Nursing Leader

Introduction Leaders are in every profession. They can be in a formal, given position or an informal position where their qualities that make them a good leader give them the title of leader. Leaders are important in nursing because they serve as mentors for new nurses and can use their skills to help fellow nurses, other hospital staff, patients, and the organization that they work for. This paper identifies a leader, gives the roles of a leader, and discusses the challenges that nursing leaders have.

Identification

H is a staff nurse at St Mary’s Medical Center. She has worked on the same unit since graduation from nursing school 10 years ago. She usually works on the floor but does some charge nursing. She also is a preceptor for new

H’s leadership style is transformational. She is committed to the goals of her employer and helps others work towards those goals. As a transformational leader, she is also a mentor to many of staff on her unit.

Roles

Nurse leaders have many roles. They concern themselves with patient satisfaction, team building, managing resources, solving problems, working as a change agent, clinical consultation, mentoring, and being a supporter of their organization. In the healthcare field, patients are the customers. A nurse leader puts her patients first and ensures that they are satisfied with the care they are receiving. Few patients enjoy their time in the hospital, but it is a leader’s responsibility to make sure the patient is receiving the best care possible. Nurse leaders also work with team building. They

H stated that her some of her greatest challenges right now are the pressure from administration to increase patient satisfaction while decreasing costs and decreasing staff negativity. With healthcare costs rising each year and reimbursements decreasing, the administration of H’s hospital is pressuring the staff to ensure that patients are discharged as soon as they are able to ensure that more patients can be treated and to make sure the resources provided are used in the most appropriate way. H worries that the administration is increasing patient loads on the nurses and other staff that lead to burnout and unsafe staffing. Discharging patients as soon as possible concerns H because she is an advocate for her patients and has to speak for her patient if she believes they are not ready to be discharged. This causes a conflict between the doctor and the nurse. Increasing patient loads is one of the reasons that H believes that is causing staff to be negative. H’s patients have commented when they notice their nurses have a negative attitude. The added stress of a larger patient load may cause a nurse to have a negative attitude. Being a leader requires that H try to improve staff morale but this is difficult when the staff are upset about their assignments, schedules, and are generally burnt-out on nursing due to the stress of the occupation. Most of these nurses resist change. H finds it difficult to increase morale of the staff