Transformation and Leadership in Rehabilitation Nursing: Driving Person-Centered Care from an Academic Perspective

Introduction: globally, one in three people need rehabilitation care throughout their lives, especially older people or people with chronic conditions. The WHO's Rehabilitation 2030 agenda reinforces rehabilitation as an essential component of universal health coverage, person-centered, integrated, evidence-informed and supported by transformational leadership. Objective: to analyze how teaching in rehabilitation nursing can contribute to promoting transformational leadership and transforming the provision of care towards a person-centered model.Method: theoretical-reflexive analysis.Results: Rehabilitation Nursing plays a strategic role in promoting empowerment, functional autonomy and the management of transitions throughout the life cycle. The person-centered model values individual needs, preferences and decisions, promoting a more inclusive and participatory care approach. Transformational leadership leverages improved safety, clinical innovation and positive experience, enhancing leadership and person-centered care. Academic training in rehabilitation nursing should integrate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, person-centered metrics, leadership and translational research, promoting the inclusion of co-production with citizens and caregivers and aligning with the WHO's global agenda.Conclusions: Academic institutions are fundamental in training transformational leaders in Rehabilitation Nursing who are capable of making the transition to people-centered systems, measured by results that translate into gains in functionality, full participation and satisfaction with the care experience.