Nursing Leadership Regardless of the Field, Most

Nursing Leadership

Regardless of the field, most research studies show that collaboration and teamwork are among the top examples of job satisfaction and performance. In the modern healthcare situation, this tends to move far beyond just the physician/nurse relationship, and into the manner in which interdisciplinary teams work together for more positive patient outcomes. Leadership in nursing has become an expected part of the job description, and over the past few decades, not only do nurses engender more and more clinical responsibility, patient advocacy, and patient and family communication, they are asked to be informal leaders within a group situation that may range from informal patient assessments, new product testing, or procedural and hiring committees (Chang, W., et al., 2009).

Modern healthcare and nursing are more complex than ever before. The nurse's role is far more than simply an assistant is, and requires the understanding and application of a large toolbox to deal with many different situations within the course of any given time period. There are two ways of approaching an interdisciplinary issue within modern nursing: 1) preparation and expertise, and 2) using other human resources. In the first, preparation might include classes in psychology, communication, ethics (philosophy), anthropology or sociology (dealing with diverse populations), and business issues (budgets, scheduling, etc.). In the second, it is important to take an active and contributing role within an interdisciplinary team since we now view the client (patient) in a more holistic manner. This would include being part of the team that works on mental health issues, family or social situations, literacy to understand procedures or medications, specialists, general care, advocacy, and above all, helping the patient take some responsibility for their own healthcare - as a partner in become well (Borkowski, 2011).

Nurses, in particular, largely due to their unique role as the spoke between the patient and the specialist or physician, often take on a more covert leadership role, regardless of their title and more formal title. Indeed, the trust and leadership in nursing take the relationship between Nurse and Physician to a higher level so that the physician may concentrate more on specific duties for strategic patient care, while the nurse must use their demeanor, knowledge, and skills to influence as a communication strategy so that there are more positive outcomes for all concerned (Hamric, A., et al., 2009, pp. 316-16).

Being a leader though, does not always mean being in charge and there are several strategies that allow the contemporary nurse to exert a leadership role:

Leading by example -- The nurse professional can easily lead by example; if others see that advocacy, quality care, empathy, professionalism, and attention to detail are used as part of one's regular job, they are more likely to imitate those behaviors. One of the more pivotal theories in pedagogy holds that one cannot expect learners to understand concepts if they are not modeled by others. Similarly, within the critical educational field of nursing, encouraging critical thinking, the use of evidence-based practice, communication and dialog about subject matter, and turning into a lifelong learner that also expects this type of learning from others is a way to move beyond the abstract and showing that it is possible within a healthcare model, to use transformative teaching models to move the practice ahead while still encouraging greater communication and empathy (McAllister, 2005).

Asking pertinent questions -- Sometimes asking questions can help busy professionals (specialists or physicians) just slow down a bit to re-explain their logic -- which is both a learning and teaching role. Sometimes, asking questions provide more of a direction to a learning situation than providing answers. A nurse does not need to be in a leadership role to ask questions, or to help guide the discussion in a more formative manner that allows for not only more clarification from the leader or the speaker, but ways to push learning issues to ensure that the majority of the group is understanding and getting the required level of expertise from the event (Critical Thinking Company, 2013).