A Leader At A Senior Leader

This paper aims to address and discuss about the leadership and management of the nurse leader interviewed. This experience was a great opportunity to witness first hand how a nurse leader cultivate and manage their staffs in real life setting. Moreover, it provides a great access to gain insight and knowledge about nurse leaders’ vital responsibilities and role diversities in the organizations they work with. Nurse leaders pay more specific and close attention in handling the staffs and most importantly, patient care.

Without good communication between the manager and leaders and staff nurses there wouldn’t be good outcomes in the end. The importance of leadership emerges from its role of creating and shaping organizational culture and setting a progressive direction for the organization. Without this there is no role for management, no cause for it to exist. Leadership creates a context for the management to exist (Leadership vs. Managment).

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

Woods (2011) “Good practice in an increasingly uncertain and bureaucratic health care climate therefore requires considerable courage and commitment from present-day nurses” (p. 272). I was unable to make the impacts at the facility I wanted, however the situation taught me about leadership and

Additionally, the health care system will see a new kind of leadership that does not involve people in power ordering others around; rather it involves collaboration and mutual respect, which may only be achieved by making nurses “full

The national nursing shortage is predicted to continue to rise to levels that have not been seen since the 1960’s (Fasoli, 2010). Managers must create an environment that is conducive to employees. The leader needs to promote organizational commitment and retain employees by promoting a positive culture on the unit. Nurses want an environment where they can provide high-quality care to patients and leaders must help facilitate and maintain this environment. Employees also want to feel like their opinions matter to the manager, and they have a say in the future of the unit. Employees do not want to feel like they are not important, or their voices are not being heard.

The third and last section of the IOM report that will be discussed is on “transforming leadership” key message # 3 of the IOM report states, “Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning healthcare in the United States.” The committee is calling for a new type of leadership, one that involves collaborating with others and working together as partners showing mutual respect. This style of leadership has been shown to improve patient outcomes, reduce staff turnover, and reduce medical errors. (Gardener, 2005; Joint Commission, 2008; Pearson, 2007) For the needed changes in the U.S. healthcare system to take place all nurses from nursing students through Chief Nursing Officers must develop competencies in leadership and become partners with physicians and others to improve our healthcare system and delivery of care.

Nurses can play a fundamental role in transforming the health care system. The IOM report already recognizes nurses as patients’ advocates and now must move forward to advocate for the entire care delivery system by speaking as a policy. The situations should be viewed as something they can shape and develop, rather than something that merely happens to them. In the old style of leadership, leaders give orders and expect them to be followed. In the call for a new style of leadership, this is not relevant. The IOM sets up “a style of leadership that involves working with others as full partners in a context of mutual respect and collaboration.” It sites that studies show that this style of leadership is associated with better patient outcomes, fewer medical errors, and greater staff satisfaction. However, it recognizes that transforming the current healthcare hierarchy into something more equitable won’t be easy. Group consultations, self-assessment, mentorship, and evaluation are essential parts to developing leadership. These will translate strategic vision into action, and implement managing and organizational

Provided strong leadership over NA staff in the delivery of excellent nursing and personal care in the unit

Taking care of your staff, emotional needs, physical needs, and establishing an excellent work environment is imperative to the production of work, and the retention of your staff. Therefore with the participative style of leadership, effective communication is imperative in nursing. Communication whether through emails, meetings, one-on-one, or in a group must be done with respect, directly to the point of what is being said and required along with the awareness of their own feelings and biases so that what is being communicated is acceptable to enhance the workplace and not hinder it (Huber, 2014). One of the ways I communicate is with nursing meetings. In the meetings I usually start with things that are facility wide, then maybe new procedures that is being implemented, and I always end with the nurses bringing in any problems, concerns, needs or wants. The last key element that is important for the leader to be able to have meaningful recognition of their employees. Recognition of employees not only facilitates the wiliness to strive more, but it also reiterates to the staff, that they are appreciated (Huber, 2014). There are several ways to recognize staff; one is

Healthcare changes occurring today along with shrinking budgets and reimbursement rates for hospitals has forced institution CEOs to do more with less. Changes and restructuring of various health facilities require nursing leaders with flexibility and adaptability. Nurse leaders must also consider budgetary constraints, cost effectiveness, patient safety, and quality care while maintaining focus on improved patient outcome. The responsibility of ensuring patients receive safe and high quality care belongs to every employee in the hospital, including support staff such as IV therapy. In this hospital, this led to the development of a nurse director position to oversee the

A transformational leadership style along with good communication skills can be used to manage the multiples issues Hartland Memorial faces. “Transformational leadership involves anticipating future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities, developing others to be leaders, and reward learners” (Hellriegal & Slocum, 2009, p. 301). Elizabeth and her associates should have the necessary qualities of a transformational leader; integrity, accountability, and motivation, so the staff can identify with them. The nurse manager could give nurses opportunities to demonstrate and experience leadership in their profession on a regular basis. Effective leadership is critical in delivering high quality care; equally

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

As nurse manager Barbara is responsible for managing the staff, scheduling and budgeting for the unit. Her staff includes twenty-five registered nurses and eight patient care assistants (PCA’s). The unit is known for its culture of confrontation, blaming, and favoritism. The staff is dissatisfied, unmotivated, and not functioning as a team to deliver quality patient care. In Barbara’s first month she has lost two RN’s and due to a hiring freeze at EMU Barbara was not able to replace the positions. The unit is short staffed, stress levels are high and employee morale is low. Barbara meets individually with twenty or so staff members and comes to the conclusion that no one is happy and she has a lot of work to do. There are multiple groups that Barbara has identified issues with and she must come up with an action plan to manage the discrepancies. She has found issues in downward management which involves senior nurses, newer nurses, and patient care assistants, and in upward management including administrators and physicians,

By empowering the community of nurses and sustaining employee engagement, patient and employee satisfaction would remain the same, if not increase (6 Leadership strategies for navigating perpetual change in healthcare, 2015). Change is tough for most people and the time to adjust varies with each individual. Taking some time to acknowledge each individual and their needs is an important factor to being a great leader (6 Leadership strategies for navigating perpetual change in healthcare, 2015).