Nursing Leadership and Management - Essay Example

? Leadership and Management in Nursing Leadership and Management in Nursing Leadership and management must exist at all levels of an organization and industry. Particularly in the health care industry, these two elements must not only exist, but they must be executed effectively. Nurses form the greatest percentage of health care industry professionals; hence, effective leadership and management in nursing practice are highly important (Curtis, Vries, & Sheerin, 2011, p. 306). Leadership and management in a clinical setting are defined from general understanding where nurses with titles of power and influence are expected and required to influence their teams to work towards meeting the demands of patients and attaining the goals of the entire nursing practice. The health care industry is constantly changing as it adapts to trends in medical practice, changing policies, technology, higher demands for continuous quality improvement and even nursing shortages and turnover. As the United States faces a health care crisis, its biggest challenge is in shortage of nurses and high nurse turnover rates that threaten the quality of health care. In addressing the issue of nursing staff turnover and shortage, do leadership and management matter? It matters that nurses in the health care industry remain interested in their jobs and that the nursing profession stays attractive to students in training. It is the nurse leaders and managers who should manage and influence the nursing practice and its staff; hence, it is they that have the solution to this nursing issue. The inputs of nurse leaders and managers are separated by the roles of these two positions. In a nursing facility, nurse leaders are concerned with larger views of the facility encompassing all departments (Cherie & Gebrekidan, 2005, p. 82). They are concerned with visions, goals, and missions of nursing practice, and not just as they exist, but how they can be improved continuously. Nurse leaders are the ‘influencers’ of the managers and the staffs. Nurse managers, on the other hand, are the heads, usually appointed to run the day-to-day affairs of nursing practice. Often, these managers are in charge of departments, and with their power and authority, they are most concerned about planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling their departments within set structures (Cherie & Gebrekidan, 2005, p. 81). Managers basically deal with ‘doing the right things’ while leaders deal with ‘doing things right.’ Nurse leaders must focus on theories of leadership as tools to reform the current staffing problems in many nursing facilities in the world. Theories of leadership that can be applied in nursing are behavioral theory, contingency theory, trait theory, and power and influence theories. Behavioral theory is concerned with what a good leader does rather than who he/she is. Nurse leaders who operate under this theory are inactive and passive, allowing their staff to determine their actions. Other leaders here can be democratic, giving equal voice to their staffs and accepting group decisions. Still under behavioral theory, nurse leaders can be autocratic, being the sole decision makers and adopting commands to staffs rather than being open to suggestions (Cherie & Gebrekidan, 2005, p. 86). Shortage of nurses and dis-interest in this industry is attributed to the main reason that nurses do not feel appreciated or motivated enough in compensation and in recognition of their efforts. Nurse leaders and managers can begin to address this issue by creating work environments that are encouraging to their staffs. Leaders are central to motivation, and they should create environments that are open to interaction and understanding of nursing teams. Managers should, on the other hand, utilize management styles that are democratic and participative rather than autocratic or laissez-faire. Discouraged and demotivated nurses will respond better to suggestions and shared decision-making rather than to commands and one-person decisions that are characteristic of autocratic managers. Nurse leaders should be advocates of their facilities and practice. The behavioral theory of leadership identifies a good leader by what he/she does. When such a leader is an example to the team that he/she leads, such leader becomes an example that others want to follow. Contrary to this, nurse managers can adopt a culture of accountability and expectation with rewards for those to meet their task requirements. Rewards can also include opportunities for career expansion and growth, which managers can implement through staff promotion. Good leadership traits in leaders can be put to use to address the issue of nursing shortage and nurse turnover. Nurse leaders should communicate with their staffs to establish understanding and trust with them. Poor communication by leaders and management and lack of trust between nursing staff and their superiors are factors that drive high turnover. Traits of listening and good communication lead to openness, trust, and respect in nursing facilities, and once enforced, can result in low nurse turnover. Nurse managers should provide interactive platforms for nurses without penalties for any opinions given. Fast-paced changes in the health care sector place pressure on nurses to improve their skills and qualifications. This pressure, while warranted, is also to blame for some nurses leaving the profession and new ones opting for other careers. Leaders can use their power and influence to motivate nurses to acquire new skills in a supportive environment. As it is up to managers to set and enforce the skills level and competency that is expected in nursing practice, leaders can be the encouraging force as managers become the strict enforcers of new skills standards. Changes in nursing practice are unending, and a shift is needed from the over-management of nursing staff to a leadership model that is adaptive and flexible. The nursing practice is heavily dependent on formal education programs from which staffing and new skills are derived. A best approach that will address personal and professional concerns of nurses in practice is the way forward in reducing staff shortages and turnover. Nursing that is led by a model ‘more leadership than management’ is the ultimate solution. This is the transformational model of leadership that is intent on creating nursing leaders and staffs who ‘work together’ and not ‘one for the other’ for better health care services (Trofino, 1995, p. 44). Future trends for the nursing practice in the twenty-first century indicate that the high shortage and turnover of nurses can only be permanently ended by a class of nurses who are multi-talented and supported to acquire new skills. Transformational leadership in nursing practice is the key to attracting such class of nurses and developing leaders who can effectively manage their resources for better output (Trofino, 1995, p. 43). Transformational leadership in the nursing sector will not only address the short-term shortage and turnover problems. Long-term goals in the nursing practice cannot be addressed by management approaches but by the ‘bigger picture’ of transformational leadership. Effective relationships between nurse leaders and their nurse teams are important in team effort to attain goals and visions of the health care sector. The transformational leadership approach suits best my leadership style that is flexible to different situations. The situational-contingency theory of leadership maintains that no leadership style is the best one and that situation influences good leadership. It is certain that nursing will in the future be affected by changes in medical practice, policy, technology advancements, and alternative therapies among other changes. The extent of these effects or what they will be is not conclusively known; thus, no leadership approach can solely be the most suitable. References Cherie, A., & Gebrekidan, A. B. (2005). Nursing Leadership and Management. Retrieved from http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/health/ephti/library/lecture_notes/nursing_students/LN_nsg_ldrshp_final.pdf Curtis, E. A., Jan de Vries, & Sheerin, F. K. (2011). Developing Leadership in Nursing: Exploring Core Factors. British Journal of Nursing, 20(5), 306-309. Trofino, J. (1995). Transformational Leadership in Healthcare. Nursing Management, 26(8), 42-47. Read More