinking skills to evaluate the outcomes of conflict resolution.
  • Implement negotiation techniques to develop win-win solutions.
  • Identify strategies for building a collaborative team and promoting an inclusive environment.
  • Discuss interventions for managing your own emotional responses and stress levels during conflicts to maintain professionalism and objectivity.
  • Describe how to navigate conflicts in a way that respects the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of all parties involved while also adhering to ethical standards and practices in healthcare.
Smiling female nurse in blue scrubs holds a patient chart in a well-lit hospital hallway.

Healthcare Leaders as Change Agents

Lead transformative change using trusted models like Lewin’s, Kotter’s™, and ADKAR®, and gain the confidence to overcome resistance and achieve lasting impact.
Course Objectives
  • Discuss theories of change management, such as Lewin’s Change Management Model, Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model, and the ADKAR model, and how these can be applied in a clinical setting to support effective change initiatives.
  • Describe the role of the healthcare leader in initiating and guiding change processes within healthcare settings, including the identification of areas for improvement and the development of strategic plans to address these areas.
  • List practical skills and strategies to facilitate change, including communication techniques, stakeholder engagement, and methods for building consensus.
  • Identify common barriers to change within healthcare environments, such as resistance from staff, limited resources, and regulatory constraints.
  • Describe strategies for analyzing barriers to develop effective solutions and sustaining outcomes of change over time.
Smiling male doctor in a white coat sits with two colleagues during a meeting.

Optimizing Healthcare Delivery Through Strategic Nurse Leadership

Understand the vital role nurse leaders play in advancing staff development, shaping policy, and streamlining systems—while using data and strategic planning to lead change.
Course Objectives
  • Understand the unique leadership roles and responsibilities of healthcare leaders and how they influence staff development, job satisfaction, and healthcare policy.
  • Discuss the foundational knowledge of healthcare finance, including budgeting and resource allocation, cost-saving strategies, and financial decision making.
  • Identify how to utilize data-driven approaches to monitor, evaluate, and improve healthcare practices.
  • Understand the healthcare leader’s role in optimizing healthcare delivery systems through strategic leadership.
Two professional women reviewing data on multiple computer monitors in an office setting.

Healthcare Finance (Part 1): Leading Cost Management

Gain essential healthcare finance knowledge, including budgeting, resource allocation, and productivity tracking, to support cost-effective decision-making in nursing leadership.
Course Objectives
  • Discuss how healthcare systems are organized, the roles of various stakeholders, and the impact of healthcare policies and regulations on the delivery of care.
  • Define productivity in healthcare settings.
  • Identify key metrics in healthcare budgets and variances.
  • Explore cost management in healthcare.
Healthcare professionals having a focused conversation during a team meeting.

Healthcare Finance (Part 2): Leading Quality Improvement

Learn how to apply Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and lean management strategies to optimize care delivery and lead to measurable improvements in patient outcomes.
Course Objectives
  • Discuss the concept of lean management in relation to process improvement in healthcare.
  • Discuss process improvement and continuous quality improvement in healthcare.
  • Discuss the process of strategic planning in healthcare.

Have additional questions?

Ask Jennifer!

Headshot of Jennifer Walker

Jennifer Walker, RN, MSN, NPD-BC, GERO-BC, NE-BC

CareerSmart Healthcare Program Coordinator &
Accredited Provider Program Director

Ask Jennifer

Submit your question(s) about the Nursing Leadership Excellence Certificate Program below:

Enroll Today

Ready to elevate your leadership potential? Enroll in the Nursing Leadership Excellence Certificate Program and take the next step in your nursing career!

Enroll Now

 

Interested in developing your team’s leadership capacity? Ask us about professional partnership opportunities to help support your goals.

Learn More

 

Additional Program Details

Each course module includes a final quiz that must be passed with 80% or more. Final quizzes may be re-taken as often as needed. Individual course certificates will be available immediately upon completion of each course. Each individual course certificate specifies the number of CE/contact hours awarded and the corresponding approval numbers for each applicable designation.

The final program certificate will be available immediately upon completion of all 8 course modules included in the program.

Access to this program expires one year from date of purchase.

Courses in this program are exclusive and not included in our CE subscriptions.