Leadership in Nursing Posting #3 Read Articles

Leadership in Nursing Posting #3 Read articles choose interest. Analyze articles describe leadership roles discussed. Compare attributes nurse leaders. •http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/home/News/women/mch_midwives. Posting #3: Health leadership in the developing world The developing world faces many critical health challenges. Addressing the multitude of concerns regarding health delivery can seem overwhelming, and it is critical that the national leadership is able to define specific goals to improve the healthcare infrastructure of these nations and devise targeted solutions.

According to the article "Attracting and Retaining Nurse Tutors in Malawi," the nursing profession in Malawi faces a critical shortage of nurse technicians, at a rate of up to 80% in certain areas (Caffrey & Frelick 2006:1). The problems in Malawi lay in the willingness of students to enter the profession as well as a shortage of educators. Without nurse tutors to train nurse technicians, it will be a struggle to provide the countryside with needed health services in the future.

To enhance the attractiveness of positions in the health field, enhanced salary and free housing are now offered to nursing educators by the Ministry of Health. As a result of this program, the number of clinical instructors has increased. However, doubts remain about the long-term feasibility of this strategy.

Salaries only provide a one-term incentive for workers and "weak human resources management systems and practices hinder effectiveness and negatively affect follow-through on the conditions of scholarships, deployment, enforcement of bonding and support for and communication with seconded government workers" (Caffrey & Frelick 2006:1). There remains little accountability in current performance appraisal systems that can ensure quality, and few obvious perceived links between performance and promotions. It "is exacerbated by the fact that they [nursing educators] are outside the MOH career stream during their assignments" (Caffrey & Frelick 2006:7).

Still, MOH has shown evidence of leadership in its efforts to rectify these problems by partnering with educational institutions and providing tuition support for nursing students and instructors so they can receive the additional training needed to fulfill their position. This at least ensures that cost is not a barrier to entering the position and can increase enrollment in schools of nursing. Additionally, "supporting recruitment of expatriate nurse tutors through Volunteers in Service Overseas (VSO)" can be used to "fill tutor shortfalls in the short-term" (Caffrey & Frelick 2006:9).

The Malawi example shows how one of the characteristics of strong leadership is being able to identify problems within the organization, admit to them, and to devise innovative solutions. This type of proactive response is also required in the developing world regarding healthcare delivery itself. According to Project Hope of the Northern District Hospital in Luganville, Vanuatu, when medical services by outside volunteers are offered in underdeveloped areas, facilities are swamped with individuals seeking treatment.

Appropriate triage is vital to reduce the wait times of people in long lines in extremely hot weather, and to target the persons most in need of assistance (Radder 2011). Even when seeing over 750 patients a day, the organizational skills of the Project Hope team were sufficient to ensure that patients were able to get.