Contribution of Effective Leadership and Management to the Profession of Nursing Leadership - Assignment Example

Contribution of Effective Leadership and Management to the profession of Nursing Leadership and Management Albeit leadership and management go hand in hand there is a subtle difference between them and both cannot be successful in accomplishment of their objectives without the connivance of the followers. A person might be capable of managing a tough situation or will manage to execute a tough task assigned to him/her with little strain or stress. But at the same time he/she might perspire profoundly if told do lead a team of followers on a mission or project. Here is where the subtle difference between management and leadership. Leadership requires acumen to steer around the followers to honor a decision or dedicate themselves towards a commitment. At the same time just leadership or management ability alone will not do the trick when it comes to getting things done in actuality. It is with the followers focused commitment, sincerity and dedication fully oriented with a sense of purpose behind the task delegated that can get the job done. However among the three, leadership has inherent characteristics of ability to manage any situation or assigned task, delegate work, manage time and other precious resources and still steer around the followers along his/her strides forward Leadership Styles There are two types of leadership styles namely transactional leadership and transformational leadership. Transactional leadership aims at a short term solution to a deadlocked or troubled scenario whereas Transformational leadership aims at a comprehensive long term solution to a vexed issue or problem. 1,2 The demurrages are more in transactional leadership and less in transformational leadership when compared to each other. Transactional leadership has the current objective under focus while solving a problem or issue whereas transformational leadership has the subject’s general welfare in mind. Both are important behaviors and depend on the situation when they come into play and are considered significant. Transactional behaviour is essential for instantaneous response to grievances and predicaments faced by the victims while transformational behaviour is essential for the nurses to be settled in a groove of optimum delivery of health care to patients without compromising the standards and set procedures of the institution they are functioning in. While considering nursing management one has to clearly contemplate the fact that leadership and management are two different ends of a continuum wherein the former aims at addressing the human relationships more than the latter which in turn focuses on tasks like organizing and planning etc.3 Nursing Profession and Leadership It has been widely found that the subject of emotional intelligence is very relevant and apt for nurses in managing their day to day affairs as it blends with their traditional characteristics and behavior. It not only helps them in playing a leadership or managerial role but also adequately equips them in patient care and their welfare measures.4 Historically it was believed that nurses due to their meek and humble characteristics in behavior were not good leaders or managers which require more of a male chauvinistic attitude. But as time passed by it was also found that it was the senior nurses who actually headed the department and hence they did have in them the leadership quality and the ability to manage. Though theories and practical evidence support the leadership role of nurses it is still a problem very much in vogue to have a woman as a leader especially in the nursing profession which is very feminine in nature. Then the question arises that why women are considered successful if they acquire male characteristics while in leadership roles and why men are encouraged too often to imbibe certain feminine characteristics for becoming a fully blended personality. Notwithstanding the above it is now left to the prerogative of the budding nurses to adopt the suitable leadership style to fulfill their professional role and responsibilities in health care delivery. Organizational Structures Let’s take a look at health care organizations and their formative structures in general as related to the nursing profession. Let us consider an organization chart which depicts the organization structure which in turn influences the way in which it will respond to changes taking place in the health care environments. Three types of organizational structures are prevalent today namely bureaucratic, matrix and flat. 1. Hierarchy of authority 2. Division of labour 3. Written procedures for work 4. Limited authority for workers 5. Impersonality of personal contact Table 1. It has been surmised after studies that organizational structures varies from one another mainly due to the influence exerted by the bureaucratic characteristics. One such set of bureaucratic characteristics is depicted by the above table (Table 1). Organizational structures define formal relationships in organizations. Those who are at the top of the structure are decision makers and managers of departments while those who are at the bottom are mostly followers. The higher-ups wield more influence than the lower ones Leadership and Management in Patient care Patient care is a very important entity particularly when it comes to building a trusting relationship by the healthcare delivery teams with patients and their families. It is presumed that such relationships are developed by open and honest communication with the patients. However, this is the only thing that is becoming harder to achieve day by day. This is on account of a number of parameters which include shorter hospital stays, constrained resources and hospital environment that is technologically-driven. This is complicated by the fact that both patients and their families want to be well-informed throught the treatment schedule. Questions arise and answers are sought; both things taking a lot of time and energy of the healthcare delivery teams. It is believed that the best way to overcome such hurdles towards better communication is to understand their expectations and problems. In 2001, the American Hospital Association (AHA) undertook a two-year initiative to make the organization’s A Patient’s Bill of Rights a more contemporary statement of the expectations of patients and hospitals. The AHA Board of Trustees appointed a task force to lead this effort. The result: The Patient Care Partnership: Understanding Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities, a straightforward, plain language statement that clearly outlines what patients should expect during their hospital visit. Consequently, efforts have been made to bring patients and their families into the care teams. In this direction an attempt was made by SSM St. Mary’s Health Center in St. Louis, to organize patient/family care team conferences meant to enhance the patient – family- treatment team communication. This set a unified goal between them all, as a result of which the ultimate outcome that was expected was good. 5 Patient, family, nursing personnel, pastoral care, case manager, physicians, social worker and other disciplines as appropriate were included in the conference. The family picked one or two spokespersons to represent their interests. This was attempted on the presumption that anyone involved in the patient’s care can be a part of such conferences if they felt that more in-depth communication was needed to raise concerns or issues with the family and/or the care team. It is accepted that effective communication and single-minded approach can reduce the family’s and patient’s anxiety under circumstances that highly charged and fraught with decisions which involve life-and-death. SSM Health Care demonstrated that having such a mechanism in place improved overall clinical outcomes of the patients. It was understood that under such a mechanism it was very effective collboratives that were on work that set the momentum for better benchmarks and benefits. Collaboratives, it was seen, improved the value and quality of patient care, while networking all the teams for a better implementation of healthcare delivery measures.6 Subsequently, tools were designed with patient input, creating partnerships with physicians to improve patient care. Contribution of effective leadership in advancement of nursing profession Nursing is both an art and a science, which is deeply ingrained in a society. Effective leadership sets milestones for advancement of nursing profession. Effective leadership can come from various sources, which are both embedded within the psyche of a nursing professional and outside him or her. On a personal level, it is important for a nursing professional to know his or importance and place in the society, huge responsibility that rests on him or her and the importance of knowing and analyzing overall social well-being. Such thoughts on nursing let it grow as a complete and advanced discipline in itself.7 Effective leadership sets parameters in understanding models, theories, concepts and methodologies which are consistent with a balanced philosophy of wellness and health. This includes exploring legal, political, cultural and socioeconomic problems seen over a lifespan and pertaining to wellness. Such leadership, through self-directed field experiences, further helps a registered nurse to deeper levels of philosophy of well-being. The role I see of myself in nursing leadership as a RN As a registered nurse I see multiple roles for myself in this domain. I see myself working at the grassroots and at the same time empowering my teams with credible leadership qualities replete with discipline that is showered with a human touch. I want the teams to see through their responsibilities and accountabilities at a deeper level for better understanding of the problems of those who are being nursed.8 References: 1. Leadership style and choice of strategy in conflict management ..., www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jnm/2005/00000013/00000002/art00007, Accessed October 30 2006 2. Effective nursing managers use many leadership styles Hospitals ..., www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3156/is_200308/ai_n7858108 - 26k - Accessed October 30 2006 3. Thora Kron, Anne Gray, The Management of Patient Care: Putting Leadership Skills to Work (Paperback) W B Saunders Co; 6th edition 4. Communicating With Patients, http://www.aha.org/aha/issues/Communicating-With-Patients/index.html, Accessed October 30 2006 5. Leadership Strategies for A B L U E P R I N T F O R A C T I O N, Advancing Health in America 6. ealthcare, http://www.uky.edu/UE/CC/healthcare.htm, Accessed October 30 2006 7. Nursing/ NUR, http://www.wright.edu/academics/catalog/nur_phy.html, Accessed October 31 2006 8. Nursing Matters, www.sickkids.ca/centrefornursing/nursingmatters/2006/06summer.pdf , Accessed October 31 2006 Read More