Nurse Leader Interviews

Nurse Leader Interviews

Grand Canyon University

NUR 670

Nurse Leader Interviews

Leadership may be extended to any nurse in the profession who seeks to provide followers with the guidance needed to promote either himself, herself or the profession. As nurses gain experience with the profession they may begin to develop traits as described by the nursing code of ethics. Nurses may develop leadership qualities and strive to become leaders in the field. As nurses grow and develop becoming leaders, they can develop a leadership style described by many researchers and current nursing leaders. Having the luxury of traveling and meeting many nursing leaders, I have the opportunity to embrace many styles of leadership at various institutions. The current facility I am working at has many leaders I can reach for mentorship or inspiration.

The first leader is the current clinical manager of the main operating room. He has been with this organization for over 20 years and with this tenure, he has developed and maintained several positive working relationships with many of his staff and fellow leaders. In a large institution, perioperative services will often have separate service lines for various surgical specialties, such as neurological, cardiovascular, general and orthopedic departments. With many specialties and employees functioning at various levels making this department successful, he embraces his role and the challenges that may come with. When asked to describe his leadership style he expressed that he utilizes a democratic leadership style that allows him to collect input from his staff to help meet the needs of the department. He developed committees to overcome issues and tasks other nursing leaders may see challenging. This leader has a scheduling and call shift committee of three senior staff members who work with the input from each staff to complete the daily schedule after requests for days off or vacation has been submitted. The nurse leader in this situation signs off on the final schedule the committee designs on a weekly basis but they plan and design the schedule as far out as six weeks. He attributes this style as it pertains to scheduling and meeting the department staffing needs by making most the staff satisfied with their schedule. This nurse leader also states his success in his department to the democratic style with how he handles various day to day staffing issues like room assignments and lunch breaks. He allows staff to determine various needs within each specialty and complication of surgical cases. Staff are willing to step forward with their strengths or weaknesses to cover one another to obtain the best possible outcome for the patients.

Another leader I questioned on the leadership style they consider as their own or believe to follow is a new first time leader and manager of the operating room at the facility where I conduct my clinical hours. This leader recently completed her masters in nursing and could obtain this position as the department manager with the relationship she kept with her superior who hired her to work for her. I asked her to express how what her leadership style was or is and how effective she thinks her style is with her new staff. Her explanation of her leadership style was simple, she said she was an authoritarian leader because she needed to clean up the way people or her staff function in the operating room. As mentioned before, this department was without a leader for many months and the culture was very relaxed towards the sustainability of the organization. An example of this is staff would punch in when they wanted or early and punch out when it was time to leave, creating unnecessary overtime hours for the department. She created a counseling form for staff who had consistent early punches and expressed that this practice needed to immediately cease. The only exception was for those where were asked to come in early for cases needing extra time to set up in the morning. This directive to control costs utilizing an authoritarian style in management allowed her to successfully handle the situation quickly.

The third leader interviewed for the leadership style utilized was the manager of the ambulatory service unit. She was a seasoned nurse and the leader of the department for well over 10 years and with the organization for nearly 25 years. Growing with the institution, she said that the leadership style she closely relates to is the democratic or participative leadership. She stated this form of leadership or management is important for a small unit because it allows her staff to contribute suggestions for various decisions needed within the department. Participative leadership has been shown to enhance employee engagement, keep talented employees onboard as well as keeps a trusting relationship between staff and managers (Newman, Rose, & Teo, 2016).

The leaders chosen to interview for this assignment were ideal for the necessary comparison of leadership styles coinciding with the concepts of this course and with servant leadership. Reflecting on the encounters with these leaders, I may have missed the opportunity to seek their motivation to be in the position these nurses currently hold. I also may have questioned who their mentors were or another leader who inspired them to become the leader they are today. I can express the actions of one of these leaders as an inspiration in his leadership abilities and the trusting relationship he has with his staff. Another question I could have asked these nurse leaders is where do they see their career in the future both short term, within the next three to five years and long term. My personal future is in the hands of the Lord and I accept what he plans for me in life, in nursing and as a leader.

Nursing leaders are in demand to lead and inspire a new generation of nurses. Leaders in the nursing profession are also facing the challenges the current and future health care policies and practices are facing. Nursing leaders will have an opportunity to become an integral component in the healthcare industry and participate in the changes to come. A primary goal is to provide a higher quality care with the safest practice and is the most economical for our patients (Hooper, 2016). Achieving such goals will require nurses providing care at all levels of experience performing with an elevated knowledge base provided by nurse leaders. In relation to the perioperative specialty, nursing leaders as well as educators should focus on developing successors in the perioperative nurse leader position as many who hold such positions move upward in the organization or retire. The future of perioperative leadership is susceptible to a decline in patient care from loss of efficiency a good leader carries (Sherman, Patterson, Avitable & Dahle, 2014).

References

Hooper, V. D. (2016). The Institute of Medicine Report on the Future of Nursing: Where Are We 5 Years Later?. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing, 31(5), 367. doi:10.1016/j.jopan.2016.08.013

Newman, A., Rose, P. S., & Teo, S. T. (2016). The Role of Participative Leadership and Trust-Based Mechanisms in Eliciting Intern Performance: Evidence from China. Human Resource Management, 55(1), 53-67. doi:10.1002/hrm.21660

Sherman, R. O., Patterson, P., Avitable, T., & Dahle, J. (2014). Perioperative Nurse Leader Perspectives on Succession Planning: A Call to Action. Nursing Economic$, 32(4), 186.