Week 6 Discussion: Best Leaders (Graded

One of my best bosses was from early in my nursing career, in fact my first nursing job. I worked on a Progressive Stepdown unit and my boss was amazing.  She was reasonable about workloads especially with just starting out after doing my orientation on the unit, she gave me great feedback along with ways to improve my organization as a new nurse. She truly loved her job which set the tone for the whole unit. Whenever we were overloaded, she came out to help us, rather than sit in her office while we were struggling. This gave us the feeling that we were all valued as employees. Research supports the positive relationship between management style and job satisfaction (Malloy & Penprase, 2010). Managers should be available to their units and not always tied down to meetings. Having good leadership skills is necessary for decision making along with initiating and maintaining effective working relationships (AACN, 2008).

Not everyone you have as a boss will know how to be a successful one, whether you work on a factory line, a fast food restaurant, or a hospital every work environment has an opportunity to be fun along with being a productive place to work. When a nurse feels empowered, they will make each person they interact with feel like they are important (Hood, 2017).

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice.http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/baccessentials08.pdfLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.

Hood, Lucy. (2017) Leddy & Pepper’s Professional Nursing, 9^th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from

https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781496351388Links to an external site.

Malloy, T., & Penprase, B. (2010). Nursing leadership style and psychosocial work environment. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(6), 715–725. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01094.x

When thinking of my previous managers there is one who really stands out. What made her a great manager was a combination of multiple things. One being her communication.” Nurse managers need to set and effectively communicate expectations for their department” (Hood, 2018). Whenever giving policy updates, schedule changes or instructions she always made sure staff was aware and was very clear. She also made sure we could easily get in contact with her whenever necessary if she were working remotely.

Another thing I appreciate most about her is that she was also a great advocate for us as nurses. During administration meetings which were full of physicians and higher-ups she was the only nurse present and always made sure she gave the nursing perspective. I know that I can speak for all the nursing staff when I say that we felt as though we had a voice when she was there. We felt a huge void when she left.

It is always best to have a manager who understands what they’re managing. She always made that a priority. In my experience I have had managers who didn’t really have an idea as to what my workday entailed specifically. Even though she mainly worked on administration tasks, she always scheduled herself regularly to work with patients alongside the same staff she managed. That is probably the biggest take away for me after working with her. If I ever choose to go into management, I will make sure to get the perspective of the people I am managing. That will only lead to more effective management and mutual respect in the workplace. Which ultimately will lead to better patient care.

References:

Hood, L. J. (2018). Leddy & Pepper’s professional nursing ninth edition. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.

According to Hood, “Leaders are people who influence others” (2017, p 443). Nursing requires a certain level of leadership especially in a health care team. One person from my nursing career was a charge nurse I worked with in the ICU. She was considered a senior nurse in our department with over 25 years of experience in critical care. She led others during a shift as she was supportive, knowledgeable, directing, and always remained calm. She would help newer nurses learn and understand disease processes and treatments and fuel critical thinking. She never had any judgement, nor did she make anyone feel inferior to things they had not known. She was a good resource for growth as a nurse, patient care, and I aspired to be like that in my nursing career. Everyone on shift would collectively feel much calmer and supported when she was the shift’s charge nurse. Another important quality she brought to the leadership title was advocating for the nurses on shift always recognizing what was safe for staff and patients alike. In an article by Teresa O’Connor and Kathy Stodart, the two mention how standing up for what is right is part of the role as leader (2012, June). I felt that she always had safety and the right thing in mind for us all throughout the whole shift. She was able to stand up and be assertive to ensure everyone during her shift was working to their capabilities and given the support they needed to do their job well. I always wanted to be able to provide the kind of support to others in the ways she did and I feel that progressing into the next level of my career as a nurse, I can be able to apply the qualities that I saw in her.

Hood, Lucy. (2017). Leddy & Pepper’s Professional Nursing, 9^th Edition. [Vitalsource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781496351388/cfi/6/60!/4/2/62/10@0:100

O’Connor, T. & Stodart, K. (2012, June). Nursing leadership qualities come in many guises. Kai Tiaki:Nursing New Zealand, 18(5), 14-17. https://search-proquest-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/docview/1030085511/fulltext/A047CD44A23641FCPQ/1?accountid=147674