Nursing Ethics and Leadership Assignment - Essay Example

Nursing Leadership and Ethics The Role of a Nurse Manager Nurse Managers have dual role in any healthcare facility. While we oversee administrative leadership in the facilities, they also deliver clinical care to the patients. The Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) shows some of the protocols that are supposed to be followed by nurses. Nurse Managers are supposed to work with staff in initiating new policies and procedures which help the unit team achieve their quality improvement goals.

In their administrative duties, budgeting plays a crucial role in ensuring that they carry out all their roles efficiently (Hurley, 2006). They also carry embody the vision, mission and values of the unit and share with their staff. In line with the budget, we are also charged with managing human resource, ensuring patient and staff satisfaction, maintaining a safe environment for staff, patients and visitors, ensuring standards and quality of care are also maintained. Nurse Managers are also responsible for hiring, training and developing employees.

That must however be done through a very economical way. It is common knowledge that all facilities are faced with the problem of scarce resources which must meet all the patients need. Nurses are supposed to be empathetic and work according to the Science of Safety principles of safety design. Therefore, as a nurse manager, it is my responsibility to ensure that every patient’s individual needs are met in an empathetic but professional way. For example, a patient may require a special room.

This will be done as per the institution values and protocols.Another protocol is involving the patient and family centered care. As such, as a nurse manager, I am tasked with ensuring that their customers get thee best care possible. By having a supportive and very caring environment where the patients are allowed interactions with their patients, this can be a reality (Studer, 2003). They are also tasked with ensuring quality food, translation or sign language services for their customers. Therefore, our operational costs must be all inclusive.

It is important to note that as a nurse manager, I am supposed to subscribe to the Joint Commission for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The local government too has a stake in the quality of care delivered by the facilities to the general. It is therefore by default that a nurse manager draw a budget that is compliant with all these protocols lay down. Ethical Stances and Support of NursesThe nursing codes in western countries specify that a nurse’s primary responsibility is to the patient and not the doctors or employees.

One of the ways of protecting a patient is by reporting misconduct. In the medical profession, this action nicknamed as whistle blowing however may land one into serious problems (Corley, 1998). This ethical dilemma is so common in the profession. The American Nurses Association (ANA) dictates that “nurses must safeguard the client and the public when health care and safety are affected by the incompetent, unethical or illegal practice of any person.’ As a nurse manager, this can cause a profound ethical dilemma when the rights and safety of these patients are jeopardized.

This is because it is unattractive to expose a colleague’s behavior. On the grounds that taking an ethical stance is potentially damaging, a research conducted by DeMaria (1994) point to the possibility that those nurses who opt to blow the whistle are compelled to act in accordance with their patient advocacy beliefs. As a nurse manager, an environment that is hostile can be physically, emotionally and professionally damaging. With this in mind, I have established a credible nursing department which seeks to protect nurses that practice patient advocacy.

This is aimed at ensuring that the nurses are deemed trustworthy by their patients as well as their colleagues (Davis, 1991). The same measures apply to me as the nurse manager.ReferencesCorley M. C. & Goren S. (1998) the dark side of nursing: impact of stigmatizing responses on patients. Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice: an International Journal, 12, 43-52.Davis A. J. & Aroskar M. A (1991). Ethical Dilemmas and Nursing Practice (3rd ed.) Norwalk, CT. Appleton & Lange.Hurley, A. C, (2006).

Recovering from medical errors: the critical care nursing safety net. Kansas University Press, Kansas.Studer, Q (2003). Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a difference. Fire Starter Publishing, Gulf Breeze, FL.