Analyzing Leadership and Management of Nursing Shortage and Nurse Turn Over

Leadership and Management of Nursing Shortage and Nurse Turn-Over

Several research scholars have stressed the significance of effective healthcare leadership, and leadership by nurses is critical to this, since nurses constitute the largest healthcare worker group. For more effective nurse recruitment, hospital leadership should support the profession of nursing. It is vital for them to recognize their most capable nurse managers and nurses, and place them within communities for attracting individuals possessing similar traits into the profession. Furthermore, hospital leaders must team up with colleges/universities and secondary schools for picking out students who possess the traits needed for thriving despite challenges accompanying slow improvements to the healthcare sector. World-class hospitals or healthcare facilities do not simply sit back waiting for potential nurse candidates to find recruiting organizations (Curtis, de Vries & Sheerin, 2011).

One way of addressing this issue may be for a healthcare employer to offer a school/college with clinical faculty, with the school teaching nursing staff how they can become members of a clinical faculty. Such educational practice partnership has been gaining popularity in the arena of nursing education, by playing the role of a vehicle to bridge educational preparation/training and nursing practice. Partnerships deal with multifaceted healthcare problems like nurse educator and nurse shortage, endeavors made towards shared accountability and mutually advantageous goals, and the need for fostering workforce competencies through building on partners' assets and values. The U.S. healthcare and educational sectors have implemented several different types of partnerships across the country for taking advantage of the benefits gained by collaboration between multiple institutions/schools (NACNEP, 2010).

It has been observed that the student-nurse transition is not easy. Fresh nursing graduates have to begin at top speed (i.e., try to seize opportunities immediately), without proper support, and the stress linked to transition may bring about high turnover of new recruits in the first couple of years in practice. While healthcare organizations allocate considerable resources and time on nurse training, recruitment, and orientation, fresh graduates constitute over 50% of the turnover of some hospitals. One means of coping with this issue is implementing nurse internship or nurse residency programs, which train nursing students to work in real-world practice settings, before graduating from nursing courses. The programs aid fresh graduates in transitioning to become professional registered nurses (RNs), offer them support in delivering safe, competent care, and increase retention of nurses (NACNEP, 2010).

Though one may be claim that nurse leaders currently encounter numerous challenges (new technology, new roles, increased focus on participation, education, financial limitations, and cultural diversity), the fact that leadership ought not to be perceived as nursing function or role that is optional should be highlighted. Leadership is required at all healthcare facilities in which implementing change and attaining high patient care standards are specified in the job titles (e.g., Nurse Consultant, Modern Matron, or Director of Nursing) (Sullivan & Garland, 2010). But assuming a leadership position doesn't suffice by itself in ensuring effectiveness. Leaders have to possess knowledge with regard to leadership, as well as be capable of applying their leadership abilities in every area of work.

Huston and Marquis (2009) believe some confusion still exists with regard to the relationship of management with leadership. Some consider leadership to be one of many management functions, whereas others claim that leadership skills are more complicated than management skills. Aside from defining the term 'leadership', highlighting that, though used interchangeably at times, 'management' and 'leadership' are rather different aspects is also helpful. Hughes and co-workers (2006) differentiate between leaders and managers in the following way:

1. Leaders innovate, managers administer

1. Leaders develop, managers maintain

1. Leaders inspire, managers control

1. Leaders' view is long-term, while that of managers is short-term

1. Leaders originate, managers initiate

1. Leaders ask why and what, while managers ask when and how

1. Leaders challenge status quo, managers accept it.

The aforementioned differences in leaders' and managers' roles are in line with the roles documented in nursing literature. However, what requires emphasis is that leaders don't become leaders by virtue of their job title alone. Their behavior is what defines them. Leaders inspire, innovate, challenge, and guide, as illustrated in the previous paragraph (Curtis, de Vries & Sheerin, 2011).

From nurse executives' perspective, nursing leadership is different from leadership in general owing to its focus on nurses taking charge of shaping and bettering their practice environment. The knowledge of nurses, springing from their practice, plays a key role in the influencing of leadership. When it comes to describing nursing leadership, the following terms are also utilized: empowering others, working through and with others for attaining success, facilitating learning, and developing the nursing profession's knowledge. An individual is considered a leader whenever he/she becomes a recognized authority who has followers relying on his/her expertise for accomplishing their objectives (Curtis, de Vries & Sheerin, 2011).

Leadership theory

Considerable theories and research have sprung in connection with the concept of leadership. Typically, leadership theories are described through the use of different classifications. Any proposed leadership theory may be employed for aiding nursing leadership, but some authors support the transformational leadership model as being the best choice when it comes to advancing of nursing leadership; this theory deals with vision, trust, empowering others, inspiring followers, and forming ties with them. Numerous authors have suggested that, to guide and direct nursing leadership, the transformational style of leadership is appropriate. Bowles & Bowles' (2000) research compared transformational leadership of non-NDUs' and NDUs' (Nursing Development Units) first-line management. The United Kingdom established its NDU scheme for exploring innovative nursing practices and improving nurse leader quality and quantity. The findings suggested that self-evaluations of nurse leaders were comparable for both researched groups. But in observer evaluation, leadership of NDU leaders was given a higher rating than that of non-NDU leaders. Moreover, NDU leaders exhibited more transformational form of leadership than their non-NDU counterparts (Curtis, de Vries & Sheerin, 2011).

Creating an atmosphere for nurses to thrive