Leadership reflection and personal development

¶ … Leadership

Where was I in terms of nursing sophistication and skills when I started the MSN program -- and how have I changed?

As a brand new RN, I was proud and my family was thrilled that I had progressed this far and learned the skills necessary for a competent nurse. I always knew I wanted to be a nurse because I have very good people skills. My upbringing was focused on family values, good communication between people of all faiths and all socioeconomic backgrounds; and my parents always insisted that I should be as good a listener as I am a verbal communicator. So I was in a good place intellectually and socially to enter the nursing field. Moreover I was a team player -- and I will always be a colleague that can be depended on no matter what emotionally charged situation we have to face.

How have I changed? My sense of commitment and compassion for helping people heal, for discovering what specific ailment patients are confronted with, and my passion for making things right in every respect for patients has not changed. However my communication skills are more finely tuned as I have advanced through the Master's program for nurses. But not only have I learned advanced communication skills, I have learned key strategies to embrace when the task is to solve problems. In the MSN program a great deal of attention has been paid to problem solving, and this has opened my eyes and has been extremely helpful to me as an advanced nurse.

In the peer-reviewed journal Nursing Education Perspectives (Baker, et al., 2007) the authors review and critique the importance of having a "problem-based learning" (PBL) unit in a Master's program for nurses. I identified strongly with this research because in my MSN I was immersed in a PBL and it found it did strengthen my "motivation to learn," it helped me to develop "…clinical reasoning skills," and it greatly enhanced my interest in "self-directed and lifelong learning" (Baker, 191).

The components of the MSN program that helped me become proficient? As mentioned, the PBL strategies I was taught were excellent, and the leadership courses that I was fortunate to be immersed in of were also related to management. As healthcare professionals were are constantly involved in problem solving, hence, learning management theories and skills was a huge positive for me. I have a far deeper understanding of leadership issues than before. Leadership is not limited to management concepts where a leader sets the course of action for others. What did I do to help myself meet the outcome? I became very familiar with the bigger picture of leadership: that is, doing an exemplary job on my shift -- showing how the consummate professional handles crises and day-to-day routines -- means that I am modeling how it should be done for others. I know that I am a role model, and that is leadership outside of any specific tasks that a manager might be is still important leadership when I am modeling for younger, less experienced nurses.

What could the SON have done better? I would have liked to have had a chance to hear lectures from managers in other fields discuss leadership and how they solve problems. It would have been instructive to hear from a manufacturing executive, or a CEO from a big energy company, or even a city council member, discussing leadership in a management context. Also I would have gained from more field work in hospitals and clinics where problem solving, leadership, research and role modeling were a part of the organizational make up.