GCU NUR514 Organizational Leadership and Informatics Week 2 Discussion

Sample Answer for GCU NUR514 Organizational Leadership and Informatics Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 From your experience in the health care industry, what is the difference between leadership and management? How can an advanced registered nurse both lead well and provide management? Think about interactions with patients, team members, daily tasks, and responsibilities as you formulate your response.

With the continuous introduction of challenging problems within healthcare, nurse leaders must assume the role of implementing innovative care models. Utilizing technology within healthcare has the ability to provide improved care while decreasing cost, so driving policy change to incorporate further technology is essential. Nurse leaders can do this by acting as a change agent. First, nurse leaders must create an environment that is ready and willing to change (Handzel, 2021). This can be done by sharing ideas, listening to opinions from others, involving a team approach, and acting authentically. Additionally, nurse leaders must investigate levels of risk, barriers, short-term goals, and long-term goals. Once these models have been implemented, the nurse leader has the responsibility to reflect on the outcome of the change and make further changes as appropriate.

DQ2 The underlying principle of servant leadership is that leaders address the needs of the team before their own and serve others before serving the self. After reviewing the topic materials and conducting your own research on servant leadership, describe how the vocation of the nurse is similar to the goals of a servant leader. Identify any examples you have seen in your practice, and the best way you can demonstrate servant leadership in nursing practice.

Servant leadership is a strong skill set that leaders utilize and find influential in delivering teamwork in nursing practice. This type of leadership promotes an improved healthcare delivery approach based on the collaboration of interdisciplinary teamwork, shared decision-making, and professional, ethical behaviors of each member. It also encourages professional growth for nurses (Neill et al., 2008). I see myself as more of a servant leader. Back then, I was a night unit supervisor, I am more of a servant to my colleagues. I worked on the floor, answering call lights, giving meds, and taking patients to the toilet. I felt the burden of my nurses and CNAs, and I empathized with them, so I ended up taking on some of their duties. My role depended on what was needed in the unit. If our team needed a CNA, I helped the CNAs. If a nurse is behind with her meds, I help pass her meds. It helped immensely with increased responsiveness to the call lights, thus improving our HCAPS score. Servant leadership is an effective leadership style as it develops so much trust and integrity as a leader that your colleagues will follow you.

Reference:

Neill, M. W., & Saunders, N. S. (2008, September). Servant leadership: Enhancing quality of care and staff… : Jona: The Journal of Nursing Administration. LWW. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://journals.lww.com/jonajournal/Abstract/2008/09000/Servant_Leadership__Enhancing_Quality_of_Care_and.6.aspx

I prefer the transformational leadership style although I can relate to a few other types of leadership styles.  Transformational leaders are described as “visionary” leaders. That perfectly describes my leadership type. These types of leaders build teams that are engaged and beneficial to healthcare facilities that need the most change such as improving patient care. Transformational leaders work well with new nurses or nurses new to that particular area, as they are great at mentoring, instilling trust in people, building confidence, and encouraging teamwork while encouraging nurses to act independently (Alzahrani, 2019). I love working at a teaching hospital because not only am I teaching other nurses, it helps me to learn new things daily. Transformational leaders also listen to ideas and concerns and are usually highly respected leaders in an organization. One of the main problems that I’ve noticed in nursing today is nurse retention. Transformational leadership skills have been known to provide high employee satisfaction and thus will help with nurse retention.

Alzahrani, S. (2019). Transformational leadership style on nursing job satisfaction amongst nurses in hospital settings: Findings from systematic review. Global Journal of Health Science, 11(6), 1-25.

Sample Answer for GCU NUR514 Organizational Leadership and Informatics Week 2 Discussion

DQ2

One of the potential causes of conflicts in healthcare organizations is interpersonal relationships, which refers to a conflict occurring because of differences in personality or worldview. The second source of conflict is the limitation in resources such as time and facilities. This can cause conflict between the healthcare team and patients, for example, the patient and family may feel that they are not given adequate attention (Panahi et al., 2019). Similarly, the clinical staff may have a conflict among themselves because of limitations in resources, for example, two providers may want to use a particular machine or system at the same time for their respective patients (Cullati et al., 2019). The third source of conflict in healthcare organizations is competition. Healthy competition is good to motivate and encourage good performance; however, too much competition becomes unhealthy, creating enmity between people or teams. Finally, conflicts occur in healthcare organizations because of a clash over values, roles, and beliefs given the diversity of these factors in the healthcare environment.

The first principle of conflict resolution is being unbiased. As a negotiator or mediator, a nurse leader should demonstrate impartiality to avoid being biased or favoring one staff over the other. The second principle of conflict resolution is effective communication and collaboration. A nurse leader should promote effective and open communication to allow the conflicting parties to express their views and feelings (Panahi et al., 2019). This enables a clear understanding of the issue and the interests of the conflicting parties, which makes the process more effective in cultivating a joint solution. Moreover, collaboration is necessary to enable mutual decision-making. Another principle of conflict resolution is professionalism. Conflicts can fuel feelings and emotions, which may encourage rude and abusive language. A nurse leader should cultivate an environment of professionalism for conflict resolution to promote respect and trustworthiness. The model of leadership that would be effective in conflict resolution is transformational leadership, which shows great success with effective conflict resolution (Chandolia & Anastasiou, 2020).

References

Chandolia, E., & Anastasiou, S. (2020). leadership and conflict management style are associated with the effectiveness of school conflict management in the Region of Epirus, NW Greece. European Journal of Investig Health Psychology Education, 10(1):455-468.https://doi.10.3390/ejihpe10010034.

Cullati, S., Bochatay N, M. F.-J., Perron, N., Bajwa, N., Viet Vu, N., Kim, S., . . . Nendaz, M. (2019). When team conflicts threaten quality of care: A study of health care professionals’ experie. Innovation and Quality Outcomes, 3(1):43-51. https://doi.0.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2018.11.003.

Panahi, M., Adham, D., Ahmadi, B., Foroshani, A., & Pourreza, A. (2019). Causes of conflict between clinical and administrative staff in hospitals. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 8:191. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_54_19. .