Theories of Communication and Leadership in Clinical Practice - Essay Example

? Leadership in clinical practice By 1 Introduction Leadership plays a most important role in clinical areas such as leading role of doctor towards nurses and supporting staff, similar to that nurse play a lead role in guiding the supporting staff who assists them. These followers are low skilled, lack practical knowledge and are fresh graduates. This area requires more effective leadership and communication skills as compared to the other areas of the clinic because in the relation of a doctor and nurse, there is a mutual understanding and both professional people have knowledge in their specific area. Nurse-doctor communication results in safe and effective care of patient. Similar to that nurse-supporting staff relation also affects the patients because they are the one who are responsible for taking care of patient in relation to medicines, food, clothing, cleanliness etc. So these two factors play a key role in managing a clinic performance. This relation can be made efficient only on the basis of effective leadership and communication skills (Armstrong, 2005, Chiarella, 2002). 1.2 Theories of communication Communication can be understood in various ways, as human nature also differs depending on one’s personality and nature. There is diversity in it because it is a broader concept of discipline. There are many theories of leadership and communication such as CBS model, situational theory, contingency theory etc. In accordance to the situation of the discussion paper two communication theories will support the present condition of staff members who assist nurses. They are situational and contingency theories (Woodward J, 1965). Situational leadership theory This theory believes that there is not a one single best style of leadership. In fact, leading will be effective only if it is related to specific tasks. It is the style of maturity. It will not only help in the accomplishment of tasks and jobs, but will also influence the group performing the job (Hersey P, 1969). This theory is related to various clinical areas, mostly towards the relationship of nurse-supporting staff because the followers are less skilled. They need full guidance and supervision. This can be done by assigning them task in groups on the basis of specific situations. Each group will be given task on the basis of his or maturity level. The result of which will be increased knowledge and experience through mutual coordination in a group. It will help to motivate the task as well as relationship behavior of the followers. Contingency theory This theory believes that leadership effectiveness is mainly based on two factors i.e. situational control and leadership style. It emphasize on the fact that there is not a single way of leading, similar to that of situational theory. It believes that 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 (Lawrence P, 1967). Managers should make the organizational structure friendly in order to educate its supporting staff. Management styles should be less formal because they are fresh graduate’s one need to be at their level to promote efficiency. Clinics should have open systems in order to satisfy their internal needs of supporting staff and make them prepare to deal with challenging situations (Turner C, 2002). There is not a single way of organizing things. All depends on the nature of task provided to the working staff. Nursing managers should clearly explain the task or jobs to the staff. They should find a good fit among staff and jobs. This means that jobs should be assigned on the basis of capability of a person. Different techniques should be used in various departments of a clinic (Fred Lutans, 2011). 1.3 Communication in clinical areas One cannot gain trust and respect in a professional relationship if there is a lack of communication among the team members. In order to have excellent performance managers should communicate efficiently with all members of the clinic. Supporting staff should communicate with nurses in clear and prominent way, so that all the instructions are known to them. Communication plays a most important role in clinic, if there is any mishap in transferring the message it may lead to major problems or faults. Therefore one cannot overlook the factor of communication in clinical areas. A research conducted in UK on health practices noticed that various clinics have shown improvement in their performance due to mutual collaboration by sharing their ideas and experiences on the implication of practical work (Gardner, 2005). Communication in clinical areas would be beneficial only if the management structure of the organization is supportive. Such as in nasogastric tube feeding technique it have been noticed that most of the staff that support the nurses are unskilled or lack knowledge. This hurdle can be solved through effective communication among staff members by transferring experiences and interaction among nurses and their followers (Mungall & Kenkre, 2004). 1.4 Implication to nursing manager Nursing managers should be very experienced and knowledgeable to guide the staff of nasogastric tube feeding, which helps in assisting the program. A graduate student, is a future nurse and can also become managers, therefore they need excellent supervision from their heads. Managers should be well versed and experiences enough to guide the staff in relation to the convertibility of their academic knowledge in practical performance. Nursing managers can reduce the knowledge gap of followers and nurses through effective communication and leadership skills. They should make the organization structure supportive so that followers can work without any fear and restrictions (Alford, 2005, Forrester K, 2001). Developing a Culture of Caring, Learning, and Service Nursing managers should develop a culture of learning and caring. Followers should be given a path for learning and should be guided in each step. They should be motivated towards their service. Managers are liable to create a positive work environment in which work of supporting members should be evaluated and valued and should lead to professional growth. These three basic terms i.e. service, learning and caring helps to create community relationships, promotes team work among staff members and provides professional practice to the supporting staff. However, developing and changing culture requires some time and this is the responsibility of nursing administration. But once this kind of culture is developed within the organization it helps supporting staff in understanding the environment and practices of clinic, make them more committed and promotes diversification among team members (Williams L, 2003). Some of the implications which nursing managers should consider in relation to the supporting staff who assist them are described below: Try to maintain a professional level of skills in clinic such as giving supervision in relation to clinic activities, providing professional education, through writing and giving examples of previous works. Guide them on wrong practice through personal surprise visits. Professional introduction should be given to the followers while dealing with the patients. Maximum involvement with the followers either in committees or personal meeting. Training programs should be provided to the staff in order to increase their exposure towards performance and knowledge (Freeth D, 2004). 1.5 Conclusion Leadership is a key factor in an organizations success. It mainly depends on how the managers are able to handle the organizational and management structure. There are many aspects of leadership, one being communication. In accordance with this paper leadership in clinical practice is very critical in all aspects either it is in the relationship of doctor –nurse or nurse-supporting staff. Communication is the basic standard of clinical practices. Nursing managers are responsible for the performance of their supporting staff. Therefore it is imperative to guide them in accordance with the theories and practice of leadership skills (McMurry A, 2003). 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