Leadership in Clinical Practice - Essay Example

 Leadership in Clinical Practice 1.1 Introduction Leadership is a process which helps a person to influence others in order to achieve particular objective and helps the organization to operate in a right way, which makes a company more coherent and cohesive. Leaders are not born but they are made. Similar to these, in hospitals firstly individuals enter as a trainee then they become followers, nurse and in last an experienced doctor. They become a leader after learning and going through a rational process. If one has a willpower and desire, he or she can become an effective leader. Good leaders can develop their staff through education, training, experience and self-study. Symptoms of good leader are that they always keep on working and try to improve their leadership skills. Managers should be well versed and experience enough to guide the staff in relation to the convertibility of their academic knowledge in practical performance. In emergency situation, mostly in clinics, there is a requirement of strong management and executive skills. This means not only the doctors, all other staff in a clinic should be efficient enough to deal with the situation. Managers should work for the development of staff members. Training and education programs should be implemented for staff. Evaluation process should be conducted in order to control and monitor action of members. Incentives, bonus and better compensation plans should be enforced to keep the staff members motivated towards the organization. Communication and leadership can also lead to transformation of an organization. Culture and structure of a clinic should be flexible, so that staff members can share their preferences and knowledge with the managers. Therefore, communication and leadership is the main pillars for the success of clinics (Butler Gillian & Hope Tony, 1996). 1.2 Leadership Leadership is a key factor for an organizations success. It mainly depends on how managers are able to handle the organizational and management structure. A leader should have infinite flexibility. This means one should be able to adopt a leadership style in accordance to a particular situation. Leadership plays a most important role in clinical areas such as leading role of doctor towards nurses and other staff, similar to that nurse play a lead role in guiding the supporting staff and trainees. These shows in all levels there are different leaders. (Blagg Deborah & Young Susan, 2001). Factors of leadership Mainly there are four factors in leadership, which are present in every organization i.e.: Leaders Followers Communication Situation Leader Leaders must have clear understanding of who they are, what they know and what they can do. Therefore, it is imperative that doctors should have all knowledge in relation to their capabilities, so that they can guide nurses and other staff appropriately. Before guiding other people they should know their inner capabilities, strength and weaknesses. Because it is the nurses who helps to identify whether a doctor is successful or not, therefore one will have to satisfy his followers not the boss, as they are the ones who are dependent on a leader. Followers In hospital many people are followers such as nurses, supporting staff, trainees etc. and each person has different styles and nature. Therefore, each one of them requires different leadership process and style. One should know the followers nature, needs, emotions and motivation. Communication Leading should be done through two way communication, most of which is nonverbal. But in clinical areas verbal communication is most important. It plays a vital role in performance of the staff members. For instance in case when one sets an example, this communication to people will lead them to perform only the things guided by the leader rather than performing in their own way. So communication among both the parties is essential. Thus, either communication can harm a relation or can give sound and effective results, it mainly depends on leader. Situation Situations differ from one another and each situation demands different approach of leading. Mostly, in clinics, there is a requirement of situational leadership. Often cases of patients are on emergency. This requires the staff to have effective leadership skills to deal a particular situation. One should be efficient enough to deal with all these situations. Solution used in one situation cannot be used again in the other. Each and every time new problem solving skills are required to solve a particular situation. In order to take an action appropriate judgment is to be made and leadership style should be used to solve a particular situation These four factors are affected by many forces such as skills of followers, relationship with seniors, structure of organization and informal leaders in the organization (Grant Adam M, 2011). 1.3 Communication Communication means transmission of message to other person. It can be done in many ways; such as human beings differ from one another. There are many theories of leadership and communication such as CBS model, situational theory, contingency theory etc., through which communication can be done effectively among all members of a clinic. Communication is the basic standard of clinical practices (Aide Memoire, 2007). Lack of communication can lead to many problems in an organization such as difficulty in sharing ideas and lack of trust among team members. Mostly in clinics leaders should communicate effectively with all team members i.e. doctors should communicate with all levels either one is nurse, coordinator or a trainee. However, communication is important in every organization, but this aspect is most critical in relation to clinics. . Therefore one cannot overlook the factor of communication in clinical areas (Yates GR, 2005). Barriers of communication Something which prevents a message to transfer is known as barrier to communication. Some of the barriers are discussed below: Sometimes biasness among team members can change the meaning of a message. If members of a clinic have hatred among themselves then message would not be transmitted efficiently, which may harm not only the clinic but as well as create a danger for patients. Environmental noise can also affect communication in an organization. Mostly, it is preferred that clinics should be located in such areas that are environment friendly. Lack of efficiency such as speaking too fast, unclear, communicating to a wrong person can also create an issue. Sometime, receiver does not hear clearly. This may create a mishap. Clinic is a place which has no possibilities of such mishaps. Any problem in communication can lead to major problems. Stress factor can also be a barrier in communication, if any member is stressed or confused he will not be able to communicate efficiently (Pinker Stevenm, 1997). 1.4 Leadership in communication A leader should be able to communicate effectively. One of the most important skills which a manger of every organization should have is excellent communication skills. A leader will not be successful if he lacks communication skills. Leaders use maximum time in a day to communicate with other staff members. Researches indicate that managers spent around 70 -90% of the time in communication (Roger Stevens, 2002). Leadership in communication basically means something transferred by the leader in order to influence a person, an organization, a group or a community. A full range of resources and communication system should be used by doctors and nurses to motivate, direct, and inspire the actions of staff members. Leadership in communication is more essential in complex situation such as in clinical areas there is a need of effective speaking and writing in order to guide the staff and requires strategic development. Therefore, it is imperative that managers should improve their communication skills in order to deal the complex and emergency situations effectively (Deborah J Barrett, 2004). Core areas Leadership in communication have three main areas i.e. managerial, core and corporate. Managers play a key role in communication. In clinical practice there is a demand of complex communication. Managers should be able to lead the followers efficiently. Leadership in communication also depends on the ability and core skills of a manager. If managers in hospitals are skillful then only they can guide nurses and supporting staff correctly, but if they lack knowledge and experience themselves this may create mishap in the clinic (De Vries Reinout E, 2010). 1.5 Development of staff There is not a single way of leading. An organization success depends on both internal as well as external factors. In a clinic perspective, business will be successful only if it’s both, the external factors such as clients, image etc., and internal factors such as doctors, nurses, supporting staff etc., are considered and dealt efficiently. Organization should focus more on organizational structures and management styles. There should be more emphasis on the development procedures and techniques in clinics (Salter Charles, 2010). Good leaders can develop their staff through education, training, experience and self-study. Symptoms of good leader are that they always keep on working and try to improve their leadership skills. They do not keep on resting on their laurels. In hospitals development of staff can be done in many ways such as doctor’s work on the training and development of nurses and followers, while nurses also act as a leader to enhance the knowledge of followers. Professionals play dual roles in hospitals. Development of employees will be possible only if leaders are able to identify the flaws in the system, as well as lack of skills in employees. Then only one can implement appropriate tools and systems. Each department in a clinic should be evaluated. Those areas were performance is less than set targets must be given closer attention. In case there is a deficiency in relation to human skills, then training and development plans should be conducted to strengthen their abilities. Development of staff also depends on the structure and culture of organizations. If culture of clinics is autocratic, staff will have no authority to share their views with the head doctors. A sense of dignity and respect will appear in them. Structure of a clinic should be less formal; through his approach it will motivate the staff and will lead to improvement in performance. Through this freedom doctors can also identify the areas that need development, by communicating with the staff members. This means by sharing mutual ideas one can lead to future development and progress. In order to develop employees one of the most common practices used by clinics is training. But, this doesn’t mean that there is only one option doctors can use for the development of employees. There are many other ways such as continuous monitoring can lead to development of employees. Doctors should use effective monitoring systems in the clinics, so that in case if nurses, trainees or other staff makes any mistake that can be detected and a person should be made to learn the right practice. This will help to increase the knowledge of staff members. Continuous supervision should be given to workers, because in clinics staff has to deal with uncertain situation. They can handle these situations effectively only if correct supervision is given to them (Hoffman Brian J, 2011). SDR Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, it has undergone high number of scrutiny than any other surgery’s including the orthopedic surgery, which is quite common in US. It is a most appropriate option for the patients of spasticcerebalpaisy. Before going for orthopedic surgery one should try to obtain information in relation to SDR. It involves cutting the fibers of sensory nerves which arise from muscles and then enter in spinal cords. Therefore, this work requires professional doctors and nurses. Followers and other supporting staff should also be knowledgeable. Training programs are conducted to increase the knowledge of nurses and other supporting staff. Mainly the surgical team is responsible to identify the difference among key personnel and those who lack knowledge. They act as a leader in the organization. It is the only surgical procedure which provides permanent reduction of spasticity in CP. It works for the development of its staff members at a higher level, because it mainly deals with surgical cases. In such type of organization every staff member plays an important role to take care of patients. Performance of all the employees is evaluated on daily basis, on how the nurses and doctors operate the patients. Those who lack skills are given formal training in respective institutions and doctors or nurses who perform well are motivated on their performance and are given many facilities (Kassean HK & Jaggo, ZB, 2005). . 1.6 Transforming an organization An organization can be transformed in many ways. Culture and structure is the main factor of transformation. If culture of clinics is flexible and supportive; staff will be motivated and will work efficiently. This will create a positive work environment. Transformation through management of structure and culture is one of the most common practices used by much organization. But research indicated that in case of changing an organizations culture for transforming can be costly and time consuming. This is partially true because it mainly depends on doctors how they implement and monitor the culture of a clinic (Chandler Daniel, 1994). Mainly leaders guide to transform an organization. There should be changes in the organization in accordance with the environment and requirement of staff members. Unless and until clinic managers do not communicate with their staff members, one will not be able to realize the needs of transformation. Therefore communication is essential for transformation of an organization. An informal meeting or seminar should be conducted in clinical areas in which each individual should be allowed to share their view in relation to the present condition of organization. This communication will help to identify the key faults or any deficiency and will assist in transforming the organization. Transformation is taken different on the basis of perception of a leader. Some leader hardly takes any attempt to transform the company. In relation to clinical areas transformation is very important, in order to be accurate and timely in performance. Transformation is not just liked with changing the organization, but it also involves people. Transformation in relation to organization will not be effective unless and until people of the organization are efficient. For instance, if a clinic focuses more on its organization vision, culture, image etc., but if its supporting staff or nurses lacks medical skills or knowledge, then in this case transformation will not be effective until and unless some training or evaluation procedure is developed for the staff. Therefore transformation has a direct link with the workers of an organization (Godfrey Marjorie M, 2008). Reasons to transforms clinics Many clinics and hospitals have become very complex in relation to the organizational structure. This leads to difficulty in communication among health care provider. Mainly due to clinics focusing on single patient and considering specialties, doctors and nurses are having difficulty in communication. Research indicated that 23% of doctors are unable to recognize that which primary nurse is assigned to a particular patient and 42% of nurses considers that mainly doctors are responsible for taking care of patients. This there lack of communication in the system and there is a requirement of transformation in such clinics considering both the leaders as well as followers (Beach C, 2006). Methodist Hospital Methodist hospital in Houton, Taxes, have recently revised the vision and mission of the organization with a focus to create an environment of spiritual and caring. These revised objectives have been effectively communicated with all staff members, in order to make them aware of what organization expect from them. To ensure the effectiveness of this revision measurable and evaluation techniques have been used. This includes not only the technical systems but as well as communicating with the employees and identifying their preferences on the revised strategy. It became a transformational exercise to achieve this goal in all department of hospital which can be done only through effective communication. Two methods were used to transform the hospital i.e. value based cultural transformation tool and Richard Barrett associates. By adopting such strategy hospital have experienced an unprecedented change in culture of the organization which have proved to be very beneficial such as it led to employee satisfaction, health and safety, patient care and coordination among all staff. 1.7 Conclusion One of the key principles for an organizations success is communication and leadership. Leader can be any person either boss, head of the department etc. but the essential thing is that one should have ability and skills of leading the followers. In clinics there are diverse leadership roles i.e. a doctor act as leader to nurses and supporting staff, nurse’s acts as the leader to the followers who support them etc. therefore, leadership style varies depending on one individual. Development of staff is essential to promote efficiency in clinics. It can be in any form such as training, motivation, evaluation, assessment etc. effective communication can also lead to development of staff members. Transformation is essential in the clinics to overcome the present environment such as to deal with changing organizational structure or to make staff clear in relation to organizations objectives, so that they can be familiar of what is expected from them such as in the example of Methodist hospital (Lundquist Edward, 2007). References Aide, Memoire. (2007). Communication during patient hand overs. Patient safety solutions. (1), 1-4. Beach C. (2006). Lost in transition. 8th Feb. 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