Shadowing Experience For my leadership paper I chose to shadow Sean Ennist, the Operating Room Director of Premier Bone and Joint Center, Laramie. Sean is an RNFA, so he often scrubs into surgery, but the first day I shadowed him he was filling in for a circulator. Seeing him a role that he was not as confident in made him more vulnerable, honest, and easier to connect with. This encounter happened on my very first day of senior capstone, so it was a great start. Within seconds of knowing he was a leader, I knew I wanted to shadow him. Sean is someone, even in a vulnerable state, that everyone in the operating room and facility respects. The following day I shadowed Sean in his normal role. He was scrubbed into an ACL repair for almost …show more content…
He says that learning is a trial and error process. He thinks that failure is part of the job and part of learning in nursing and in life. Mistakes are inevitable and learning from them is what makes a good nurse and a great nurse leader. Being open to new experiences and doing as much as a new graduate can will take a person very far in life and their career. Another point of advice he made was about forgiveness. He thinks that forgiving oneself, coworkers, and leaders is a important to be able to keep going. Admitting to wrongs, taking criticisms, and encouraging oneself to keep moving is what will keep a new graduate going when all else fails. One major point Sean feels strongly about is dealing with facts. Everyone has emotions and though they are important, facts are what his leadership philosophy is about. It is how he stays fair to his employees and how he has accepted that in any situation, not everyone is going to be happy. Being happy all the time is not his goal. His goal is to have a functioning facility with competent nurses and doctors who focus on their patients, not themselves. If a new graduate can grasp that, Sean thinks they will be a good team
I selected to job shadow my mom actually because I couldn’t find anyone to shadow in the career that I wanted, so my only other choice was to do my mom. I wasn’t really too interested in doing that job at first, but that’s what I needed to do. I spent my day watching and helping my mom checking out stock systems and how it works. I was also able to use the office equipment. I wore nice black pants with a nice sweater. We left the building for lunch, and went somewhere else to eat, like my mom does a lot of the time. During the interview, I asked her the questions, and she answered, explaining as she went along, and I was not able to catch it all. So I learned a whole lot about the job by doing the interview. I left at about 2:00 to 3:00 (I am not too sure exactly when) because my mom had some important work she needed to do, that I really couldn’t help with. My favorite experience that day was actually finding out how stocks work, saving money, and information like that.
Ferguson L, Calvert J, Davie M, et al. Clinical leadership: using observations of care to focus risk management and quality improvement activities in the clinical setting. Contemp Nurse. 2012;24(2):212-224.
1. Please briefly share the influences on your decision to pursue the field of medicine, including shadowing experiences and other medical related activities.
...n every step because one mistake can cause someone to lose their life and there are no second chances or third attempts once someone is gone. Sufficient knowledge, skills and critical thinking capabilities are developed through experience and practice. Registered nurses become leaders through professional development. Nurses holding Bachelor Degrees will eventually become placed in leadership roles. We must evaluate the program outcomes now in order to be successful when it is time for us to fulfill these roles. I often refer to the quote that Doctor Tanner provided that states, “Nurses have the power to make decisions to determine how patients are born, live, suffer and die”. Some components of holistic nursing are knowledge of growth and adaptation (Murphy, 1990, p.1). Nursing is holistic in nature and nurses may not realize how much power they truly possess.
I am excited about the prospect of attending medical school. My dream began when I was a child in a rural village in Bangladesh, continued through graduating from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) with a biology degree. Now, I am working in a research lab at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).I have had many experiences that have reinforced my desire to become a physician.
...ch like life in general, is full of uncertainty, as well as endless possibilities. As long as nursing continues to grow, there is no limit to the achievements that can be accomplished in the profession, for not only the individual patients, but also for the healthcare industry as a whole. Nurses must remember, that as they move forward, they will continue to break down barriers and stake their claim as a necessity in healthcare. Nurses must also hold tight to the teachings of their predecessors. The future of nursing holds great advances in healthcare and technology innovation; but, most importantly, the future of nursing needs to be saturated with nurses that are willing to put their heart and soul into healing the human spirit. The future of nursing must bring with it the teachings of the past, while providing their patients with the most qualified nursing care.
During my interview with Regina Martinez, BS RN and currently an Assistant Director of a home health agency, I discovered her leadership style matched the above quote. Martinez had extensive experience in management prior to joining the medical field. As a single working mother, she worked her way up from waitress to manger of a popular seafood restaurant. However, her dream had always been to become a nurse and she began her medical career as a certified nurse’s aide (CNA), while working through college. She graduated from nursing school with a Bachelor’s degree in Science and has been a Registered Nurse (RN) for more than two decades. She quickly earned the respect of doctors and fellow nurses, becoming a Charge Nurse on the floors she worked. She has worked as Medical Surgery nurse, emergency room, and as Director of Nursing for home health and long-term care facilities where she was responsible for over 150 employees.
Effective leadership has a great impact in what direction the team takes. They have great communication skills and are very easy to talk to and approach. Employees look up to the nurse leader for reassurance and comfort when things are not so bright. Leaders are very compassionate and caring individuals. They are not afraid to take risk in order to reach their goals. Nurse leaders will go the extra mile for his or staff and patients. From a leader standpoint, providing quality care to every patient is a priority. Leaders are usually on the floor with the nurses and are very aware of the work load. Leaders can better understand the nurse’s frustration about the staffing ratio. Sometimes having four patients feels like six because of the acuity level. When faced with a situation like not having enough staff to work a shift, leaders are quick to call in an extra nurse to come and work. Reducing the work load and proving effective quality care to the patients is what a leader usually has in mind. Leaders are not thinking about the hospital budget and deficits. They look at the big picture which is staff shortage and the work that needs to get done. The leaders goal is to keep everyone safe and happy. According to Stanley (2006), leaders tend to be solitary, proactive, intuitive, emphatic and attracted to situations of high risk; they ask the 'why not ' question and 'do the right thing. Therefore, a leader will do everything he or she can to accommodate patients and nurses
I thought that all three of your messages were very predominant in the book. I particularly took note of “always follow your instincts” and “don’t be pressured to make a diagnosis immediately” in the book. As I future provider, one of my greatest reservations is not being knowledgeable enough to diagnose patients correctly the first time. I think your two lessons go hand and hand for me personally; there are instances in practice when I know something is not right but I just cannot put my finger on it. In those particular situations I need to follow my instincts and not be too quick to jump to a diagnosis just for the sake of diagnosing a patient and appearing knowledgeable. In nursing, although it is important to get a diagnosis
As mentioned by Hunter and Arthur (2016), one of the main reasons I could maintain and improve my practice was due to clinical placements. During clinical placements we are frequently being assessed and taught in dealing with real situations. Feelings As learning is a lifelong process, I’m sure there are many things I need to improve and learn to better myself. However, the lessons I learned during the course as a nursing student shall always remain as a bedrock for my future development.
Initially I thought that nursing was a career that can be taught. I felt nursing was only science and once you had mastered the science of nursing you could become a competent nurse. Since fall my view of the profession has changed drastically, I am starting to realize and appreciate the uniqueness of each quality that develops the art of nursing. For instance, I thought nursing knowledge was limited, once you have graduated nursing school you would have gained all the knowledge necessary. I now realize that knowledge does not only come from books but also from experience. With accountability, it is important for me to be able to admit to my mistakes. When I admit to my mistakes I grow as a nurse and as a person as I am able to learn from my mistakes. When being an advocate for my patients, I must not allow my own biases to interfere. I have to acknowledge my own biases so that I do not neglect care for my patients or make biased assumptions about patients rather than advocating for their needs. I always thought that sympathy is a universal value in nursing but rather empathy is. As a nurse I must understand the patient’s situation in order to be efficient rather than being sensitive to their situation. I also realize that it is very important for nurses to be adaptable as they face different and unique situations every day. I have concluded that a nurse is never done
My success as a nurse leader will be based on my ability to lead and inspire others. I will . . . “act with integrity, set realistic goals, communicate clearly and often, encourage others, recognize the successes of your team members, and inspire them to provide the best of care.” A winning team can be built only through a shared vision and acknowledgement of each team member’s contribution. (Frandsen, B. 2014). My success as a nurse leader will not be by my work alone, I will have my team of great, effective staff behind me. My success will be
Our leaders seem to have bundled several styles of leadership to get us where we are today. They have shown the ability to align the organization’s goals and strategies with what Medicare and government agencies have requested for all healthcare organizations. The situation of the economy has dictated that we have to cut costs any way we can. They have taught us to be good stewards of our resources and made us all participants in their goals by doing this. The organization as a whole is still in the transitional phase as things are smoothing out after a change in management, and we learn our new tasks. Departments are more streamlined now as our tasks have been clarified and more strategic goals have been identified. Our leaders have defined
...ransformation. However, the power to improve the current regulatory, business, and organizational conditions does not rest solely with nurses; government, businesses, health care organizations, professional associations, and the insurance industry all must play a role. Working together, these many diverse parties can help ensure that the health care system provides seamless, affordable, quality care that is accessible to all and leads to improved health outcomes. Also, the Nurse leader provides the link between management and the frontline staff who personally interact with the public and patients. They are the interface between management and care delivery, and can only be effective if they have the support, time, authority, and respect necessary to competently and visibly lead their teams on the delivery of high-quality care. (Dawes, M., Davies, P., T., 2006).
“Actions speaks louder than words,” is a phrase that been proven true time and time again. “We reap what sew” or “what goes around comes back around,” has also been proven true, so it behooves a person to do all the good they can, while they can, for as long as they can. The profession of nursing understands what it means to do good. “Nursing is conceptualized as a practice discipline with a mandate from society to enhance the health and well-being of humanity” (Shaw, 1993, p. 1654). In the nursing code of ethics, it is a requirement to practice beneficence which means the desire to do good and be the patient’s advocate. Florence Nightingale’s and Jean Watson’s theory of nursing has become two of my favorite theories and has major