A systematic review and meta-analysis of high-intensity interval training for mental health and executive function in university students.

Effective nursing leadership is central to the delivery of safe, high‑quality healthcare and is associated with improved patient outcomes, workforce stability, and team functioning (; ). As healthcare environments become increasingly complex, nurses across all roles are expected to demonstrate leadership capability, extending beyond direct patient care to include quality improvement, governance and system‑level influence (). These expectations reflect a shift in how nursing leadership is conceptualised, from a function of formal management roles to a relational, practice‑based capability enacted within everyday clinical work (). However, many of the leadership expectations placed on nurses in contemporary practice exceed the preparation typically provided within pre‑registration nursing education (). In response, postgraduate leadership education has emerged internationally as a strategy to support nurses in developing leadership capability. Such programmes are designed to provide theoretical foundations, leadership frameworks and applied learning experiences intended to strengthen professional practice and organisational influence (; ). Evidence suggests that engagement in postgraduate leadership education is associated with improvements in communication, critical thinking, emotional intelligence and professional confidence, as well as increased perceived readiness to participate in decision‑making and improvement processes (; ). Despite these reported benefits, there remains limited empirical understanding of how learning from postgraduate leadership education is enacted within nurses’ everyday clinical practice. Existing research has largely focused on perceived skill development or leadership competence, rather than examining how nurses translate postgraduate leadership education into practical action across diverse clinical and organisational settings (). In particular, there is insufficient insight into how nurses apply leadership knowledge in routine practice, how they recognise and address ongoing leadership development needs and how organisational structures, role boundaries and context influence the enactment of leadership learning (; ; ). Addressing this gap is important for understanding the practical value of postgraduate leadership education and its contribution to sustained leadership capacity in nursing practice.