AMN Healthcare Acquires Leadership Assessment Solution to Advance Executive Search and Leadership Advisory Capabilities

Research-backed capability strengthens AMN's ability to help healthcare organizations identify, develop and plan for leadership success 

DALLAS, June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AMN Healthcare today announced it has acquired the intellectual property, software and methodology behind the ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment, a research-backed leadership assessment solution designed to support executive selection, leadership development and succession planning in healthcare organizations. With over six years of operation and more than 1,000 assessments delivered, the ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment brings a proven methodology that builds on AMN Healthcare's established executive search capabilities and enhances the company's ability to deliver more strategic advisory services to clients.

By bringing this intellectual property in-house, AMN strengthens a capability that helps clients evaluate leadership potential, map role-specific skills and competencies, and make more informed decisions for critical executive roles. The acquisition also expands AMN's ability to support clients beyond executive hiring, supporting target profile development, competency mapping, executive coaching, succession planning and broader leadership ecosystem planning. 

"Healthcare organizations are navigating increasingly complex leadership challenges, and they need more than intuition to make high-stakes talent decisions," said Tessa Misiaszek, President of Leadership Solutions at AMN Healthcare. "This acquisition strengthens our ability to combine AMN's healthcare expertise with a more structured, data-informed leadership assessment approach. It allows us to bring greater precision to executive search while expanding the advisory services we can offer around coaching, succession planning and long-term leadership strategy—helping hospital and health system leaders align talent decisions with their broader organizational priorities for the future."

The ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment was developed under the leadership of Richard Metheny, a recognized expert in executive assessment and leadership consulting. The assessment framework was developed to provide deeper behavioral insight into leadership potential, cultural alignment and long-term success, helping organizations reduce subjectivity in leadership decisions and build stronger pipelines for the future. Metheny will continue working with AMN as a strategic advisor, helping integrate and apply the ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment across AMN's leadership solutions business.

"Integrating ESSENTIAL into AMN's leadership solutions practice is a natural progression for the work," said Richard Metheny. "Pairing AMN's broad reach across healthcare with the assessment's structured behavioral insights creates a powerful platform to support leaders at scale—far beyond what was possible independently. I look forward to working closely with AMN's leadership team as we advance this next phase of growth."

By integrating this capability more fully into its executive search practice, AMN will deliver additional value to healthcare clients at the executive level and support a broader set of workforce and leadership priorities over time. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About AMN Healthcare
AMN Healthcare is the leader and innovator in total talent solutions for healthcare, bringing together the people, processes and technology to deliver better care. Through a steadfast partnership approach, we solve the most pressing workforce challenges to enable better clinical outcomes and access to care. In 2025 our healthcare professionals reached more than 13 million patients at more than 2,300 healthcare systems, including 93 percent of the top healthcare systems nationwide. We provide a comprehensive network of quality healthcare professionals and deliver a fully integrated and customizable suite of workforce technologies.

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is the ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment?
The ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment is a research-backed leadership assessment solution designed to support executive selection, leadership development and succession planning. It provides structured behavioral insights that help organizations evaluate leadership potential, align candidates to organizational needs and make more informed talent decisions.

How will the ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment enhance AMN Healthcare's executive search services?
By integrating the assessment into its executive search process, AMN Healthcare can provide clients with additional data-driven insights into leadership capabilities, role fit and long-term success potential. The assessment complements traditional executive search methodologies by helping reduce subjectivity in high-stakes hiring decisions.

Who can benefit from the ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment?
Healthcare organizations seeking support with executive hiring, leadership development, succession planning, competency mapping and executive coaching can benefit from the assessment. The solution is designed to help hospitals, health systems and healthcare organizations strengthen leadership pipelines and prepare for future workforce needs.

Why are leadership assessments important in healthcare organizations?
Healthcare leaders face increasingly complex challenges, including workforce shortages, financial pressures, operational transformation and changing patient care demands. Leadership assessments provide objective insights that help organizations identify leaders with the skills, behaviors and competencies needed to succeed in these environments.

What leadership advisory services does AMN Healthcare provide?
In addition to executive search, AMN Healthcare offers leadership advisory services that support executive coaching, succession planning, leadership development, competency mapping and broader workforce and leadership strategy initiatives. The addition of the ESSENTIAL Leadership Assessment expands these capabilities and strengthens AMN's ability to help organizations make strategic talent decisions.

SOURCE AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.