Essay Example on Nursing Leadership: Essential for Quality Healthcare

Introduction

Strong leadership is critical if the health care system is supposed to achieve quality health care. Not all nurses begin their careers and training with a vision of becoming a leader. However, there is a demand for patient quality health care provision which demands that nurses produce leadership skills that can help them serve as partners besides other health practitioners and professionals. This paper is an analysis of leadership skills that shed light on the importance of nursing leadership skills through the provision of synthesis of personal skills in so far as leadership is concerned.

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Comprehension: What are the Findings of the Questionnaires?

Based on the questionnaire, the following analysis on traits positive traits can be deduced for the case of the questionnaire used. The leadership strength questionnaire used is supposed to test the strength in five main areas. The main areas include; implementation, innovation, encouragement, analysis, and mediation. In an assessment of the rank order, I came up with the following scores.

For implementation scores, I recorded 25. 25 on the implementation score means that I range very high on implementing innovations. This high score on implementation proves that I am an active participant in taking up new projects. For projects, I lead others mainly on the details. It also means I am good at taking up new challenges and sticking to them until the end of the task. It is difficult for me to shift responsibility to another for fear of failure. In the second test, I tested 25. 25 is a high score, which means that as a leader, I like innovative ideas and encourage those I lead to come up with new ideas that can create solutions to the problems we face in our working nursing environment each time. Even though I am not that good at brainstorming, I take a lot of time researching before coming up with innovative ideas. I also encourage those with whom I work with to come up with creative ideas to solve issues. For the part of encouragement, I have the least score. It analyzes that as a leader, I cannot convince co-workers to get encouraged, especially when they are frustrated with the nursing environment. I don't remember going out of my way to help or inspire others; I put so much effort into the projects that I rarely have time for my fellow workers. In terms of problem analysis, I rate high with a score of 26. A score of 26 is rightful since I take time to examine a lot of complex issues within the ward that I lead. I always try to solve complex problems almost immediately before they elevate and become serious problems. Knowing that complex problems need a solution, I try to use more than one answer to solve problems. Like I scored low on encouragement issues, I also haven't done well in matters of mediation. I haven't done much in mediating between people with conflicts. I prefer to use authorities higher than me to solve conflicts. I choose to refer to higher authorities for decision because solving conflicts create grudges which do not like.

Application: Discuss how your identified Traits and Strengths enhance your Ability to Lead? How can your identified Habits and Weaknesses Impede your ability to Lead?

Many traits are related to the provision of effective leadership, especially in a nursing environment. Nurses require leadership skills to contribute to active patient safety and quality care. I have displayed strength in three key leadership areas, which include; The ability to implement tasks within the required target and creatively come up with innovative ideas and the trait to provide the analysis necessary to situations (Holmes, 2017). These strengths can help me improve quality care in the following ways;

Firstly, the ability to implement tasks within the required time is a strength that could help achieve quality care. The fear of failing to make a set target task within the estimated time helps me become a better leader by taking an active role in a lot of nursing projects. Taking an active part as a nursing leader increases the ability of leadership as followers, clients, and other stakeholders do not feel that you are making a laid-back posture. An active role in tasks also enhances leadership skills through proving responsibility (Holmes, 2017). If a project fails, a manager within the nursing institution would want to get a convincing explanation. A leader taking responsibility allows stakeholders to believe in me and trust me with other projects.

Another strength displayed in leadership qualities is creativity. Creativity enhances leadership skills by creating a way to solve complex issues. The ability to innovate enhances leadership skills by making followers accepted. To develop innovative ideas, there is a need to listen to other creative ideas from those below and those above in leadership structure. Listening to ideas from those below in the leadership structure encourages them to come up with more innovative ideas that are suitable for solving complicated tasks. As a leading innovation, it also helps raise confidence levels, which, as a nurse, is required in critical health care decisions. Innovation improves my leadership skills by allowing me to expand opportunities to grow my nursing knowledge and network.

Apart from the strength of innovation, another advantage is situational analysis. Nursing leadership is an area where critical decisions are to be made within a short time. A nursing decision could save the life of a patient or make the patient lose their lives. Having a talent in analyzing situations makes me, as a leader, make accurate decisions within a short time (Tully, & Boswell, 2017). If I am a leader, my followers can trust me with such determination, and so does other leaders above me in managerial leadership positions.

Weakness in encouraging others within the same work station impedes my leadership skills by making me someone who cannot mentor others. Mentorship is beneficial in developing leadership skills (Tully, & Boswell, 2017). It works both ways by being a mentor and being mentored. Inexperienced nurse trainees and others within my workstation will not be patient enough with me. It also makes it difficult for me to learn from others. The inability to encourage others also limits the way I connect emotionally to them. Learning other's emotions helps in learning their strengths and weaknesses, which, as a leader, informs your decision on assigning tasks. The deficiency in solving conflicts impedes my leadership skills by people within my station failing to come to me when they have problems.

Analysis/Synthesis

Wilmoth Margaret is operating in the institute of medicine and holds a Ph.D. in nursing. She is a registered nurse and has a lot of experience in leadership nursing. Wilmoth experiences a challenge in connecting emotionally to those that she leads. Although she has been a mentor, Wilmoth emphasizes that she focuses on professional aspects of leadership that she rarely encourages others emotionally. Her success in achieving tasks compensates her weakness. Getting inspiration from Wilmoth, I focus on functions rather than the emotions of those I work with.

Plan to Develop Strength and Limit Weakness

The first part of my plan is to write down my goals, which in this case are: To sharpen my leadership strengths, the ability to implement tasks, the ability to innovate new ideas, and the talent to analyze situations and make critical decisions.

The second part of the plan is to join the leadership seminars organized by the university, which is suited to every interested student. Apart from the university's leadership program, there is a leadership program tailored for nurses organized annually by Robert Wood foundation at Wisconsin University. I have to attend their program after graduation from my nursing training.

The other part of the plan is to collect all the resources required to undertake the training for the three months. One of the requirements is that alone has to be a registered nurse and graduated from a nursing school. Putting all the required resources is a positive step towards achieving my action plan.

The last part of the plan is to test my skills in a nursing environment full of activities. A nursing center that requires essential leadership skills due to the increased number of patients that are received. The above action plan gives a complete road map for achieving my leadership goals and become the nurse leader; I have always wanted to be.

Evaluation: Summarize the Value of examining your Leadership Traits and Strengths

There is a lot of value in knowing one's leadership traits and strengths. Firstly, it allows one to accomplish individual goals in regards to nursing leadership. Knowing one's ability of leadership helps the individual align his skills in achieving organizational goals (Vitello-Cicciu, 2019). It also helps in determining the organization to work for. It is important to note that it takes a particular person to become a nurse leader; this lone can only know through conducting a specific check of an individual.

References

Holmes, V. (2017). Achieving Hospital Sustainability Through Strategies for Nursing Leader Succession Planning.

Tully, J., & Boswell, C. (2017). Advance Care Planning (ACP) Training: Your Role as a Nursing Leader.

Vitello-Cicciu, J. M. (2019). Am I an authentic nursing leader for healthy workplace environments? Nurse Leader, 17(3), 201-206.