Leadership Artifact

Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing

Leadership and management are essential skills for nurses in the current dynamic healthcare arena. Alongside managing unlicensed assistive personnel, new graduates are also challenged to manage effectively with limited resources. Nursing Leadership and Management course provides a comprehensive coverage of leadership and management as well as theories and processes significant for the creation of a work environment that is cost-effective, efficient, and committed to quality care. Effective leadership and management in nursing aims at helping student nurses and equip them with practical experience skills necessary for success in today’s ever-changing healthcare environment. Nurse students find this course informative and motivating and increase their knowledge and expertise, as well as changing their attitude towards nursing leadership. In essence, the course provides students with a stronger foundation as a way of preparing them for the professional nurse manager role.

From the beginning of the course, I was looking forward to learning the essentials of nursing leadership and management, since I saw it as one way to cultivate my wider approach of professional nurse manager role. My greatest focus was especially on how organizations are designed and the various ways that nursing care is delivered. Learning about the concepts of leading, initiating, and managing change was exciting at first. However, I must admit that understanding how professional values, personal competence, and interpersonal skills can be integrated into leadership and management roles was confusing at first. As it is, my perception of such practice was a bit different from what the professor introduced to us in the class. Nonetheless, I now fully understand what it means to integrate all these elements in the professional nurse manager role.

In addition to the above, I also had difficulties understanding organizational theories. From the onset, the issue of designing organizations was out rightly complicated for me. Nevertheless, as we progressed through the unit, I started to appreciate the importance of essential skills in management. Most specifically, working in groups also helped me increase my critical thinking skills, where we were able to brainstorm on the most appropriate way to solve problems. Besides, the particular unit played a very significant role in enhancing my professional behavior especially in delegating, resolving conflicts, time management, and the art of working as a team.

Managing resources covers a very critical part of nurse leaders in today’s world. Nurse Managers are expected to be proficient in fiscal budgets, staff recruitment, staff handling, motivation, and development of employees, staff evaluation, disciplining and handling disruptive behaviors among other roles (Sullivan, 2013). As Sullivan goes on to explain, management usually relies on the past as the starting point for future projection. However, in the current volatile environment, it may be unwise to depend on the past as this may lead to a poor prediction about the future. Nurse Managers are usually considered the cost, revenue, profit, and investment centers. In light of this, they are expected to learn the art of controlling the budget, which forms a crucial role in the management of resources. From this course, I was able to understand the budgeting process that happens within the organization. With this knowledge, I believe I have the necessary skills required for managing resources and monitor variances in budgets. Moreover, various factors that are not within my control such as changes in technology are likely to affect the budget and its performance.

Communication in organizations is a complex process that provides a ground for various individuals to share information. Sometimes, past issues, present, or future conditions interrupt effective communication (Sullivan, 2013). Other times, a person’s attitude gets in the way of communication, making it hard to pass on information. Communication is inherent in nurse managers and often determines their success as leaders. Along with that, nurse leaders should have effective communication skills needed for a multicultural workforce to manage conflicts, create a sense of safety, and promote individual and organizational growth. Personally, I must admit that I have not been a very good communicator. I have had issues convincing people and enlisting their support. Gradually, through the course, I have developed essential skills important for effective communication. Although I am yet to master the art of communication in leadership fully, the course has set me on the right track, and with a lot of practice, I am sure that I will eventually manage the task.

Organizational change in healthcare is inevitable and mandatory for growth. However, change is a never-ending process, which begins with the present state, moving through a transition period, to arrive at the desired state (Raffel, 2007). Ostensibly, leading the development process is never a preferred responsibility especially in the currently evolving health care system. People who attempt to initiate change, often encounter resistance from conflicting perspectives from internal and external forces. Change agent nurses work together with their teams to bring change. Unfortunately, being a change agent is never an easy job and requires a lot of dedication, time, and resources. From the introduction we received from the professor, I was a bit apprehensive about understanding change management in nursing. The change theories were equally confusing as much as their application in nursing practices. However, with a lot of theory work and research, I eventually understood the change theories and what pertains the change process. Through this course, I must say that I also learned a lot about managing resistance to change. Similarly, it has also helped me change my attitude towards change management. Despite having tried several ways, effective leaders do not have the art of giving up. Rather, what is needed is a change of strategy such as talking to people opposing change, give clarity to information, be open about the negative consequences, and emphasize on the positive implications. In addition to the above, I now know that feeling frustrated or afraid about initiating change is normal for nurse managers. However, the most important thing in this is the ability to overcome that fear and accept change is inevitable and as part of my professional nurse manager role.

The registered nurse program aims at preparing nurses for a broader scope of practice, improve their professional development, and provide them with a clear understanding of the various issues affecting care delivery. Through the integration of theoretical knowledge and concepts, nursing leadership and management course prepare nurses for their role of leaders and managers to fit as fresh graduates in the contemporary healthcare environment. By far, this course has helped draw upon my experiences and provided me with an opportunity to reflect and critique my knowledge and abilities to function as a nurse manager. Overall, I must say that the course has significantly increased my knowledge and provided me with the necessary knowledge for starting my journey as a professional nurse manager. Definitely, I would recommend this course to anyone willing to become a competent nurse manager.

References

Raffel, M. W. (2007). Health care and reform in industrialized countries. University Park, Pa: The Pennsylvania State University Press.

Sullivan, E.J. (2013). Effective leadership and management in nursing. (8th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.