Abstract Change projects are occurring at every hospital across the United States to improve the quality of care patients receive and improve their safety while in the hospital. At Kaiser Zion, many quality improvement measures are being implemented, both successfully and unsuccessfully, to improve patient outcomes. The success and failure of these projects and measures has become dependent on the leadership and charge nurses at the hospital. Nursing students collected objective data based on observations from several floors on different change projects throughout the facility and have included recommendations utilizing evidence- based research to improve the outcome and utilization of current change projects at Kaiser Zion at the level of charge nurse and also of nurse leaders and managers. Introduction Clinical nurse leadership is an ever evolving and growing field in nursing practice.
In order for nurses to be motivated and provide a high quality of care there needs to be a strong nurse manager. The article reviews relationship between the leadership style and the psychosocial work environment of registered nurses. Review of the Article The purpose of the study was to identify the style of leadership that influences the psychosocial environment of registered nurses. This study was able to analyze the positive and negative work environment. The article was able to analyze the background which showed that the leadership style identified has contributed to create a healthy work environment.
“Theory helps provide knowledge to improve practice by describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling phenomena” (Blais and Hayes, 2011) Theory is part of what drives us as nurses. Providing medication is one aspect of a nurse’s job, however, making sure that a patient receives the best care possible and knowing what the rationale behind this care is, is a significant part of what makes us nurses. One of the most popular nursing theorists of our time is Dorothea Orem. "In the inability of the client to do the universal, developmental or health deviation self-care requisites, the nurse provides wholly or partially compensatory or supportive-educative assistance." Dorothea Orem's theory of Self-Care Deficit is a patient centered model, as the patient is the main focus of care, due to their inability and incapacity to perform self care due to health problems and limitations.
To achieve adequate nurse staffing, it is known that balance must be achieved by properly staffing the unit with the appropriate number and correct mix of nurses to adequately care for the unit’s patient population (Sanford, 2010). The ANA believes that adequate staffing levels are essential to achieving positive patient outcomes ( American Nurses Association, 2012). Inadequate nurse staffing occurs when there are not enough nurses and/or an incorrect mix of nurses to adequately care for the unit’s patient population (Sanford, 2010). Most hospitals do not
Leadership Self-Assessment Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Leadership Self-Assessment Leadership in nursing is a process in which an individual has the ability to influence a group of individuals to achieve a desired outcome (Northouse, 2014). These desired goals may be personal or they may be collective. In evaluation of my own nursing practice I am able to identify with the democratic and authoritative styles of leadership the most. When at work I find myself using the two interchangeably. The presence of effective leaders is both important and beneficial to create and enhance a productive work environment in which the employees are able to develop skills and enhance their own nursing practice.
Dangers of Ineffective Communication in Healthcare Nurses rely on their education, training skills and experience to succeed in their helping profession. At the same time, the ability to read, write and understand is crucial in delivering proper patient care. Ineffective communication skills can seriously harm or kill a patient, as shown through improper documentation, miscommunication and overwhelming job demands. Nurses deal with patients more than any other healthcare professional, as well; much of their time is spent on paperwork pertaining to the patient’s health. Writing must be clear, accurate and legible, together with correct spelling and punctuation.
No matter what profession or what role you assume to be safe and effective the work must be intentional. The risk for errors and poor handoff can be greatly reduced when the effectiveness and communication improves within the team. A nurse can take an active and contributing position with an interdisciplinary team by effective two-way communication, valuing the input of the other team members, and the sharing of a common goal. Nurses are responsible for the handoff of patients each shift and are required to notify physicians throughout the shift for new orders and updates on patient conditions. “A critical communication tool that can help during briefing and debriefings is the SBAR tool.
DELEGATION A registered nurse (RN) has many responsibilities. One of the most important is delegation. The RN has the authority to delegate certain tasks in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their patients. Delegating tasks to others allows more time for the RN to focus on more critical aspects of patient care that only a RN can perform. Delegation is transferring a task from one person to another making them responsible for the task but the RN is still accountable for the outcome of that particular task.
How to be a Successful Leader It is imperative as the nursing supervisor to make certain all resources available to staff are being used to help with the care of the patients. To ensure this is happening, she could approach the FNP in a positive and respectful manner to make sure she is using her teamwork and delegation skills. As stated on a NOVA blog page for nurses, (Thompson, 2006, para. 1), “The number-one quality a good nurse manager must have
What is important is how we handle this leadership that has been handed to us once we become nurses. As nurses we are not only expected to be leaders but good leaders. It is important that we understand this and strive to become good leaders. We as nurses are the voices of the patients. The soldiers in the trenches of healthcare advancement and reform.