Behind every great nurse is a great leader. Leaders help establish a drive and a commitment to achieve a goal, and they provide skills to make it achievable. Through some research, a nurse leader that I have come to admire and respect is Patricia R. Johnson, MN, RN. Johnson is Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, LA. By possessing and using leadership skills, impacting others around her, and being a great team player are reasons why Johnson is successful as a nurse leader.
This portfolio shows the educational journey through the BSN program at Western Governors University(WGU). The curriculum at WGU was very challenging, nonetheless it prepared me to become a safe and effective nurse. The BSN curriculum provided avenues to keep me up to date with safe practices and learn how to master therapeutic communication. WGU also helped me sharpen my critical thinking skills in order to make decisions quickly and provide safe and effective care to patients. As the result of my training, I am ready to embark in the field of nursing and do my best to make a difference in my patients lives.
“One brave deed makes no hero” (John Greenleaf Whittier). A hero is a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Guy Montag (the main character) is portrayed to be a hero. However as John Greenleaf Whittier once said one brave deed makes no hero. While Guy Montag shows some qualities of hero he shows many more of a non hero; for example he has no leadership skills, and he is a criminal.
Transformational Leadership is the moral ability of a person to make sound judgment and wise decision to influence and inspire others to perform the best outcome even in the critical situation. It is the ability to guide others not just in words, but also by example. Nurses are able to cultivate trust and harmony and establish good relationship with their patients and co-workers through effective and constant communication and intervention. They respond to the basic needs and expectation (Rousel, 2011), they set aside their personal interest for the benefit of their patients and the organization.
The leadership issue in this setting is that most of the focus is on completing the job. The school nurse is focused on completing tasks that must be addressed as they occur. Every leader has their own style and method to leadership. The style that a leader chooses may be based on their experiences or influences from previous leaders. Regardless of the type of leadership every individual can have the ability to lead. The concern is if the leadership method is effective for that particular setting.
The National Honor Society (NHS) is a notoriously prestigious organization, and it is possibly one of the greatest honors a student can earn in their high school career. Becoming a member of the NHS can open many doors for students, including leadership experience and opportunities for college scholarships. Admission for this program is based on certain ideals. The criteria for admission-scholarship, service, character, and leadership-are four areas in which, at least I believe, I excel.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has a strong stance on nurses and leadership. They believe that nurses are a vital component to health care system and nurses in leadership roles can have a positive impact on such. Nurses are in all sorts of roles within the health care systems ranging from a staff nurse, nurse managers, to advance practice, all the way to congress (Finkelman & Kenner, 2013). In addition, they even serve in the boardroom within some health care organizations. Leadership doesn’t necessarily mean a nurse in a manager position, but a nurse who has an influence on staff. (Finkelman, et al, 2013). The importance to having all health care members working together in leadership roles is imperative to positive changes within the health care setting. Nurses can give an insight on matters that only a nurse can, and this is an important viewpoint that needs to be included when
(2008). I would like to challenges Chief Nurse Executives (CNEs) to lead the journey and highlights how patients, their families, and health care organizations would benefit immeasurably if CNEs stepped forward and accepted this leadership role, then and only then can the best practice changes begin to improve what we as nurses already know. The processes of leading are intended to enable more people to develop into leaders and more people to share the roles of leading, to enhance the quality and safety of patient care (Stone P. Hughes R, Dailey M.
Ethical drift is when an individual, groups or organization start acting against of ethical behavior. (Kleinman, 2006). Ethical drift may occur gradually and without premeditated consciousness. It may occur unconsciously without people realizing that they have changed their formal ethical standards, (Kleinman, 2006). I have observed ethical drift occurring in the insurance sector where a chronic patient paid some amount of money to an insurance broker's account to get life insurance for the same premium as healthy persons. The strategy that could have addressed the ethical drift mentioned in this analysis is recognizing the need for change and maintaining a vigilant awareness of professional boundaries (Kleinman,
Leadership has many definitions. Chin, Desormeaux, and Sawyer (2016) define leadership as a relationship between followers and a leader with the intent to promote change through a mutual vision. Therefore, leaders are active influences in the outcome of organizations, through their decision-making, strategies, and influence on followers (Dinh et al., 2014). Additionally, in the nursing context, it has been documented that a leader 's style plays a factor in patient outcomes (Fischer, 2016). Indeed, in an ever-changing, complex health care environment, nursing leadership has become a crucial factor in managing challenges and maintaining patient safety (Fischer, 2016). To accommodate for these challenges, the Canadian Nurses Association [CNA]
Qualities that make an effective nursing leader are the same qualities that many other nursing staff and general public possess. Such as, the ability to support and empower their team members, be well organized, remain consistent with their expectations, and be able to communicate with their team.
Mentors can act as role models with the important part of their role focusing on the career development of the mentee.
It is important to distinguish an effective manager and a good leader, also to recognise the concept of being a good leader as well as an effective manager, managers aspiring to become a leader can benefit from acquiring leadership skills, a good leader possess several qualities that could easily be termed as good managerial skills. Hence a leader must be well developed physically, mentally and intellectually to be able to assume such positions.
Marquis, B. L., & Hudson, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Nice discussion post this week! You start off with a great definition of what leadership is. To me, it is hard to define what leadership is, especially in one sentence, but I agree with you that leadership is the action of leading others or an organization. I feel like it is when someone steps up and goes into the unknown as well. It is also important to mention that it is never just one single person. To be a successful leader I also agree that one needs to have certain characteristic and skills. A leader needs to be able to simple lead, as you have stated. They need to direct and guide people to fulfill shared goals. Communication is also another huge skill. A leader needs to be able to clearly communicate, build relationships, motivate others, inspire others, and be a role model to create a positive work environment and culture that will accept change and innovation in the company. Leaders also need to show everyone how to behave, and they need to be honest, show appreciation, and work towards a bright future. If a leader is not effective the whole company can fall apart. Leadership is all about the relationship between those that aim and strive to lead and those who select and follow them and work together on shared goals. I agree that poor leadership can also lead to poor customer satisfaction and also decrease profits. Being an exemplary leader does make a difference, so all of the characteristics, skills, and more you have mentioned are very important. People do not