Event highlights
WHO/Europe has launched a new course to transform nursing leadership in Greece. The project responds directly to challenges facing the country, which grapples to retain and recruit nurses, often amid difficult working conditions. It aligns with WHO’s Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery (2021–2025), which call on countries to build nursing leadership capacity to address health-care delivery challenges and foster systems resilience.
The joint effort involves the WHO’s Division of Health Systems and the WHO Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety (Athens, Greece), which coordinates the broader HEALTH-IQ project.
“Nurses represent the largest proportion of the health and care workforce. It is therefore vital that they are also involved in the planning and design of services. This requires competencies in leadership and management. This course aims to develop both among a group of selected individuals from across the country,” said Dr Tomas Zapata, Regional Adviser and Unit Head for Health Workforce and Service Delivery at WHO/Europe.
From listening to leading
The course was conceptualized when a group of international experts travelled to Greece to meet with frontline nurses and senior health professionals across Greece’s diverse health-care settings – from mental health to long-term and emergency care – to gather insights on leadership gaps, systemic challenges and opportunities for reform.
“During this visit we met with some incredible nurses who on their own initiative are working at the local level to improve service delivery in their institutions but are doing so without formal training, recognition or support to scale up their initiatives for the whole system to benefit,” said Margrieta Langins, Nursing and Midwifery Policy Advisor at WHO/Europe.
The course aims to normalize nurse leadership and equip participants with a set of competencies in leadership based on international expertise, while also developing health system thinking that focuses these competencies on health system improvements. The programme covers leadership theories, personal development, strategic planning, interprofessional collaboration and change management. The curriculum was co-designed by a national core group of Greek nurse leaders and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Leadership and Governance in Nursing.
Driving change from within
The nurse leadership course is a 5-day in-person training followed by 6 months of structured mentorship for 20 nurses from across Greece. A national core group has been established to oversee participant selection, curriculum design and the long-term sustainability of the course.
Maria Katharaki, chair of the core group, emphasized the importance of creating a network of nurse leaders who can support each other beyond the formal course. “This initiative is not just a one-time investment – it’s the beginning of a culture shift in how nurse leadership is developed, supported and recognized in Greece.”
Looking ahead
The initiative represents a vital step towards ensuring that nurses are not only implementing care but are also taking part in designing and developing the services and policies that improve health in Greece, drive innovation and safeguard patient safety.
“The health system cannot afford to overlook the leadership potential of nurses,” said Dr Joao Breda, Head of the WHO Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety. “By investing in their leadership today, we are investing in a stronger, safer and more equitable health system for tomorrow.”
The course is expected to serve as a national model, with plans for wider rollout by the Hellenic Regulatory Body of Nurses in 2026 and beyond.