From the nurse executive's perspective: Hiring the nurse consultant

You have decided you need a nurse consultant to help reach the institution's goals, define nursing strategy, or implement a major change. There are certain steps that you, as an executive, need to address and define prior to engaging the nurse consultant. To select the best consultant to meet your needs, you first should define the project's goals, describe the scope of work, outline the expected outcomes, and clarify what type of consultant can best work with your team. In addition, before moving forward on the engagement, you need to assess within your team the reasons why a consultant is necessary, rather than your leadership team assuming responsibility for the work or project.

This article serves as a guide for understanding your role in a consulting project, how to select a consultant, how to ensure the consultant you hire will achieve your desired results, and how the tools of project management can organize the work.