Congratulations to the Academy AWS Technology Fellows Program Class of 2026!
Back in June at our Spring CNE Forum, we recognized 17 outstanding nurse fellows from the graduating Class of 2026 who spent the two-year fellowship driving strategic change across their organizations. From workforce development and nursing pipeline innovation to care model redesign and technology integration, their projects reflect the complexity and ambition defining nursing leadership today.
This month, we're spotlighting the work of Katrina Ascencio-Holmes from Sutter Health, whose project is transforming how organizations prepare the next generation of nurse managers.
2026 Nurse Fellows Program
Fellow: Katrina Ascencio-Holmes, MHA, BSN, RN, CNOR, VP System Chief Nurse Officer
Leading Health System CEO Sponsor: Warner Thomas, President & CEO
Action Project Title: A Better Beginning: Transforming How We Prepare New Nurse Managers
Opportunity & Problem Statement:
Building future directors and Chief Nurse Executives requires a strong and standardized first leadership transition. Sutter Health nurse leadership recognized a growing gap between the complexity of the nurse manager role and the preparation provided to those entering it.
Across the system, support for new managers was inconsistent, resulting in wide variability in readiness and performance. Many nurse managers transitioned directly from bedside practice into roles with expansive spans of control, significant operational accountability, and heightened regulatory exposure.
Leadership capability at this level directly influences quality, safety, workforce stability, and operational reliability. Early-career burnout and turnover among nurse managers signaled risk to leadership continuity and pipeline sustainability.
A unified, competency-based development model aligned to national standards was essential to reduce variability, strengthen foundational capability, and reinforce enterprise leadership resilience.
Methods:
The project focused on designing and implementing a standardized nurse manager development experience at scale. The program was grounded in the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) Nurse Leader Core Competencies and Nurse Manager Functional Competencies, with Sutter Health becoming the second healthcare organization nationally to bring the AONL program in-house.
Foundational content was deliberately augmented to reflect Sutter Health's operating context, incorporating:
Patient Experience three-step communication
Finance and Human Resources workflows
System-specific operational tools
Subject-matter experts partnered in facilitation to ensure relevance and credibility. The four-month, cohort-based design integrated in-person learning, interactive modules, mentor leader engagement, and a structured workbook. Emphasis was placed on real-time workplace application, peer connection, and leadership context translation. CNE sponsorship supported alignment and visibility, as well as protected time for participation.
Results & Conclusions:
The implementation of a unified nurse manager development model produced early, measurable, and meaningful results:
Participant experience reflected exceptional value, with a Net Promoter Score of 100.
Pre-to-post-program assessments demonstrated improvement in burnout indicators and self-reported proficiency across AONL Nurse Leader Competency domains.
Sixty-three nurse leaders completed the program year to date, with
plans to scale to 144 participants across 2026.
The strongest gains emerged from relational infrastructure rather than content volume. Cohort cohesion and mentor engagement enhanced psychological safety and accelerated applied learning. Finance and Human Resources navigation surfaced as dominant anxiety drivers. Practical toolkits and scripted micro-interventions reduced operational friction rapidly. Peer coaching persisted beyond formal program completion, evolving into a sustaining leadership support mechanism.
Collectively, results indicate strengthened readiness, resilience, and leadership pipeline stability at the frontline management level.
Applications for THMA’s Fellowship Programming are now open. If you are interested in learning more or nominating a healthcare leader, please reach out to LDPrograms@hmacademy.com.