Nursing Leadership and Management

Nursing Leadership And Management

Introduction

Nurses are the first line responders. From the past few years, their role as leaders is in debate. Being one of the most significant parts of the health care system, it is pivotal that the functions and performance of these nurses should be managed, and guidance should be provided in the best possible way.

For this reason, concept of nurse leaders is promoted. These individuals are responsible to properly shape up the staff management for better patient health care outcomes. It is necessary that the nursing leaders, in case of hospitals, the clinical nursing leaders, should have vast knowledge, and they should be capable to handle problems ( Stavrianopoulos, 2011).

Discussion

Case 1: Workload worries

Nursing leadership

Leadership plays a vital role in the nursing department. A leader is the individual, who steers the activities and operations being held within the organization. A nurse leader is responsible for maintaining the integrity, teamwork and brings out quality care for patients.

It is of note for a leader to have a clear vision first, and then try to make this vision a reality (Kitson, (2001). The main aim of a leader in the nursing division is to provide maximum care to patients and equal rights and best working environment to the staff. The leader's professional growth depends on his performance and how he handles the nurses working under him to benefit the healthcare system.

Current scenario and shortcomings

According to the current scenario in the hospital's pediatric ward, the staff is over burdened. There are 15 registered nurses and 22 Licensed practical nurses. There are 32 beds in the pediatric care. The previous nurse manager has resigned due to incompliance and irresponsive behavior of the staff nurses. The staff is not satisfied, and mismanagement is evident. There are communication gaps between the manager and the staff. The work load is not bearable by the staff, and this is affecting their performance, hence the patient outcomes.

Problem solving tools

Problem solving tools are incorporated into a method called problem solving. This tool can be implemented in this case to solve the problem of nursing work overload.

Identification of the Problem

In order to solve a problem, it is important to find out it's core reason first. The problem here is the over burdened nursing staff.

Workload management

Work load management is mandatory for the satisfactions of the staff as well as better patient outcomes. As mentioned by Pascale Carayon and Ayse P. Gurses in their article on Nursing Workload and Patient Safety—A Human Factors Engineering Perspective, nurses if suffer from heavy workload, burnout and this stress can play a negative role when it comes to the quality of care.

This workload might affect the patient safety and causes job dissatisfaction in the staff (p.5).In the current situation; it is obvious that the nurses are overburdened with the workload. The management is not proper and the work distribution in unequal. The staff has been found complaining about the unequal work distribution in two teams. This shows the in capabilities of the previous ...