The Power of Interim Chief Nursing Officers

When an institution loses a chief nursing officer (CNO), the nursing department experiences a short-term crisis. The loss of an executive nurse leader is particularly alarming because the loss brings significant financial, operational, and clinical risk. Often after a CNO leaves, the organizational structure changes, projects change or are abandoned, and expectations are altered. When a CNO leaves, a strategy to mitigate the loss to an organization must be considered. The purpose of this article is to present an investigation of the self-reports by participants on the role of interim CNOs and their contributions to an organization experiencing a CNO leadership transition.