Monica Huber: My Leadership Experience

Observing and analyzing my leader opened my eyes to the amount of responsibility and knowledge one needs to be a great leader. These responsibilities that were witnessed during the shadowing project included aspects of role modeling, mentoring and educating fellow staff and colleagues alike. My leader possessed a well-rounded amount of experience, skills and knowledge about nursing and her management role. All of these aspects we observed and I feel my leader is not only strong nurse, manger and mentor; all these aspects contribute to making her a fine and valuable assets to our organization.

Leaders are the ones we turn to when life gets to be too much. Good leaders set examples and provide guidance through education (Huber, 2014). As a new nurse I can understand how important it is to have a leader you turn to when you are unsure. Furthermore, in the business of health care we are managing people 's lives and one wrong move can be deadly. Therefore, it is important to collaborate with other health care professionals to ensure a safe competent method of delivery. Ideally, the role of a leader in health care is one that is knowledgable, firm, and confident, with the ability to deviate from the plan to assist with an emergency. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to reveal three key behaviors successful leaders exhibit, assess my personal leadership style, referencing theories, while determining an optimal work environment based upon the aforementioned.

I recently accepted the Neuroscience ICU (NSICU) Nurse Manager position at the Medical University of South Carolina. The principals of transformational leadership and nursing distinction radiate throughout the facility, extending the brand of excellence towards nursing. Onboarding as a new leader requires agility and flexibility. I was able to capture the union of course content and application of my leadership practice.

This Nursing leadership interview was conducted with Gessy Targete-Johnson, who is currently the Director of Nursing Family Birthplace at Memorial Miramar Hospital. I decided to conduct my interview on her, due to the fact that this is a career goal I wish to accomplish. She has been in the Nursing Field for over 25 years. Gessy decided to enter the nursing field because, she has compassion for others and she wanted to make a difference in lives. She started out as a Labor & Delivery Nurse in 1991, she later went on to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, followed by her Master’s Degree immediately after. Gessy thrives on being productive, and she quickly learned the meaning of the word perseverance. In 2001, she was promoted to Nurse Manager in Labor & Delivery, and worked in that position for 8 years. While maintaining an active role in this area, she also went back to school for her ARNP license. In 2009, she became the Director of Nursing Family Birthplace at Memorial Miramar Hospital.

Slide 1: The expectations of nurses today are higher than ever with goals such as achieving top percentiles in nursing and patient satisfaction, to being among the top leaders in quality outcomes, and to build productive work relationships and environments. Nursing leaders serve as the primary link between staff, physicians, and the community. They are expected to be innovative, highly skilled, possess a certain degree of nursing knowledge, and produce qualified individuals to care for the growing population. According to Lorber, Treven, and Mumel (2016) “nursing leadership is pivotal because nurses represent the most extensive discipline in health care”. Because of this growing need for diversity in leadership and my background in the military, I decided to focus on the MSN Executive Track at Chamberlain College of Nursing.

Being a leader in the profession of nursing requires pride and dedication to the nursing career path. This is why I decided to conduct my interview with Pamela Prefontaine, a leader in the nursing field. Prefontaine graduated from Bellin School of Nursing in 1982. She then went on to get her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1990 from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. Prefontaine then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 2009 with a master’s degree in medical informatics. Prefontaine was the team leader of pediatrics at Bellin from 2001-2007. She has also been a team leader of a medical and surgical floor at Bellin also. Furthermore, Prefontaine was also the assistant director of the NICU at Saint Vincent’s Hospital. She currently is a consultant for informatics.

Leadership is encountered in every occupation and in everyday life. In nursing, leadership is not only prevalent; it is crucial to patient care and employee satisfaction. The nurse leader that was interviewed was a nurse at the Newport Hospital in Newport, Washington. This is a small hospital in a rural community. She is a charge nurse in the acute care unit, as well as in charge of leading infection control in the hospital. With these roles comes a lot of responsibility, and tasks that must be completed in a timely manner to create a workflow for the rest of the staff. There is a lot of juggling and balancing everything that is included in all of those positions.

Discuss the Nurse Leader’s strategic plan as it relates to The Institute of Medicine’s Quality initiatives and ONE of the following five core competencies.

In healthcare it is very important to have strong leaders, especially in the nursing profession. A nurse leader typically uses several styles of leadership depending on the situation presented; this is known as situational leadership. It is important that the professional nurse choose the right style of leadership for any given situation to ensure their employees are performing at their highest potential. Depending on which leadership style a nurse leader uses, it can affect staff retention and the morale of the employees as well as nurse job satisfaction (Azaare & Gross, 2011.) “Nursing leaders have the responsibility to create and maintain a work environment which not only promotes positive patient outcomes but also

In Beth Revis’ science fiction novel, Across the Universe, she wrote, “Power isn’t control at all-power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own.” Leadership is a significant concept that can be applied universally to all aspects of life, whether it is through work endeavors, educational pursuits, or just participating in everyday life. A leader is defined as “an individual who works with others to develop a clear vision of the

Leading a health care organization comes with immense responsibility and is not an easy task. Transformational leadership has proven to be an effective leadership style in the nursing profession, demonstrating a clear mission, a commitment to excellence, and the ability to motivate and lead others to higher levels of achievement (Schwartz, Spencer, Wilson, & Wood, 2001). Characteristics and qualities of an effective leader include

Not all nurses go into the profession with leadership ideas. The nursing profession must produce leaders throughout the health care system. Leaders must function as workers, and administrators with leadership qualities, while still meeting their budgets and running effective units with high functioning and happy staff members. They need to trouble shoot necessary and work with the medical faculty while pleasing their staff and the administers.

Learning experiences influencing her personal development into leadership include the years worked as a clinical nurse on the stroke unit. Recognizing the leadership skills of her unit director inspired her to consider pursuing management

Nurses demonstrate the core values of professionally caring for others in two different prospects. Huber (2014), notes that “nurses have two basic roles: care providers and care coordinators” (p. 3). Most significantly nurses are valued in the setting of patient care, while the coordinator role revolves around management and organizing care, using thinking skills to coordinate complex activities. Nursing is multifaceted, although direct quality patient care is of significance, a positive leader or manager is also essential to support the recent changes to healthcare requirements. Having the right blend of qualities is vital to becoming a

Nursing is a very complex career that at many times requires one to be a leader. Nurses can be leaders in formal roles and also on the unit during any given shift. Nursing is a career that truly tests the character and attributes of those who choose to enter this career. Leadership in nursing is vital in creating a successful environment for patients. According to Stichler (2006), “effective leadership is essential to transforming organizations into environments that are safe for both patients and staff” (p. 422). Therefore, it is vital that as new nurses start out his or her careers that they learn from great leaders who are already in the profession. There are several great leaders working in the field who have a plethora of