Approaches of Nursing Leaders and Managers to Issues in Practice

Nursing Leadership and Management

Approaches of Nursing Leaders and Managers to Issues in Practice

Providing quality healthcare to individuals in need is imperative for all the stakeholders involved in the provision of healthcare. Among the stakeholders that play a key responsibility in ensuring the provision of quality, healthcare is the nurses who act as the advocates for individuals seeking healthcare. Providing healthcare to the population depends largely on the use of different strategies such as teamwork, continuous monitoring, and provision of opportunities that contribute to the personal and professional development of the healthcare providers. The success of the interventions adopted within the healthcare organizations also depends on the active roles played by the nurse managers and leaders in facilitating the adoption of the change agents. Therefore, the following essay focuses on the analysis of a comparison of the ways in which the nurse manager and a leader would approach the issue of continuous quality improvement in their organizations.

It is apparent that the roles of a nurse leader and a nurse manager when facilitating the adoption of continuous improvement strategies within the healthcare organization. The variation in their responsibilities allows for the adoption of multiple strategies that aim at ensuring the realization of a common organizational goal. According to Corrigan, Eden & Smith (2003), a nurse leader plays unique responsibilities in facilitating continuous quality improvement within their organizations. A nurse leader plays the responsibility of setting a clear organizational vision that will guide in the adoption of the desired quality improvement strategies. Setting an organizational vision entails influencing the other nurses to understand the future needs of the organization and the importance of embracing the change strategies that aim at improving quality within the organization. Similarly, empirical evidence provided by Shale (2012) shows that the nurse leaders respond to the need for continuous quality improvement within their organizations by motivating the other nurses and healthcare stakeholders to embrace the strategies used to facilitate the success of the process. Motivating the healthcare workers is possible with the use of strategies such as rewarding them for embracing the required strategies, praising them, and guiding them in the adoption process.

In addition, a nurse leader facilitates continuous quality improvement within their organizations by building the morale of the employees to ensure the success of the strategies underpinning the process. Significant evidence shows that strategies such as collaboration in decision-making and strategy implementation contribute to building of morale among the organizational employees. Such strategies ensure the realization of a common organizational goal (continuous quality improvement). Similarly, nurse leaders use strategies such as teamwork in their organizations to ensure the adoption of strategies that aim at promoting continuous quality improvement. Teamwork ensures involvement of all the nurses in the formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the project, therefore, sustainability of the interventions promoting continuous quality improvement within the organization. Moreover, empirical evidence has that a nurse leader plays the responsibility of ensuring the adoption of continuous quality improvement approaches by ensuring the creation of an effective organizational culture that will support the process. Introducing the desired organizational culture will entail introducing effective leadership styles and motivating the employees to embrace the strategies that will ensure the success of the process. Other ways in which a nurse leader will facilitate the adoption of continuous quality improvement strategies within the healthcare organizations include coaching the other employees, directing them on the actions to facilitate the process, and supporting the employees in the adoption process. It is beyond doubt that providing the nurses and other employees with these services will promote the adoption of continuous quality improvement strategies.

On the other hand, the nurse manager will play different roles as compared to the nurse leader, but contributing to the realization of a common organizational goal. For instance, significant evidence shows that a nurse manager takes the responsibility of command central in facilitating the process. When a nurse manager plays the responsibility of the command central, he/she provides the required support, recognizes the efforts of the other employees in the adoption process, provides information, and advocates for the provision of the environment that promotes the process. Similarly, the nurse manager facilitates the adoption of continuous improvement strategies within their organizations by encouraging professional and personal development of their staff. This is possible through the provision of training opportunities, coaching, and mentorship that aim at eliminating the weaknesses of the employees and imparting the required knowledge and skills that will facilitate continuous quality improvement.

In addition, a nurse manager takes the responsibility of facilitating continuous quality improvement through the creation of safe and healthy environment for the employees. When the environment is safe, the employees will consider adopting the desired interventions as they feel that the organization recognizes their needs. As identified in the above analysis, the success of the adopted interventions depends on the collaborative strategies used within the organization. As such, the nurse manager plays the responsibility of guiding other members of the organization in adopting the interventions underpinning the success of the continuous quality improvement strategies. For example, significant evidence shows that the manager works with the nurse leader to develop interventions applicable in ensuring continuous quality improvement within their organization. Moreover, a nurse manager considers recruiting qualified employees who will facilitate the adoption of the required change agent within the organization. Strategies such as outsourcing professional help from other healthcare organizations can be used to ensure the success of the process. Other approaches the nurse managers can use to ensure continuous quality improvement within the organization include liaising with the involved stakeholders promoting the introduction of the change agent, supplying the required resources, and ensuring their proper utilization.