Leadership Attributes That A Graduate Nurse Should Possess

The making of a nurse leader takes education, training, and experience. Whatever the personality trait of a professional nurse, this self-discovery will only be a means to aim in becoming a nurse leader. A professional nurse in leadership is one that is transformational, involved in a professional organization, a change agent, and has a high Emotional Intelligence to be able to manage a team. She is aware and knowledgeable of the inevitable changes occurring in the nursing field. She is highly capable in setting up strategies for conflict resolution and culturally competent with such capacity in achieving high performance in a diverse healthcare team. Most importantly, her leadership promotes

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 nursing, leadership does not only consist of being in a higher position but in all aspects of nursing, whether one is a staff nurse or a unit manager. A nurse must be able to lead patients, family, or a community, to a higher level of understanding in regards to the over all aspects of people’s health. However, primary degrees in general do not prepare nurses for

Leadership is a core competency in the field of advanced practice nursing (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, & O’Grady, 2014). Graduate level nurses exercise leadership across four major spheres including nursing profession, clinical practice environments, health policy, and at the system level. This paper provides and analysis of the author’s leadership style and attributes, a description of the attributes of leadership pertaining to graduate level nurses, and a discussion of the attribute that the writer feels need development with regard to the role of an advanced practice nurse.

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

Grossman, S. C., & Valiga, T. M. (2012). The new leadership challenge: Creating the future of nursing (4th ed.). [Proquest Ebook Central]. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Not all nurses go into the profession with leadership ideas. The nursing profession must produce leaders throughout the health care system. Leaders must function as workers, and administrators with leadership qualities, while still meeting their budgets and running effective units with high functioning and happy staff members. They need to trouble shoot necessary and work with the medical faculty while pleasing their staff and the administers.

As the health care environment in our country continues to change at a rapid pace, the need for properly prepared leaders in all health care environments will grow. The Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) prepared nurse will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to rise to the highest levels of leadership in the institution of health care. To be an effective leader requires knowledge of the organization’s mission and the guidance of a theory of leadership congruent with and capable of delivering the facility’s objective. The traits of the leader must harmonize with the theory of leadership that is applied. Through careful examination of an organization’s structure, an appropriate leadership style to match the traits of the leader and followers may be identified. Connecting the organization, leadership style, and traits of the leader and followers will promote success with the implementation of new processes to improve the quality of patient care for the population served.

Nurse leadership critically affects the healthcare environment and the way nurses fulfill their duties in the professional practice. In nursing, leaders bear a great responsibility when delivering services and care to the needy patients so that they enjoy their stay at the facility. Nurses ensure safety and promote health in patients through the optimal contribution in healthcare services and the entire field. Nurse leaders motivate colleagues to move forward towards reaching common goals, and they also serve as role models. Nurse leaders seek not only to fulfill all assigned tasks and responsibilities, but also promote positive changes for the medical facilities. In order to succeed, nurse leaders should possess relevant qualities and

There is much to be said as to the differences between a great Nurse Leader and mediocre one; in review of the "Nurse Manager Skills Inventory" this writer was able to assess her proficiency and lack thereof in leadership skill set. It is this writer’s sincerest wishes that by giving her most effort, obtaining more diverse experiences, and completing assessments such as this that she becomes a more knowledgeable, well- rounded competent leader.

The role of a nurse leader is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon that requires a nurse leader to have a diverse and experienced background. A nurse leader also needs to know how to communicate and collaborate with other health care providers, patients, and departments (Montuori, 2010). In my opinion, nursing is a challenging and an evolving profession that required a nurse leader to have three important attributes: transformative, culturally sensitive, and computer competent.

Leadership does not always come with a title or prestige. Every nurse has within themselves qualities that make them a great leader. Leadership by definition, “is a combination of intrinsic personality traits, learned leadership skills, and characteristics of the situation (Cherry& Jacob (2013 p. 335). A leader is one who has the capacity and skills to direct or encourage others in efforts to achieve an outcome. I recently completed a self-assessment on my perceived leadership abilities. The survey was called the Nurse Manager Skills Inventory (Nurse Manager Leadership Partnership, 2008). It consists of four content areas of which I will address and identify my strengths and weaknesses.

Role of leadership is essential for APNs. Nurses with graduated education are prepared to be expert with advanced knowledge and clinical skills. It is important to note that leadership skills should also be developed during graduate education through the learning process from nurse leaders, mentors, and role models (Tracy & Hanson, 2014). Leadership in nursing is distinctive. Elliott et al. (2013) characterize roles of nursing leadership into clinical leadership and professional leadership; whereas, Tracy and Hanson (2014) explain that there are four areas that APNs exercise leadership: clinical practice, nursing professional, system level, and health policy.

In comparison to from clinical leadership, nursing leadership is a more appointed position, usually given to someone like a nurse manager (NM), whose goal is to motivate staff in new and innovative ways to better the care of patients. This position usually leaves the NM slightly removed from patient care, as they sort through problems on their floor and direct the nurses under their guidance; leaving only a portion of their time to be dedicated to working with patients. Recently it has also been found, that the majority of nursing education that is centered on leadership is focused on the political, academic, and management areas (Stanley & Sherratt, 2010). This focus has then been gearing towards the production of leadership within higher up positions and appointed placements of management. As a nursing leader it is your job to open the door of communication between you, your colleagues, and themselves, so that they might be able to generate new modes of care and boost morale. The role of a nurse leader is to guide and maintain a competent and productive floor, and positively motivate colleagues through goals. Though both of these broad spectrums of leadership, we are then better able to pin-point leadership styles that work within

Before I started this leadership/management coarse I had no idea what qualities a good leader manager needs to hold. I had no idea a registered nurse was considered a leader/manager. Now that I have reviewed all the chapters in the Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing (Marquis & Huston, 2015) I have a full understanding of how important leadership/management functions play in a nurse’s career. Chapters 12-25 describe roles and functions that are needed for a nurse to become a successful leader/manager. These chapters discussed the roles and functioning of organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.