The Attributes Of Leadership As A Nurse Role

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.

The aim of this essay is to identify a significant event from the authors clinical

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.

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.

After taking the Leadership quiz I discovered that my leadership style is Participative. Participative leaders often ask the opinion of group members and solving problems but ultimately make the final decision. I agree with my findings and I often apply this leadership style at work. I find myself asking other coworkers their opinion on how to troubleshoot a problem. In the nursing occupation it is very important to have teamwork. Being a participative leader exemplifies teamwork. This displays that I value the opinions of my coworkers and feel that everyone should be able to make recommendations and suggestions and as a leader I can take those ideas and make a final decision. On my unit I was a charge nurse and as a charge nurse I always tried to include the recommendations of my coworkers.

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).

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has identified nine essentials that are incorporated into master’s nursing programs to help direct the practice of advanced practice nurses (APN’s). Essential II outlines how an APN can utilize organizational and systems leadership to promote safer and more cost effective care. By incorporating effective leadership skills, APN’s can help transform healthcare and make quality improvements for the patient, the institution, and the community. According to the American Association of College of Nursing (2011), an effective leader assumes and applies “the skills of communication, collaboration, negotiation, delegation, and coordination” (p. 11). APN’s must be able to establish and maintain a healthy

There are many skills, traits, and behaviors one must possess in order to be an effective leader. The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) has compiled a list of competencies and skills that nurse leaders should be proficient in. The five competency domains identified by AONE (2011) are “communication and relationship building, knowledge of health care environment, leadership skills, professionalism, and business skills” (p. 3). The competency domain I believe is essential for one to possess in order to be an effective executive nurse leader is communication and relationship building. The competencies AONE (2011) listed under the domain communication and relationship building are “effective communication, relationship management, influence of behavior, ability to work with diversity, shared decision-making, community involvement, medical staff relationship, and academic relationships” (p.3). I will discuss how Tom (nurse manager of a psychiatric unit) did not meet these specific characteristics under that domain.

In the increasingly complex, ever changing environment of today’s healthcare, effective leaders are essential to help drive positive change resulting in increased access to care with positive outcomes for as many as possible. In its 2010 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recognized that nurses are well positioned to play a key role in the transformation of our healthcare system in the United States (U.S.) (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010). In The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) specifically identifies organizational and systems leadership as a core competency for advanced

As a student nurse we are challenged throughout the course of our education to become leaders among our peers, in the workplace, and within the community. According to the Institute of Medicine (2011) leadership skills are learned and mastered over time, and it is important to obtain a basic understanding of these skills beginning in school. Leadership can occur at any level within an organization and can be defined as a person that possesses qualities such as courage, innovation, trust, commitment, teamwork, communication, values relationships, and who engages others to share in their dedication (Porter O-Grady & Malloch, 2016). Leaders and managers differ because managers are usually in an authoritative role and produce orderliness and consistency, while leaders tend to generate change and movement through creativity (Porter O-Grady & Malloch, 2016). A clinical leader identified in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) is my preceptor. She was recognized as a nurse leader, because she strives to promote innovative changes on the unit, through knowledge, teamwork, and advocacy. According to Kumar, Kumar, Deshmukh, and Adhish (2015), an effective leader makes an active effort to improve their skills and knowledge, stay current in their field, and promote creativeness and collaboration among their peers.

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.

Leadership in the Advance Practical Nurse field is an important aspect that all graduates should understand and learn from it. After the quiz results it concluded that the author is an Authoritarian and a participative leader. The author agrees with the conclusion that leaders should allow other members of the group provide their own point of view when a decision is made and from that point the leader will make their own decision. On the other hand, there are certain aspects on the nursing field or certain moments in which a decision should be made as soon as possible and that is when authoritarian leaders should act and provide the information needed to facilitate the work or to provide a faster and better services to the patient. The main idea with authoritarian or participative leader is to obtain a better result from the group and to provide a better service to the patients.

My nursing aspiration after graduation is to become an Emergency Department Nurse at a hospital in the Jacksonville area. I think, in order to be a successful nurse, I have to demonstrate leadership skills and have a genuine, caring attitude towards my patients and peers.

The second part of the essay will critique leadership and management attributes that enable a registered nurse to implement a decision for the above scenario. Leadership can be defined as the process of influencing others, in which can obtain the cooperation and resources to achieve their goals. Leaders inspire others by trustworthiness and self-confidence. By communicating their vision and self-commitment (Tappen, 1995). Although leadership and management are similar they sometimes have intertwined concepts. Management as well is a process of influencing others with intention of getting people to perform and contribute to meet the organization goals. Through utilizing peoples skills, money and other resources to complete the work. The process

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