El liderazgo silencioso de la enfermería en México: reflexiones sobre su transformación

Introduction. The purpose of this document is to argue that the leadership of nursing in Mexico has an enormous potential for growth and that it is, in large part, silent. It presents cases to demonstrate that nursing leadership in Mexico's healthcare system is not properly recognized by either social actors or the state. Body. Nurses could incorporate several characteristics of leadership in their development in order to reach higher professional status and training levels as well as a larger role in the production of health services. In particular, there is an emphasis on the development of a collective leadership, which would help the field of nursing to accomplish systemic goals rather than group or individual ones. Unlike other professional fields, nursing education is founded on a humanist base which has been chipped away by changes brought by the last decades' healthcare reforms. Conclusion. Nursing leadership should be based on several principles. It must preserve its humanistic training. It must establish itself as co-equal when it comes to clinical and management decisions. It must articulate a consistent plan for the development of nursing as an advanced practice. And, finally, it must serve as a motor of change, guiding the healthcare system toward the model of primary care.