Leadership Skills
Nurse Managers have a direct impact on service delivery and the successful provision of healthcare to patients and families. In order to make an optimal contribution, a nurse manager is required to hone their skills in coaching, motivation, and leadership. The Nursing Manager Inventory Tool offers a guideline for identifying and analyzing the skills pertinent to leading and developing a leader within oneself. A self-assessment is essential to identifying one’s abilities and areas of improvement so as to improve betteras a leader and in one’s career.
Personal and professional accountability entails personal growth and accountability, ethical behavior and practice, professional association involvement, and certification. I am currently enrolled in an ethics and theology course intended in understanding my patients better in order to help them. I also advance my skills by frequently reading the code of ethics so that when put in a position, I will have the adequate preparation required to do my duty well. Effective work relationships eliminate obstacles in the development of work environments that pay attention to safe, excellent care (Viejo, 2005). With this in mind, I have enrolled myself in a professional association where nurses meet, interact and articulate a methodology forimproving workplace productivity and caregiving.I, however, need to put more effort regarding attendance of those professional events and ensuring that I recruit other nurses into joining the Association.
Another area that a Nurse Manager needs a self-evaluation is in career planning. Career planning and intent is affected by the organizational environment, personal characteristics and educational attainment (Gail Ingersoll, 2002). Currently, my role involves assisting physicians in providing healthcare, operating medical equipment, and performing diagnostic tests. While doing so has been fulfilling so far, I want to specialize in cardiac care. I also want to be involved in a supervisory role where I coordinate other nurses and consult with physicians and other professional in and outside my workplace. Achieving this will entail enrolling in a managerial class, and I am currently raising tuition funds for the same.
Personal journey disciplines involve cultivating skills that develop one’s individual strengths. One way to build on individual disciplines is action learning. I believe that one learns from the experiences and mistakes committed by oneself and others. Everyday, I ask myself how I can better serve my patients. Whenever I see a patient who is not happy, I analyze ways that I can use to fulfill the needs of that patient better. One weakness I have is not tolerating incompetence and thewrong attitude. I get angry whenever I see healthcare specialists are not performing their duties properly. To deal with it, I share the ordeal with the nurses in my professional association where we deliberate ways of providing better service. The nurses also enable me reflect on how I can handle stressing situations in the workplace.
Personal reflection on the behavior of oneself and others is important. The people in my professional association are very critical of their self and other colleagues, and I have learned to embrace the criticism and use it for my personal development. The patients whom we handle are from diverse cultures, have varied perspectives on life and have varied experiences. Talking to them enables one to learn much about life and get a different viewpoint on why society acts and behaves as it does(Dale H. Schunk, 1998). In my work, I strive to engage with these persons, appreciate their differences and learn from their experiences. I have come to learn never to judge their actions, as different circumstances shape people differently. One critical skill, that life has taught me is knowing yourself. In order to be better at what one does and appreciate oneself, one needs to know their self better.
Cases of patient conditions worsening because of a lack of cooperation between healthcare providers are rife in today’s world. The attitude of most nurses and physicians towards patients is also worsening. Job satisfaction has reduced, as have wages. The main cause for these difficulties is the lack of cooperation and harmony among health professionals. The attitude of people and the relationships between the healthcare professionals themselves, and also with their patients need to be improved. An evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of oneself and others will enable physicians to understand their roles and duties correctly. Doing so will also enhance accountability and service delivery. When people perform their duties well and have good work ethics, there will be an improvement in healthcare provision which will also lead to job satisfaction.
Ethics in healthcare provision, acceptance of diversity, commitment to one’s work and to others, action learning, educational advancement, accountability and improving relationships with others are objectives that every leader should strive to achieve. A leader needs to have a good working relationship with other colleagues and those they serve. Doing so entails understanding the diversity of others and building one’s social skills. To improve on relationships, one needs to formulate an action plan for achieving it. The first step entails enrolling in a professional association where one gets to meet and socialize with colleagues. Doing so not only enables one to network but also offers a platform where individuals get to share ideas on how workplace relationships can be improved. One will also be in a position to learn the diversity of others through sharing. Reading self-help books on how to understand people and build healthy relationships will also help in this endeavor. Being friendly and sharing experiences with colleagues in the workplace will also form close bonds. Last, one should have a mentor who will critique and assess the progress of the individual in the quest to establish meaningful relationships. Finally, one needs to do a self-reflection to assess how they can better improve their relationships.
References
Dale H. Schunk, B. J. (1998). Self-regulated Learning: From Teaching to Self-reflective Practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Gail Ingersoll, T. O.-C. (2002, May). Nurses’ Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Career Intent. Journal of Nursing Administration, 32(5), 250-263.
Viejo, A. (2005, May). AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments: A Journey to Excellence. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 14(3), 187-197. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://ajcc.aacnjournals.org/content/14/3/187.short