Differing Approaches of Nursing Leaders and Managers to Issues in Practice

Nurse turn-over and Nursing shortage

            Considering the changing roles and advanced technology in the healthcare environment, nurses are tasked with a very vital role. Moreover, healthcare institutions are struggling to meet patient satisfaction. It is worth pointing out that nurses have the greatest interaction with patients and, therefore, they impact hugely on satisfaction. Mostly, institutions that possess long-term and experienced nurses have a higher possibility of offering the best patient care. However, there are no sufficient nurses globally. More keenness as far as this issue is considered is vital in the US considering that the Baby Boomers generation continues to age and phase out, which calls for the increased need for quality care. In this regard, it is important that nursing managers and leaders look into the issue of nurse turn-over and nursing shortage (Donnelly, 2003). The contribution of both managers and leaders is essential in every healthcare institution although their roles normally conflict. This purpose of this essay is contrasting and comparing how nursing managers and leaders are most likely to approach nurse-turnover and nursing shortage.

The approaches of nursing managers and leaders

Nursing leaders

            As opposed to nursing managers, nursing leaders have special talents and their thoughts result to creative actions. Mostly, they are able to thinks beyond the odds and their ideas are always innovative and great. Nursing leaders aim at ensuring that tasks are achieved as planned through facilitating and promoting a motivated, inspired, and empowered team. They are more likely to utilize effective leadership attributes that include listening, mentoring, coaching, persuasion, teamwork, building lasting and gainful relationships, vision, motivation, and inspiration (Ross, Wenzel & Mitlyng, 2002).

            When dealing with nursing leaders, employees are less likely to leave an institution. They collaborate with other nurses to the extent that they create many followers. They are also more keen on developing other leaders in teams so that they can oversee various roles. Effective communication is normally used to solve challenges that nurses might be experiencing. Moreover, nursing leaders promote functioning feedback mechanisms, which enable them to acquire an insight on the nurses’ opinions and views on certain pressing issues. As a result, nurses get the feeling that they are considered to be important components on an institution and they are able to dedicate themselves fully.

            Nursing leaders possess immense strengths and are able to allow the emergence of more leaders regularly. In addition, they are familiar with the fact that leadership can and should be situational and this totally relies on the needs of the team, either a visionary, novel coaching style, a leader, or a kick. Fitzpatrick (2003) argues that great leaders prefer more effective leadership styles with the best tools, calculated analysis of the ensuing situation, and end goal.

            Florence Nightingale’s nursing theory asserts that nurses should be keen on coming up with strategies for accomplishing the right things as opposed to doing correct things on their own. This brings in the idea of influencing other people to do the correct thing and influencing others as well so that in the end, everyone is doing the correct thing. Therefore, nursing leaders should pursue organization growth and progress. They ensure a forward movement since nurses are motivated to greater ranks and skill levels. Moreover, they inspire, enable, encourage, and demonstrate the right way. They never permit personal goals and conflicts to interfere with the organizational goals (Marquis & Huston, 2009).   

            The organization’s direction, vision, and strategy heavily depend on nursing leaders. They are supposed to align other nurses around the vision by communicating effectively and support the vision so as to ensure that in the end, it becomes a reality (Donnelly, 2003). They should also promote change by overcoming bureaucratic, resource, and political barriers; as well as motivating and inspiring others. It is important for them to conform to character, connectedness, commitment, compassion, and confidence. Finally, they should use all communication means depending on various situations.

Nursing managers

            The key role of nursing managers is facilitating the team members’ success. Moreover, nursing managers are tasked with the responsibility of making sure that nurses possess all the resources they might need for them to be entirely productive and effective. They should also create an environment where the nurses being managed by them are happy, face minimal challenges, and are well trained so as to progress to higher levels (Marquis & Huston, 2009).   They should ensure that nurses gain lessons from the challenges they experience and identify the great performers. In a few words, nursing managers never engage with nurses on an individual level but ensure they have all they need to facilitate their roles’ performance.

            Dissimilar to nursing leaders, managers mainly focus on tasks and work, for instance, time, equipment, money, and the other essentials for completing a task. Managers should possess effective attributes such as time management, problem solving, decision making, planning, organizing, budgeting, controlling, and coordinating. When managers seek for subordinates, leaders are after getting followers. It is worth noting that this is an aspect that impacts greatly on nurse turn-over and nursing shortage. The most effective leaders end up with more leaders, which is not the case with followers (Ross, Wenzel & Mitlyng, 2002).

            Usually, managers are more task-oriented. Nursing managers should possess both management and leadership skills regardless of the fact that the two vary. It is worth for managers to have skills that are people-related such as interviewing novel workers, conducting staff meetings, and promoting effective communication between all team members. Moreover, they should possess financial skills whereby they have the capacity to support care through the use of accessible resources (Fitzpatrick, 2003).  Moreover, nursing managers should have quality care skills, and this encompasses understanding how quality data is collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Such data is vital for promoting performance improvement. Information technology skills are essential for conforming to present technologies.

The best approach

            I consent with the approach used by nursing leaders at is conforms to my individual and professional nursing philosophy, and leadership style. To me, nursing leaders consider their profession to be more of a call in addition to a honorable career. They seek more to assist the needy. To them, their work is not a job that merely earns a paycheck (Marquis & Huston, 2009).  With the present challenge of nurse-turnover and nursing shortage, nursing leaders can persuade current nurses so that they are highly motivated and can increase their productivity. Moreover, following their example, nurses can be able to offer non-judgmental care regardless of the financial status, disability, spiritual beliefs, lifestyle choices, and races of their clients.

            The approach of a nursing leader supports my preferable transformational leadership style. He can mobilize the team so that they achieve the end goals and vision. A nursing leader walks with the team particularly when there are cases of nurse turn-over and nursing shortage (Ross, Wenzel & Mitlyng, 2002).Nurses have demanding roles as the assistance from a leader comes in handy. Transformational leaders promote vibrant enthusiasm and as a result, the organization’s mission is achieved.

References

Donnelly, G. F. (2003). How leadership works: Myths and theories. Five keys to successful nursing management. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.

Fitzpatrick, M.A. (2003). Getting your team together. Five keys to successful nursing management. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2009). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (6th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.

Ross, A., Wenzel, F. J., & Mitlyng, J. W. (2002). Leadership for the future: Core competencies in healthcare. Chicago: Health Administration Press.