Leadership Opportunities for Effective Nurse Leaders

Leadership Opportunities for Effective Nurse Leaders

Current Leadership Skills

An effective nurse leader can be defined as a leader who inspires followers toward achieving one goal. The qualities that define effective leadership include courage, integrity, the ability to handle challenging situations, and the ability to take the initiative. Currently, the essential nurse leader competencies include critical thinking and decision-making, emotional intelligence, integrity, good communication and listening skills, professionalism, respect, mentorship, and professional socialization (Major, 20019). In comparison with the competencies outlined by Houston (2008), the current needs fully align with those that were identified, except for a few skills that should be added. For instance, the world is now shifting to transformational leadership, and therefore nurse leaders should not only be ordering or giving instructions to their followers but also motivate and challenge followers or employees to be responsible for their roles and work beyond what is expected of them. Therefore, there is a need for nurse leaders to implement transformational leadership. Secondly is the act of emotional intelligence and mentorship. Leaders should be aware of their emotions and how they react to certain challenges to prepare them to overcome difficult situations without being unprofessional. In addition, the nurse leader should act as an example to fellow nurses through role modeling. Our assignment writing help is at affordable prices to students of all academic levels and academic disciplines.

How Requirements for Bachelor of Science in Nursing prepare us to meet Competencies of a Nurse Leader

To become a nurse leader, an individual has to show the unique qualities and characteristics of a leader. Based on the BSN Program, the training should produce self-directed and educated individuals who can provide leadership and administration in their work area. To be enrolled in a nursing school, one has to meet several requirements. According to Ralph et al. (2019), an individual has to demonstrate seriousness in hard work towards achieving goals. This is demonstrated by an individual’s high school diploma performance. For instance, most nursing schools require one to have achieved a grade of not less than 3.5. An additional requirement is criminal background approval to demonstrate trustworthiness as the clinical training takes place in real-life hospitals. Keeping in mind these requirements in addition to others not mentioned, BSN training requires individuals with special personalities and unique qualities of a leader.

Lessons Learned

From this topic, I have learned that the nursing profession is not just concerned about the bedside management of patients but also about showing leadership skills. This is evidenced by the requirements needed for one to join a nursing school for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. It is also apparent that nursing training prepares individuals to become future leaders while in their line of profession. Lastly, I appreciated that there are competencies that define an effective nursing leader, as outlined by Houston (2008). Therefore, all nurse leaders should aim at achieving the outlined competencies.

References

Major D. Developing effective nurse leadership skills. Nurs Stand. 2019 May 24;34(6):61-66. doi: 10.7748/ns.2019.e11247. PMID: 31468933. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2019.e11247

Ralph, N., Graham, C., Beccaria, L., & Rogers, C. (2019). Entry requirements in nursing: Results from a national survey of nurse academics on entry requirements in Australian bachelor of nursing programs. Collegian, 26(1), 140-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2018.06.005

BSN Program (2021). Common Requirements for a BSN Program. Retrieved on 23^rd Oct 2021. Available from: https://www.bsnprograms.org/admission-requirements.html

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Carol Huston’s article “Preparing Nurse Leaders for 2020” was published in the Journal of Nursing Management in 2008. Read the article’s abstract below.

Abstract
Aim: This article highlights eight leadership competencies likely to be an essential part of the nurse leader’s repertoire in 2020.

Background: Planning for the future is difficult, even when environments are relatively static. When environments are dynamic, the challenges multiply exponentially. Unfortunately, few environments have been more unpredictable in the 21st century than healthcare. The healthcare system is in chaos, as is much of the business world. It is critical then that contemporary nursing and healthcare leaders identify skill sets that will be needed by nurse leaders in 2020 and begin now to create the educational models and management development programs necessary to assure these skills are present.

Leadership Opportunities for Effective Nurse Leaders

Results: Essential nurse leader competencies for 2020 include (i) A global perspective or mindset regarding healthcare and professional nursing issues; (ii) Technology skills that facilitate mobility and portability of relationships, interactions, and operational processes; (iii) Expert decision‐making skills rooted in empirical science; (iv) The ability to create organizational cultures that permeate quality healthcare and patient/worker safety; (v) Understanding and appropriately intervening in political processes; (vi) Highly developed collaborative and team-building skills; (vii) The ability to balance authenticity and performance expectations; (viii) Being able to envision and proactively adapt to a healthcare system characterized by rapid change and chaos.

Conclusions: Nursing education programs and healthcare organizations must begin now to prepare nurses to be effective leaders in 2020. This will require the formal education and training that are a part of most management development programs as well as the development of appropriate attitudes through social learning. Proactive succession planning will also be key to having nurse leaders who can respond effectively to the new challenges and opportunities that will be presented to them in 2020.