Leadership Styles And Standards For Creating Healthy Work Environments

AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments comprise skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition and authentic leadership (AACN, 2005). These standards are in line with the work life factors identified by Lake (2002) as characteristics of effective professional nursing practice environments (effective nursing leadership, staff participation in organizational affairs, adequate staffing for quality care, support for a nursing model of patient care, and effective nurse/physician relationships) that play an important role in the quality of nurses’ working lives and patient safety (Laschinger & Leiter, 2006). Establishing and sustaining healthy work

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

Nursing leadership plays an important role in the ability to improve the quality of care that is available to the patient, but in order to be able to reach this capacity of “change and innovation [it] requires a clinical leader mind-set that includes a strong personal awareness of one’s strengths and vulnerability, openness to other ideas, courage to challenge the status quo, and a highly developed comfort with rational risk taking” (Porter-O’Grady, 2013, p.71). The application of these leadership characteristics empowers the nurse to identify gaps in patient care, integrate evidence based research, and find alternate solutions to the problems identified in patient care (Committee, O. T. R. W. J., 2010).

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).

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.

Leadership and management are essential to any health care organization, balancing patient care, employees, physicians, and the organization. Nursing is founded on interpersonal relationships. As a people-oriented profession, nursing leadership styles are influenced by humanism. The mission, attitude, and behaviors of a health care organization begins with its leadership, which creates the direction and purpose of the organization. The purpose of this paper is to differentiate between leadership and management, describe views of leadership, and explain the

This paper will discuss different concepts of nursing leadership. It will define the Director of Perioperative and Cardiovascular Services personal leadership style and philosophy of leadership. It will discuss how this leadership style influences organizational behavior and the behavior of staff.

Leadership comes in many different forms, and is a curtail element of a health care organization. This paper will describe leadership styles, management theories, and my style of leadership in reference to the self-assessment completed. I will discuss what leadership styles align with my style and what type of work environment and behaviors that will help me be a successful leader. I will also discuss different types of leadership theories. There are many aspects to being a leader and every good organization has good leaders behind it. Leadership is a key element in nursing due to the fact that nurses are often working in teams (Huber, 2014, p.3).

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.

The intent of a leader is to implement change, instill inspiration, orchestrate collaboration, and empower their followers to go beyond their limitations. Nurses are leaders who strive to improve the overall quality of patient care by leading those around them to participate in the vision of the corporation. He or she must be fully aware of the organization’s philosophy, clearly state its expectations, and possess the ability to develop well-versed and quality leaders (Tinkham, 2013). Every health care organization possesses a vision, a mission statement, and core values that every member functioning under that union must adhere to. Goals, achievements, and adjustments are essential to ensuring that the vision of the organization is being met and evaluated for positive outcomes. However, getting workers to believe and abide by the vision of the facility calls for effective and stimulating leaders. According to Schwartz, Spencer, Wilson, and Woods (2011), “Success in the workplace often is contingent on a leader’s ability to effect positive change and inspire others to higher levels of achievement” (p. 737).

The purpose of this paper is to “gain a holistic perspective of the leadership role and their impact on patient outcomes” (Sinutko, 2016). The role of a nurse in a management position can extend beyond the confines of the hospital. “There are plenty of opportunities to put your nursing skills to good use outside the hospital walls” (Brooks, 2015). Nursing information technology (IT), research analyst, healthcare educator, and the insurance industry are just a few of the opportunities for nurses to make a positive impact on the health and well-being of the population. To create this positive healthcare environment, nurse leaders must work “within a collaborative and interprofessional environment” to

In the United States nursing is the nation’s largest health care profession and there are more 3.1 million registered nurses nationwide (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011, para. 1). The number of registered nurses is projected to grow by 16 percent from 2014 to 2024 (U.S. Department of Labor, 2015, para. 5) and given these growing numbers there will be an increased need for nurse leaders. Nursing leadership plays a pivotal role not only in striving to implement safe patient practices, but also for nurse retention and satisfaction (Bormann & Abrahamson, 2014, p. 219). Nurses will need development and mentoring to develop the leadership skills needed to support the development of healthy work places (Sherman & Pross, 2010,

Being a professional nurse leader today means having the capability to change and adapt to the challenges of healthcare. The drive to provide quality patient management in the safest level of care has changed the direction of nursing. The move to care for members in the outpatient or observation level of care with an emphasis on prevention requires nurses to adapt to this new direction. (Blais & Hayes, 2016). Being in a leadership role and observing the shift it has become apparent that nurses find it difficult to embrace the concept of quality care being giving outside of the acute inpatient setting. There is a fear that the members will not receive the care they require.

In the healthcare field, nursing leaders and managers face consistent issues in their respective practices that force them to alter the way they work and the way they think. In taking on a role as a leader within the field, nursing leaders and managers also take on the role of ensuring that work within an organization runs smoothly regardless of new issues that may arise in the healthcare arena. For instance, in today's healthcare environment, the issues of nurse shortage and nurse turnover have the capacity to alter the healthcare field and many of its respective branches and organizations should these problems not be managed properly by the leaders in the field. In viewing the issue at hand and in discovering how nursing leaders and managers are expected to act, and do act, in order to approach this issues, along with pinpointing the best approach possible to aid this issue, one can better understand which leadership styles are necessary for leaders to function.