The Impact of Nursing Leadership and Management on Work Environments

As a motivated workforce and role model in the dynamic and rapid changing of health care system, leadership skill is one of the most important competencies of advanced practice nurse (APN). This skill should be taught, practiced, nurtured and enhanced during APN education more than ever before. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) state that nurses are important full partners and leaders in the transformation of health care (Hamric, Hanson, Tracy, & O’Grady, 2014). According to Hamric et. al (2014), nurses should take on more leadership roles to have their voices heard. APNs not only have a stake in these efforts, but also have the clinical expertise and leadership that can ensure success (Hamric et. al, 2014). This paper aims to examine the

Observing and analyzing my leader opened my eyes to the amount of responsibility and knowledge one needs to be a great leader. These responsibilities that were witnessed during the shadowing project included aspects of role modeling, mentoring and educating fellow staff and colleagues alike. My leader possessed a well-rounded amount of experience, skills and knowledge about nursing and her management role. All of these aspects we observed and I feel my leader is not only strong nurse, manger and mentor; all these aspects contribute to making her a fine and valuable assets to our organization.

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.

Nursing guidance is a complex but essential part of the nursing workforce. Guidance can come in the form of management and in the form of leadership. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but do not always mean the same thing. The nurse manager is often someone who has authority from the facility to be in management. The nursing leader may not have authority over other nurses, but may be a strong guide in the workplace for other nurses and nursing staff. Nursing as a profession is ever-changing and increasingly challenging. Nurse managers are tasked with an enormous variety of functions in their respective workplaces, budgeting, scheduling, hiring, disciplinary actions, implementing facility policies and procedures, and the

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.

Leadership is encountered in every occupation and in everyday life. In nursing, leadership is not only prevalent; it is crucial to patient care and employee satisfaction. The nurse leader that was interviewed was a nurse at the Newport Hospital in Newport, Washington. This is a small hospital in a rural community. She is a charge nurse in the acute care unit, as well as in charge of leading infection control in the hospital. With these roles comes a lot of responsibility, and tasks that must be completed in a timely manner to create a workflow for the rest of the staff. There is a lot of juggling and balancing everything that is included in all of those positions.

Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.

Having effective leadership and management is essential for any health care facility to operate. Both leadership and management are an essential part to delivering quality healthcare to the patients that they serve. The foundation to any facility is nursing which must be led by the best leadership and management available for its continued success. This is the key to helping that facility to achieve a high level of patient and employee satisfaction. Having adequate staffing for any facility is an issue that many facilities face due to the shortage of nurses. This paper will compare and contrast nurse leaders and managers thoughts with the use of contract employees to assist with the shortage of nursing staff. It will also show support with theory, principles, skills, and roles of the leader versus the manager. It will also identify the writer’s personal philosophy of nursing as well as explain her own personal style of leadership.

Leaders are not merely those who control others, but act as visionaries who help employees to plan, lead, control, and organize their activities. As states by (Hood, Leddy, & Pepper, 2006), “leadership is a complex term with multiple definitions but is normally defined as a process of influencing others or guiding or directing others to attain mutually agreed upon goals” (as cited by Agnes, 2005). There are several recognized leadership styles such as bureaucratic — where the leader rigidly follows rules, policies, and regulation; or participative — where the leader allows the staff to participate in decision making and seek the

When people think of the word culture they think about ethnicity and religion, but that is not the only meaning of culture. Culture can also be defined as, “The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization” (Merriam-Webster,1828). In most workplace settings, there is a workplace culture which means they go by standards that have been set for them or by them and each workplace will be different. In the nursing field culture is going to feel different in each setting, but nursing as a whole is the same at the core.

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.

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.

There are many significant reason why there have been numerous issues or complaints in the field of nursing over the past several years. The issue that has been more common over the years is what I would considered to be the most important issue that nurses have to put up with on a regular bases is what effects does the working environment have on nurses that work in the environment they either have to conform to or find a way to put a stop to the issues the working environment has caused. There are positive and negative aspects that effect the working environment in the nursing field, because of the many things that coincide with what goes on in the working environment that is not seen by non-staff members. Among these complaints have been

Leadership is an essential part of the workplace. It determines how problems get handled and how efficiently work is done. Being able to work with a team is not a simple task. It involves a considerable amount of dedication. Leadership can be defined as the ability to work with others and guide them to reaching goals. This paper will further detail what leadership is and the role it plays in nursing. There are certain qualities that one must have to be a good leader. In addition, there are certain qualities that one must have to also be a good manager. There is not one set way to leading. In this paper, the different leadership styles will be discussed. Furthermore, there are several different approaches to management. In each case, there

Leaders are an integral part of society, as they are the ones that are tasked with motivating, improving, observing, and ensuring that jobs are completed in an accurate and effective manner. The same can be said about leaders within the nursing industry. The following research paper will examine the differences between management and leadership within the nursing field, the importance of effective leadership throughout a healthcare organization, leadership theories that contribute to a positive work environment, a personal reflection on leadership type and specific behaviors that shall be developed in order to become a successful leader, including various resources available to assist in leadership development.