In 2005, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) published their healthy work environment standards (HWE), comprising 6 areas of focus important for an HWE1 : skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership. The standard for authentic leadership states that “nurse leaders must fully embrace the imperative of a healthy work environment, authentically live it and engage others in achieving it.”1  No one could have predicted what authentic nursing leadership would look like coming out of the pandemic and how to prepare nurse leaders for the future based on where our profession was in 2020.

In January 2023, the American Nurses Foundation published its Three-Year Assessment Survey. Conducted by Joslin Insight in November 2022, the survey involved more than 12 500 participants from across the United States and assessed the impact of the pandemic on the nursing profession.2  Nurses were asked...

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