Qualities a nurse must posses to be a good leader can vary throughout the nursing community. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the word leader is defined as “a person who has commanding authority or influence”(Webster). A person or in this case a nurse who has authority or influence has a great responsibility. A leader regardless of the meaning to each nurse has the same or similar fundamentals. Furthermore the qualities reflect the foundation of nursing. The foundation or fundamentals reflect the work of Florence Nightingale that include “Nurses should help identify and meet patients personal needs, including providing emotional support”( DeWit, S., & Neill, P). Making sure patients have emotional and personal needs meet can be a gateway to the attitude and qualities a nurse has to have. These qualities are important and make the…
Leadership Style Leadership refers to a person who guides or directs a group of individuals (dictionary.com, 2012). Lewin (1939) suggests that leadership style refers to the characteristic behaviors of a leader when directing, motivating, guiding and managing a group of people. Listed below are a few of the most prominent leadership styles: Laissez –Faire (Delegative); Participative (Democratic); Authoritarian (Autocratic); Transformational and Transactional. The purpose of this paper is to report quiz results, discuss how they impact current beliefs and analyze personal leadership qualities I would like to develop. At the end of the paper will finish with a quote on nursing leadership.…
Personal Leadership Aspects My belief in leadership is that it is a big part of the job, and is a value that all graduate nurses should portray. I find that it builds on self-confidence, promotes courage to step outside of the safety zone, which opens avenues for knowledge enhancement, motivation to push toward success and motivate others around you. A leader must be able to lead as well as follow, except criticism and build from it, and set positive examples for the team. For I have learned through the years that a follower is only as good as the leaders…
I believe the focus of nursing is to obtaining the best outcome possible for the patient. It is my job to provide the patient with continuous, safe, and evidenced based care. The goal is to create an environment conducive to healing body and mind, to promote education, and assist the patient with decisions for achieving and maintaining optimum health, in and outside the hospital environment.…
Without occupying a formal leadership position there are many strategies the nurse can utilize to exert leadership. These strategies can help the interdisciplinary team without that nurse being in a leadership position. The potential to be a leader exists in everyone. Nursing is no exception. Leaders simply look for a better way to do things.…
Introduction Leadership in healthcare offers practical strategies for enhancing the overall effectiveness of the organization. Readings from this week’s discussion forum showed how nurses empower themselves personally and collectively. Dr. Mary Wakefield speaks about 11 lessons learned in her DVD power and influence. I believe nurses have the ability to take on challenges in our nation’s healthcare in order to improve our patients overall health and satisfaction.…
One way to expand influence as a leader is to do the right thing and doing things right. As a nurse leader it is important to implement critical thinking skills, active listening skills, and good coping skills. These skills are essential in the high stress high paced environments in the acute settings. Some ways to make a difference in our profession are to become politically aware and active, read professional journals, and attend continuing education offerings relevant to our practice (Nursestogether.com, 2015).…
References: Allen, D. (1998). How nurses become leaders: Perceptions and beliefs about leadership development. Journal of Nursing Administration, 28(9), 15-20.…
Health care system requires nurses who can team up and collaborate effectively with leaders from other health care professionals, serving as strong advocates for clients and involving themselves in making decisions concerning how to improve the delivery of care. The committee also stated that in other to occupy the leadership roles, nurses must perceive policies at local or national level as something that they can help amend and revise to increase quality and value of care and to ensure delivery of care is patient-centered. They encourage nurses to enroll in leadership programs in quest to develop leadership skills so as to work independently with patients and their families especially in homes and community…
Important Concepts: Leadership, Management, Critical Thinking, & Evidence Based Practice Leadership is an activity that is expected of professional nurses in clinical practice as well as in professional performance, where the nurse must set a positive example and act as a role model that leads to positive patient outcomes (Kearney-Nunnery, 2012, p. 10). The necessity for effective leadership within professional nursing to influence positive patient outcomes is known, yet there has been little research to show what types of interventions will create effective leadership or the process to evaluate leadership interventions’ impact on nurse’s clinical practice (Gifford et al., 2013). Leadership is an important concept for the effective performance of professional…
Leadership All nurses are leaders, and are roll-models for those around us. An RN or an LVN can lead a new CNA, for example, by teaching them a skill. But it is the way a nurse leads, and also how they follow, that can teach anyone around them. Patients, other occupations, family can all be influenced just by how you are leading. Everyone has heard that “nurses eat their young”, and…
New graduates always excited to know the profession first. As the career goes on leadership is essential to evolving the profession. The leadership associated competencies should be added throughout nursing education. Leadership development and tutoring program should be made available for nurses. Make sure nurses are ready to accept nursing leadership role. Bring up a culture that encourages and ideals leadership needs. All nurses from students to researchers must take accountability for their individual and professional development by developing competencies. They must practice these competencies in all area and all settings. This would be in hospitals, Communities, schools, boards, and or in any other settings. Also this can be inside nursing or outside nursing with other health professions. This will help to tutor others and improve scope of nursing practice. The leadership in nursing will help to develop corporations and improve associates within health care environment. To become a leader nurse has to achieve higher education along with other competencies. Recommendations from the IOM report, most the challenges and issues in nursing education taken care by organizations, federal and state government so that, more nurses are involved in leadership program. Applying and exploiting in the recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Future of Nursing Committee will facilitate nursing’s…
West Texas A & M University The Theory of Leadership Leadership is defined by Yoder-Wise (2011) as the process by which one uses personal traits to effectively and ethically lead patients, families and staff to accomplish clinical and organizational outcomes. Theory is defined by nursing-theory.org (2013) as a belief, policy or procedure that is followed to accomplish a mission (nursing-theory.org, 2013). Theory has everything to do with nursing, it answers questions that need answers, it supports evidence based practice and it guides, directs and sharpens clinical and organizational problem solving…
What is considered a leader? Leaders lead an organization by influencing followers. “A leader may or may not have recognized authority within the organization. In many cases, the “power” held by a leader comes from the ability to influence others, through effective communication and interpersonal skills” American Sentinel University (2014).They possess characteristics such as empowering others, providing feedback to others, and are goal oriented. In nursing, there can be leaders at every level, for example, a mentor is considered a leader.…
To be a leader, one must be a priority setter, communicator, encourager, decision maker, and role model. When a leader sets priorities, something is more important to than another. If a patient comes in the emergency room with a black eye and wheezing, a nurse knows that maintaining the patient’s airway is most important. The patient’s airway is more important than the fact that the patient has a black eye. This is an example of how a nurse is a priority setter. If a nurse helps the patient that is priority, this increases the chances of saving a life. Another key aspect to leadership is being a communicator. Being able to communicate with staff and patients is extremely important. To a nurse, communication might not seem like the most important care for a patient. The most important care of a nurse to a patient might be doing a particular skill. To a patient, communication might be the most compassionate and self-healing act of care. Some patients just need someone to talk too. A leader must be an encourager. In order for a patient to get healthier, the nurse must encourage the patient throughout the process. Not only should the nurse encourage patients, but other nurses should be encouraged also. Little things mean the most, so encouraging someone throughout the day could get that individual throughout the day easier. Another important aspect in leadership is decision-making. To be a good leader, one has…