A Collaborative Nursing Practice And The Nursing Profession : Tom Rath And Donald O. Clifton

“Nursing is informed caring for the well-being of others” (Swanson, 1993, p. 352). Kristen Swanson’s relationship-based caring theory encompasses maintaining belief, knowing, being with, doing for, and enabling. Nursing is a profession with vast opportunities for growth and development. Each nurse has his or her individual passions; mine reside within obstetrics, women’s health, and nursing leadership. Nurse leaders play an integral role in the success of healthcare organizations. Nurse leaders shape the roles of nurses within their organizations. Nurse leaders seek methods to improve patient care. They also use innovation to gain efficiencies in care delivery and decrease healthcare cost. Many nurse leaders have an ultimate goal to aspire to be a chief nursing officer in a healthcare

In today’s healthcare system, effective leadership is essential to improving and reaching organizational outcomes. A leader is someone with the ability to influence others but, an effective leader uses positive strategies to inspire employees to work towards the same goal. Leadership in nursing requires a constant effort to motivate others to become part of the organizational transformation. This can be achieved using a transformational leadership style with a focus on communication, motivation, and empowerment.

Leaders are the ones we turn to when life gets to be too much. Good leaders set examples and provide guidance through education (Huber, 2014). As a new nurse I can understand how important it is to have a leader you turn to when you are unsure. Furthermore, in the business of health care we are managing people 's lives and one wrong move can be deadly. Therefore, it is important to collaborate with other health care professionals to ensure a safe competent method of delivery. Ideally, the role of a leader in health care is one that is knowledgable, firm, and confident, with the ability to deviate from the plan to assist with an emergency. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to reveal three key behaviors successful leaders exhibit, assess my personal leadership style, referencing theories, while determining an optimal work environment based upon the aforementioned.

Nursing leaders are crucial to any nursing organization. They motivate, empower, influence, and communicate the organization’s vision to create change within the organization. Great nursing leadership depends on great nursing leaders. This paper will define nursing leadership and describe leadership characteristics. It will further depict the democratic style and transformational theory of nursing leadership. While exploring leadership in action, this paper will illustrate the aspects of nursing.

Nurse leaders are the background to the nursing care. Effective nurse leaders can promote a positive workforce and a healthy work place for other nurses. Workplace dynamics is an essential part of how each nurse functions. Nurses, being mentally and physically stressed, need to have support and guidance from a nurse leader to feel confident about performance. The impact of nursing leaders can be a positive and guiding force for the younger or more inexperienced nurse. Having strong relationships with solid leaders can instill values in the beginning stages of a newer nurses’ career. Gaining insight and core concepts from a more experienced leader can make a world of difference in the way a new nurse performs, provides patient care, and sets future goals for themselves. A newer nurse with a positive role model and nurse leader can model themselves to become a leader for future nurses.

In retrospect, what I learned in collaborative healthcare will be a solid foundation on which I will build my nursing leadership. To render care to the sick irrespective of their values, preferences, age, socioeconomic status, culture respect and dignity, demonstrate that the nurse leader is exhibiting compassion, ethics and knowledge. These aquacades must be continuously incorporated and utilized with professional clinical judgement and evidenced-based knowledge to yield the best patient outcomes (Finkelman, 2012).

The nurse as a leader looks to achieve a workable unity. (Gardner, 2007) In an interdisciplinary format this is vitally important. There will be many factors that will prevent group cohesion and mutual tolerance in any environment. In an emotionally charged setting this is especially true. The nurse can help to manage conflict and promote a positive environment. This can

In healthcare it is very important to have strong leaders, especially in the nursing profession. A nurse leader typically uses several styles of leadership depending on the situation presented; this is known as situational leadership. It is important that the professional nurse choose the right style of leadership for any given situation to ensure their employees are performing at their highest potential. Depending on which leadership style a nurse leader uses, it can affect staff retention and the morale of the employees as well as nurse job satisfaction (Azaare & Gross, 2011.) “Nursing leaders have the responsibility to create and maintain a work environment which not only promotes positive patient outcomes but also

Shirey, M. (2006). Authentic leaders creating healthy work environments for nursing practice. American Journal of Critical Care, 15(3), 256-268.

Those involved in the health care system—nurses, physicians, patients, and others—play increasingly interdependent roles. Leaders who merely give directions and expect them to be followed will not succeed in this environment. What is needed is a style of leadership that involves working with others as full partners in a context of mutual respect and collaboration (A Pearson, H Laschinger, K Porritt, Z Jordan, D Tucker and L Long [International Journal of Evidence-Based health Care], 2007, p. 224).

Nurse leaders are faced with issues or problems on a daily basis that are often expected and sometimes unexpected. It “comes with the territory” so to speak. If there were no issues to solve or hurdles to overcome the necessity of designating a leader would not seem quite as important. Nurse leaders can tackle issues that occur in their work environment using nursing theory to guide them. Nursing theory provides a framework that nurse leaders can use to implement interventions or changes to positively impact the staff they lead. This framework of the theory will set the standards for achieving the desired outcomes and is based on knowledge that is gleaned from practice and/or research.

Leadership may mean different things to different people, the consensus opinion of experts in this field is that leadership is using power to direct and influence activities of people to achieve set goals or targets. Nursing leadership is all about every nurse providing, facilitating and promoting the best healthcare services to client and to the public. Leadership is a shared responsibility. (CNO 2012). The nursing profession need leaders that can build the capacity of nurses through mentoring, coaching, supporting, developing the expertise and management skills of nurses to make a difference to the quality of patient care at all levels of the profession ( McIntyre & McDonald, 2014 ). At the core of every leadership either political or managerial is power and how the leader uses it. While it is practically impossible to lead without power, how the nurse leader uses this power not only determine the leadership style but also the results or outcomes of what is achieved through the process.

Nurses demonstrate the core values of professionally caring for others in two different prospects. Huber (2014), notes that “nurses have two basic roles: care providers and care coordinators” (p. 3). Most significantly nurses are valued in the setting of patient care, while the coordinator role revolves around management and organizing care, using thinking skills to coordinate complex activities. Nursing is multifaceted, although direct quality patient care is of significance, a positive leader or manager is also essential to support the recent changes to healthcare requirements. Having the right blend of qualities is vital to becoming a

Nursing is a very complex career that at many times requires one to be a leader. Nurses can be leaders in formal roles and also on the unit during any given shift. Nursing is a career that truly tests the character and attributes of those who choose to enter this career. Leadership in nursing is vital in creating a successful environment for patients. According to Stichler (2006), “effective leadership is essential to transforming organizations into environments that are safe for both patients and staff” (p. 422). Therefore, it is vital that as new nurses start out his or her careers that they learn from great leaders who are already in the profession. There are several great leaders working in the field who have a plethora of

“If you actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” (John Quincy Adams, as cited in Forbes, 2014, p. 1). A leader is mentor, guiding others to their best. In this paper, I will reflect on my personal values and beliefs regarding leadership. Next, I will discuss a leader in my life that personally resonates with me. I will then discuss the attributes of my chosen leader and relate them to theory on leadership, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, group dynamics and peace and power concepts and identify the leadership style that my chosen leader embodies. Finally, I will discuss how my leadership philosophy and the newly acquired theory will impact my future career as a nurse.