CNA417 Exploring Nursing Leadership
Question
- Description
- Feelings
- Evaluation
- Analysis
- Action plan
Answer
Reflection on leadership
Description:
During the time of placement in the medical-surgical ward, my clinical preceptor was a senior nurse who had ten years of working experience in the healthcare industry. The new student nurses were working under her as a team. The senior nurse was introvert and was not approachable at all. She did not communicate openly with all of the embers and only interacted when she had to instruct something. She did not accept any suggestions from the members and appeared too strict. She cleanly denied accepting a suggestion from one of the student nurse stating that she should be within her limits and should not think of talking over her. The member was quite shocked as she had only provided her with an innovative suggestion and had not tried to demean her. Moreover, on one occasion, I was feeling low, as I was not able to keep up with the work burden. Instead of discussing my issues, she shouted at me stating that I was sitting idle. She also had a habit of cutting people midway that offended the speakers. She also did not exchange in feedback sharing. Many of the members were not able to fill the patient admission documents, electronic health records and in handling the different healthcare equipment properly. They wanted her to help her. However, she stated that they should have done these practices in the universities and that she would not help them. She asked them to learn from the manuals, as they must have been inattentive in classes. These made the student nurses upset. Many of the members approached the higher authority and reported these incidents. Accordingly, she was summoned by the higher power to show cause for her behaviors and attitudes.
Feelings:
From all the incidents, I was quite upset, as I was not able to learn essential things in the healthcare sector that are necessary for nurses to work in the medical-surgical wards. The senior nurse was judgmental and this behavior of her prevented me from asking any queries to hear. Therefore, I was not able to develop skills and knowledge, which was the primary motive of the clinical placement. Moreover, such behavior of the senior nurse made me feel uncomfortable to work with her. I felt claustrophobic under her leadership, as I was not able to provide my feedback to her about what I was thinking and about the various problems that I was facing while caring for the patients. I was highly de-motivated and was not feeling like working in the stressful situation. This factor was affecting my enthusiasm as well.
Evaluation:
The poor leadership of the senior nurse was affecting the morale of the student nurses who were working as a team. They were not encouraged and were severely criticized about their work by the senior nurse. The nursing professionals were not about to develop their skills and motivated. The main bad part of the incident was that it was affecting the care of the patient. Firstly, they de-motivated and stressed student nurses were not able to develop their skills and knowledge. This aspect increased the risk of poor service towards patients. Secondly, they were not being able to treat the patients on the wards properly as the senior nurse was not supportive and were not resolving their queries. Therefore, there were high chances of errors in the department and the patient safety was compromised (Arunima et al. 2014). Third, they were feeling very stressed and were burned out. This aspect affected their physical and mental health, which increased the chances of the poor quality of life.
Analysis:
The leadership of the senior nurse failed because she had adopted the autocratic leadership style. Researchers are of the opinion that autocratic leaders retain all the power, authority and even reserve the right to make all the decisions. Such leaders are seen not to trust the ability of their subordinates and try to control the people who work under them. The senior nurse was also showing authority and was not accepting any suggestions (Donnelly 2017). Instead, she was trying to control all the student nurses. Such leaders do not delegate or empower their subordinates and ensure one-way communication. Such leaders do not consult with their subordinates and do not give them chances to provide their opinions. Similar such attributes were also displayed by the senior nurses (Penny 2017). Researchers are of the idea that autocratic leadership affects the morale of the subordinates. They feel that their suggestions are not respected and that they are not a part of the organization. They feel discouraged and de-motivated. They get the minimal scope for career growth (Sarabi 2015). All these aspects increase turnover, reduction of productivity and increased workers dissatisfaction. Therefore, the senior nurse should have adopted the transformational leadership style. This leadership style promotes two-way communication and promotes feedback sharing. This aspect makes employees feel accepted and respected in the organization. The senior nurse should have ensured idealized influence (Boamah et al. 2018). It is essential for leaders to act as role models and this will help the employees to learn and work in ways, which aligns with organizational, goals, vision and ethics. The second one is inspirational motivation. The leaders should motivate and inspire the workers to work beyond their potential. Had the senior nurse helped me in solving my problem and managing my work burden, I would not have felt de-motivated. Intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration by such leaders ensure assisting subordinates to develop innovative strategies and solve their concerns so that goals can be met successfully.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion, I have learnt that researchers criticize traits of autocratic leadership. They affect productivity, morale of workers and motivation of the employees. These also result in poor patient care in the healthcare organizations and burning out of the workers (Fisher 2016). Therefore, when I become a leader in the future, I will not develop the traits of autocratic leadership. Rather, I will develop transformational leadership skills. These would help me to motivate the employees and helping them to improve their skills and knowledge and make them stalwarts in the future.
Action plan:
I need to develop a transformational leadership style. Therefore, my first goal would be to create two-way communication skills. I would be joining the workshop to develop such skills. The mentor would be guiding me and taking important tests to measure my development. I would also take interviews of some of the stalwart healthcare leader who flow transformational leadership style. These would help me develop ideas and knowledge about how such skills are practices in different situations and how these skills bring out essential outcomes.
Moreover, I will also go through evidence-based articles and books by accessing the digit library. The recommendation of researchers in such articles regarding effective leadership in healthcare would also boost my confidence and enhance my knowledge (Biransav 2015). These initiatives would help me to develop as a successful leader for the future.
References:
Arunima, S., Ajeya, J., Sengupta, A.K., Mariamma, P. and Tripathi, K.K., 2014. Comparison of transformational leadership and its different attributes of leadership with emotional intelligence in Indian healthcare: An empirical aspect. Advances in Management, 7(10), p.37
Birasnav, M., 2014. Knowledge management and organizational performance in the service industry: The role of transformational leadership beyond the effects of transactional leadership. Journal of Business Research, 67(8), pp.1622-1629.
Boamah, S.A., Laschinger, H.K.S., Wong, C. and Clarke, S., 2018. Effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. Nursing Outlook, 66(2), pp.180-189.
Donnelly, T., 2017. Leadership: briefing and debriefing in the operating room. Journal of perioperative practice, 27(7-8), pp.154-158.
Fischer, S.A., 2016. Transformational leadership in nursing: a concept analysis. Journal of advanced nursing, 72(11), pp.2644-2653.
Penny, S.M., 2017. Serving, Following, and Leading in Health Care. Radiologic technology, 88(6), pp.603-617.
Sarabi, A., 2015. Active leadership can promote leadership effectiveness in healthcare organizations. International Journal of Hospital Research, 4(1), pp.21-26.
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