The True Meaning of Nursing Leadership
By understanding the differences between the broad spectrums of leadership and the underlying styles that can be used to better facilitate the care setting; we can comprehend what nursing leadership truly is. Through the comparison of clinical and nursing leadership we can better distinguish what really makes up nursing leadership and the specific leadership styles that facilitate these types of leadership. Through personal accounts and research, these forms of leadership will be displayed and broken down and the importance for without it “there will be no order, only chaos” (Robertson, n.d.)
To fully understand what nursing leadership is you first need to understand what it isn’t, and the distinct line that separates it from clinical leadership. Clinical leadership has recently begun to emerge from the confusion of being interchangeably used with the terms “nursing leadership” and “nurse manager” (Stanley & Sherratt, 2010). These terms are often referred to as the same thing, and sadly this thought process has often been adopted when thinking of clinical leadership. A clinical leader is one who is specialised in an area of knowledge, a veteran in their field; however, this is not just what makes up a clinical leader. It is someone who is respected in the work place for how they deal with patients and other colleagues during every day and extraordinary situations (Stanley, 2008). They are not necessarily someone who has been appointed to a role as a leader but someone who is just a natural leader in their field of expertise that causes the people around them to look up to them. They are visible in their practice to colleagues and patients as they provide hands-on care and actively int...
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... of first-line nurse managers and registered nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19, 2619-2628. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03211.x
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But, the terms, nursing leadership and nursing management are many times confusing. This article deals with the difficulties encountered in defining clinical leadership and summarizes its development in Republic of Ireland and points at the issues that need to be addressed to make nurse leaders effective. The continuously changing nature of healthcare environment requires midwives and nurses competent in management and leadership skills. Clinical leadership requires correct behavior and attitude and gaining new skills and knowledge, providing good patient care. They must also be able to design the method in which care should be delivered in order to achieve healthcare goals of health service providers and users of
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Hospital administrators will charge nurse leaders with ensuring that patient positive outcomes prevail while also controlling overhead. Nurse leaders are specially trained just for this task. Clinical Nurse Leaders are the experts that America’s patients will rely on to keep them safe and healthy in hospital settings.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2012). Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application. (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
According to Yoder-Wise (2011), “Leadership is the use of personal traits to constructible and ethically influence patients, families, and staff through a process in which clinical and organizational outcomes are achieved through collective efforts” (p. 612). The following paragraphs will explain components of leadership of an anonymous healthcare facility.
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.
Leadership is all about having the right amount of heart and determination to help make a difference in someone’s life. It takes certain qualities to be considered a good leader. A leader should want to help inspire others to make a change and to be the best that they can be. A true leader does not need to feel powerful, instead they empower those around them. Throughout my life I have come across various leaders who have made an impact on my life. It takes a very special person to inspire and touch people’s lives. Leadership is so much deeper than having power and bossing people around.
...elly, P., & Crawford, H. (2013). Nursing leadership & management. In Nursing leadership & management(2nd ed., pp. 168-177). Canada: Nelson Education.
An organization’s mission, vision, and philosophy determine the goals the company seeks to achieve and describes the structures used to reach objectives. The mission statement speaks to the relationship the organization has with the community by linking its actions to the people it serves. The vision statement gives details of the organization’s purpose and values to employees and customers. The philosophy defines principles and overall beliefs that guide the organization in reaching its goals (Current Nursing, n.d.). For this paper, I will describe the mission and vision statements of my organization, discuss how my role supports the mission, discuss pros and cons of the nursing department’s structure, and give examples of how nursing could
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 positively influences teams and individual nurses” (Malloy & Penprase, 2010.) Let’s explore two different leadership styles and discuss how they can enhance or diminish the nursing process.
Leadership is defined by Northouse (2013) as a transactional experience between persons whereby one individual influences a group of individuals who have a mutual goal. Leaders may hold authority attributed to them by the group, substantiated by how they are regarded, whether or not they have positional authority. In contrast to management, where the goal is to provide order through control, leadership is concerned with producing change through transformation and practical adjustments (Northouse, 2013). Because of the nature of nursing, its obligation to promoting health and healing of people, nursing leadership concentrates change efforts based on human needs and concurrently ponders the needs of administrations largely because they understand the interrelatedness of the two influences.
In today’s society, leadership is a common yet useful trait used in every aspect of life and how we use this trait depends on our role. What defines leadership is when someone has the capability to lead an organization or a group of people. There are many examples that display a great sense of leadership such being an educator in health, a parent to their child, or even a nurse. In the medical field, leadership is highly used among nurses, doctors, nurse managers, director of nursing, and even the vice president of patient care services. Among the many positions in the nursing field, one who is a nurse manager shows great leadership. The reason why nurse manager plays an important role in patient care is because it is known to be the most difficult position. As a nurse manager, one must deal with many patient care issues, relationships with medical staff, staff concerns, supplies, as well as maintaining work-life balance. Also, a nurse manager represents leadership by being accountable for the many responsibilities he or she holds. Furthermore, this position is a collaborative yet vital role because they provide the connection between nursing staff and higher level superiors, as well as giving direction and organization to accomplish tasks and goals. In addition, nurse managers provide nurse-patient ratios and the amount of workload nursing staff has. It is their responsibility to make sure that nursing staff is productive and well balanced between their work and personal lives.