Development of a Staff Nurse to Chief Nursing Officer Succession Planning Program

The purpose of this article is to describe how UF Health Jacksonville’s nursing designed and implemented a deliberate and systematic succession planning program to ensure nursing leadership continuity in key positions, retain and develop future leaders, and encourage professional development and advancement. Our formal program known as FOCUSED (Fostering Organizational Change Using Structured Education and Development) is inclusive of all levels of nursing. FOCUSED uses 5 nursing leadership competencies and a 9-box talent matrix tool to select high potential candidates for development and promotion. Since implementing FOCUSED, we have reduced nurse leader turnover, increased hiring internal candidates, and decrease temporary agency spending for interim leadership.