The Perception of Nursing - Essay Example

? Discussion Paper Introduction The perception of nursing is principally defined as the execution of clinical judgment for the purpose of enabling the individuals to maintain, improve and recover as well as to cope up with the various difficulties relating to their health. The chief motive of nursing is to encourage healing, health development as well as growth and also to defend the patients from any sort of diseases, injuries or disabilities. The aspect of nursing is often considered to be a physical as well as an intellectual procedure which comprises the recognition of nursing requirements, education, information and most notably personal care. The notion of nursing is chiefly based upon moral values which respect the uniqueness and the autonomy of the individuals along with the privileged interrelation between a patient and a nurse. The idea of nursing is viewed as a commitment towards partnership in which the nurses work collaboratively with the patients along with other different members belonging to the multi-disciplinary team (Meleis, 2007). In this discussion, the significance, applicability as well as the effectiveness of nursing leadership on patient along with the staff outcomes in the context of contemporary clinical practice will be taken into concern. Discussion The term ‘leadership’ is usually described as the procedure of stimulating or motivating a collection of people in order to act accordingly for the purpose of accomplishing a common target. An effective leader is viewed to be an inspiration as well as the director of different activities which leads, influences, guides and commands people by a considerable level. The important features of a successful leader entail possessing the competence of building effectual communication proficiencies, quick problem-solving, making valuable decisions consistently and appropriately. It has been apparent from the fact that the aspect of leadership is deemed to be a vital management function which helps to maximize the individual competencies as well as probabilities in relation to the attainment of the expected organizational objectives (Northouse, 2009). The notion of nursing leadership refers to those activities which are performed by a nurse practitioner in order to provide a standard level of patient care. The leadership skills of a nurse practitioner includes making valuable decisions, resolving any sort of conflicts within the team members or multidisciplinary colleagues, acting with increasing integrity and maintaining a strong collaboration with every working member. In relation to the principles of a successful leader, the facet of ‘nursing leadership’ entails the practice of interpersonal as well as communication skills in order to manipulate different members with the intention of attaining a specific objective (Frankel, 2008). The meaning of the general term ‘applicability’ is relevant or appropriate to anything that may be applied in order to acquire an optimistic response. Moreover, it can be described as a deliberate act of applying any kind of a practical application for a specific reason or use (Riviere, 2011). ). For instance, in relation to this discussion, the applicability of nursing leadership with regard to the effectiveness of the patient as well as staff outcomes in modern clinical practices has been portrayed. Conversely, the notion of ‘effectiveness’ is principally described as the capacity of delivering or ensuring an effect in order to attain a predetermined purpose. Additionally, it is also defined as the extent towards which the different objectives are accomplished and the degree towards which the targeted problems are being solved in an efficient manner (Waldt, 2004). The importance of nursing leadership in relation to patients relies on the fact that the nursing leaders play an imperative part in serving different patients with utmost personal care along with shaping the profession of nursing in order to become more responsive in today’s changing healthcare systems. The nursing leaders usually undertakes a systematic procedure in which they assess the valuable needs of the patients or the communities and considerably develops various advanced nursing services in order to address those requirements in an effective manner. The roles of the nursing leaders calls for the requirement of being dynamic and constantly negotiated on the basis of the utmost requirements of the patients, organizations and the overall healthcare systems (Carter, Misener, Kilpatrick, Kaasalainen, Donald, Lukosius, Harbman, Bourgeault & DiCenso, 2010). The importance, applicability as well as the effectiveness of nursing leadership on patient is known to depend on the different purposes of nursing. The various purposes of nursing in relation to the care of the patients are to promote as well as to maintain the health of the patients and deliver utmost care to those people who are found to be witnessing health issues. Moreover, the other reasons of nursing are to support continuous recovery, facilitate independence, complying along with addressing the diverse needs of the patients and most importantly to enhance and keep up their improved living standard. In this regard it can be stated that the applicability of nursing leadership on assessing the effectiveness of the results related to patient as well as the staff depend on the common responses which include knowledge, experience and the education of a nursing leader. Besides, the other general responses consist of effective communication abilities, dynamic teamwork, providing relevant along with useful information and the personal qualities of the nursing leader for instance, respect, kindness, integrity and non-judgmental outlook (Carter, Misener, Kilpatrick, Kaasalainen, Donald, Lukosius, Harbman, Bourgeault & DiCenso, 2010). In a contemporary clinical practice context, the effectiveness of nursing leadership is founded on the functions of a nursing leader. The major functions of a nursing leader comprise managing along with delivering direct practical nursing services and actively teaching clinical practices to the patients and other personnel belonging to healthcare. Additionally, the other functions include developing the nursing practices on the basis of critical thinking as well as research along with incessantly acting as an effective member of a specialized healthcare team. It has been observed that the nursing leaders use different types of valuable resources in order to attain their desired targets. In this context it has been learnt that the nursing leaders employ appropriate staffs in their healthcare teams with the intention of realizing various major tasks or assignments. In relation to patient care, the nursing leaders also utilize material resources by introducing relevant equipments associated with patient care in order to accomplish their imperative responsibilities. Moreover, the nursing leaders also exercises information related resources in order to remain updated about the developments with regard to their services which are found to be offered to the patients (Kelly, 2011). After acquiring a brief idea about the functions as well as the various responsibilities of the nurses, it can be stated that all the nurses can be considered as leaders as they possess huge knowledge as well as experiences in providing effective care to the patients. It has been identified that the new nurses evolve as leaders by gaining experiences, developing clinical skills, and setting as well as attaining predetermined goals. With reference to the context it can be mentioned that a healthy as well as a sustainable working atmosphere cannot be formed without the dynamic participation of the nurse leaders. This is due to the reason that the nursing leaders are considered to be completely responsible for generating a well satisfied organizational culture by employing skilled and appropriate staffs in different job positions (Sherman & Pross, 2010). In order to enhance the working conditions along with forming a dynamic organizational culture, the nursing leaders tend to engage certain important dimensions. The major dimensions include introducing new knowledge, making continuous improvements in terms of innovation, professional based nursing practices and quality outcomes. The main function of a nurse in relation to leadership skills is to retain the workforce which is quite significant for establishing as well as maintaining a satisfied organizational culture and effectual working environment. In order to retain the workforce, the nursing leaders often direct the clinical team and the inexperienced staffs by promoting their professional growth and encouraging clinical excellence (Sherman & Pross, 2010). In relation to the aspect of leadership with regard to nursing, the nursing leaders are known to involve responsive, innovative, thoughtful and loyal attributes. The nursing leaders need to dynamically work with the personnel in order to modernize their existing working climate along with maintaining the delivery of efficient care services to the patients (Clark, 2008). Additionally, this category of leaders requires undertaking a few major initiatives in order to enhance the protection of the patients as well as the quality of healthcare. While discussing the importance, applicability as well as the effectiveness of nursing leadership on patient as well as staff outcomes, it can be affirmed that the extent of progress of the nursing leaders in future will certainly raise the standard of the patient healthcare by a significant level (Stanley, Gannon, Gabuat, Hartranft, Adams, Mayes, Shouse, Edwards & Burch, 2008). Conclusion After acquiring a brief idea about the various functions as well as the duties of the nursing leaders, it can be stated that the factors of, applicability and effectiveness of nursing leadership on patient and staff outcomes is considered to be quite vital. This is due to the actuality that the nursing leaders are measured to be entirely liable for establishing a congenial working situation as well as for maintaining a satisfied organizational culture by a large level. In order to keep up a hospitable as well as a satisfied organizational culture, the nursing leaders attempt to introduce several initiatives such as coaching the inexperienced staffs and making constant improvements in the quality of the care made available to the patients among others. These valuable practices are supposed to ultimately support the nursing leaders to accomplish their desired targets by a significant level. References Carter, N., Misener, R. 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