Clinical Leadership - Essay Example

"Clinical Leadership" is a great example of a paper on the health system.
I have always tried to imagine how being in charge of a whole hospital floor would feel like but when the reality presented itself, it was much simpler than I had thought of. I decided to have a democratic leadership style as I did want each of the four nurses I was in charge of to feel free to make contributions to any decisions I was to make regarding the patients. The democratic style of leadership, in the end, proved to be a very good decision as the nurses were not only happy but they felt empowered as well and they took this positive attitude to the patients who were in turn happy for the specialized care offered.

Delegation of the work was not difficult as I had four nurses at my service and two sides of the hall to be observed. Of the four nurses, two were to do a med pass on each side of the hall while the other two were to be doing regular rounds and ensuring that the patients were comfortable and well taken care of. With this equal delegation and the reports being made to me on a regular basis, I felt that everything went very smoothly.

In as much as the delegation and leadership went smoothly, I still experienced a challenge in the delegation part. I was trying to come out as a fair and just leader but still, maintain the air of authority to command respect but not seem too bossy. Balancing this proved to be quite a challenge in the end. I had a job to be done but did not want to seem like I was one of those strict bosses because I would still demand the input of these nurses in the end and making them unhappy would not read well with the patients or with me as a fair and just leader.

I learned several things from this experience as a leader. The first was that as a leader, one was to prepare for anything and hence was to always have a solution ready and a plan in case any irregularities were to take place or any disasters were to occur. I also learned that a leader was looked upon for strength and advice and hence I was demanded to be calm at all times no matter how wrong things were going and was not to show fear or indecision openly to those beneath me. I also learned that the patients were the most important people under my care and hence should always ensure that their welfare and wellbeing came first. This, therefore, meant that in as much as I trusted the nurses to care for the patients, I had to ensure that each of them was comfortable enough and any complaints they might raise were to be addressed immediately.

After the whole leadership experience, there are a few things that I would handle differently next time. There are those patient rooms that had patients needing specialized care and hence demanded a nurse to be present at all times but this was not possible due to how i had assigned the nurses. Next time, I would ensure that I have nurses assigned to these specific rooms.