Authors Note:

In an era when clinical complexity, moral distress, and systemic change shape the practice landscape of nursing, traditional leadership instruction is no longer enough. Faculty must find new ways to bridge the gap between knowledge and action, theory and practice, principle and performance.

Forced ERRORS offers something rare: a story that speaks the language of nursing while exposing the nuance of influence, accountability, and ethical risk. This novel doesn’t tell students what to think—it invites them to notice what matters. Through character, setting, and consequence, it lays bare the leadership dilemmas that nurses face in real-world clinical systems.

This faculty companion edition was designed for educators ready to do more than assign a text. It’s a guide for translating fiction into formative experience.

As a nursing educator, you know the challenge of making leadership content relevant. Case studies are often too clinical. Lecture too abstract. Simulation too resource-intensive.

I invite you to use this edition not just as a teaching tool, but as an opportunity to model your own leadership. Facilitate bold dialogue. Explore ambiguity. Let your students wrestle with uncertainty in the safety of story. And then—when they find themselves in moments that matter—they’ll recognize the terrain.

Because they’ve been here before.

In fiction….And now, in practice.

As a nurse, educator, and leader, I’ve seen how the right story—told at the right time—can shift the trajectory of a learner’s confidence, insight, or sense of purpose. Forced ERRORS was written to do just that. This companion guide is for those ready to turn story into strategy—into leadership formation that lasts.

Thank you for doing this work. For being a “Lisa” in someone’s life. And for preparing the next generation of nurses to lead with clarity, courage, and compassion.

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