On Feb. 10, Quinnipiac University’s associate Professor of Nursing Carolyn Bradley, began her position in the National League for Nursing (NLN) 2025 LEAD program.
LEAD is a competitive year-long program that selects 22 leaders in nursing from across the country. The cohort works together on key advanced leadership, development and reflection. Members submit an extensive application and find out in November if they are accepted. Leaders hold their position in the program until Dec. 31.
This year, leaders from 16 different schools are in the program. They range from professors at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The program appealed to Bradley for its opportunities in professional development and growth.
“There’s always a need for development for something new,” Bradley said. “It’s a matter of learning more about yourself as a leader and harnessing those key leadership skills, bringing them to the next level, strategically to impact my own work here.”
LEAD follows six key objectives, according to their website. They focus on enhancing leadership skills, develop strong negotiation and communication tactics and examine issues in organizational processes.
During their time in the program, leaders also get one-on-one executive coaching, a week-long intensive in June at the NLN headquarters in Washington, D.C., as well as journaling and networking throughout the year.
Bradley will also be doing work to directly benefit the nursing department at Quinnipiac.
“We all have major project work associated with attending the program that develops our leadership skills further and gives back to the university that is sending us,” Bradley said.
The project work will be disseminated at the national level once it is completed.
With just over two weeks of being in the program, Bradley has been getting to know her new colleagues. Bradley and the other 21 leaders met in Washington D.C. at the start of the program.
“It was exciting to see everyone else’s background and where they come from,” Bradley said. “And I know that we’re going to learn from each other.”
With a love for networking, meeting new people and learning from them, Bradley was thrilled to meet her colleagues.
Though the leaders only see each other a handful of times throughout the year, they are constantly busy working and remain in contact.
In September, the cohort will attend the annual NLN Education Summit.
Every year the conference has a theme, this year’s being centered around artificial intelligence and its challenges.
With the rapid emergence of AI, Bradley and the Quinnipiac Nursing Department have begun examining appropriate use of AI classrooms.
“My concern as faculty is that there’s good use for AI, but we just want to make sure that it’s used appropriately by faculty and students,” Bradley said. “So many of us are still obtaining education and determining best practices for that.”
Prior to Quinnipiac, Bradley held several leadership roles in her career. In the late 90s Bradley worked as a nurse manager. She has also worked in staff development and held a nursing leadership role in the Heart and Vascular Center at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Bradley joined Quinnipiac in 2022, and was soon appointed to the director of the undergraduate programs in the School of Nursing.
“I applied for the director of the graduate programs because it better aligned with my teaching backgrounds,” Bradley said.
In her year in the NLN LEAD program, Bradley is looking forward to learning new skills to better herself and her teaching in the nursing department.
“This is just an amazing opportunity,” Bradley said. “It’s almost unheard of to have this kind of support from national leaders and leadership and connect with colleagues across the country.”
