Transformational leadership in nursing
The leadership theory that I would most like to emulate is transformational leadership as the theory focuses on bringing positive change. Leaders who use the transformational leadership style are regarded as agents of change especially because they possess the skills and knowledge needed to empower others and get them on board a shared vision that is influenced by the desire to accomplish the overall goals ad objectives. When used, tramsformational leadership helps employees to align their interests with those of the organization. This in turn encourages them to seek out more effective and innovative ways to fulfill tasks assigned to them. By fulfilling the organizational objectives, employees also fulfill their own personal goals and are more motivated. However, for it to be successful, the leader must build and maintain positive relationships with other members of staff. The leader is expected to remain fair, promote openness and honesty in order to gain the trust of the people under their charge.such an environment will encourage employees to perform at their best while still motivating them to make decisions on their own in scenarios that do not require the leaders involvement.
Leaders are also expected to be confident and strongly believe in their vision as well as that of the organization. The leader has a responsibility to ensure that other members of staff are assisted in fulfilling their ultimate goals alongside organizational goals and objectives (Shamian, 2014). Giving the employees a sense of purpose will make it easier for them to align their interests with those of the organization and therefore encourage them to be more innovative and efficient when performing their duties.
The role of the nurse leader includes the collaborative and autonomous care that is given to all patients regardless of their age, gender, community they live in, political disposition and any other setting that is used to classify people in different categories in society. As a nurse, one is expected to promote health, prevent illnesses, take care of the sick and provide the highest level of care to all patients alike (Ratcliffe et al, 2017). In addition, nurses must also promote and advocate for safe working environments for other nurses and caregivers as well as the creation of an ideal environment for patients that enhances the patient’s experience when receiving treatment. Nurses must therefore participate n the development of health policies and health management systems that seek to improve the working environment and the quality of care that patients receive while under their care.
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, human actions and decisions are greatly influenced by the desire to fulfill their basic needs. The basic needs include physiological stability, safety, belongingness and love, self esteem, and self actualization. Maslow also points out that the needs are arranged in a hierarchy with physiological stability being the most important while self actualization is at the bottom of the hierarchy (Habel & Sherman, 2021). When the top basic need is met, the individual moves down to the next basic need until it is fulfilled. To make the model my own, I intend to incorporate the teachings from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs combined with the transformational leadership skills learned. In the model, I will identify the quality of care; promotion of health; and advocacy as the three hierarchies with the quality of care being the most important.
My first priority as an emergency department RN will be to gain more skills and knowledge in my field. To achieve this, I plan on conducting different types of research and engage in volunteer programs that seek to improve my skills and competence as a RN. I will start by identifying professionals in my field and find a role model to emulate and also to act as a mentor. I will try to interact with different nurses and other professionals in the field and use the experiences gained to improve my leadership skills and efficiency as a nurse. Second on the hierarchy will be promoting high quality health not only in the organization but also in my community. I will sign up for volunteer work in my field and use the opportunity to interact with other caregivers and members of society and educate them on how to promote better quality of health. Advocacy will be last on my hierarchy and I will call on stakeholders and the relevant authority to try and promote high quality health in all organizations. I will also take part in the development of policies that seek to promote high quality of care.
I also intend to incorporate lifelong learning through transformational leadership and develop my role as a patient advocate. To achieve this, I will rely on the skills and knowledge that I have gained over the years and introduce communication channels that allow for positive feedback. As a leader, my interaction with patients is limited compared to other nurses. Effective communication will allow me to interact with other nurses, discuss ideas on how to improve the quality of care that patients receive (xu, 2017). Since nurses interact with patients at the health institution and also assist in helping patients manage their conditions when at home, their input will greatly assist in finding new ways to improve the quality of care patients receive. I also plan on interacting with patients on a personal level and gain their insight on what changes can be implemented in the institution to improve the quality of service.
I also plan to develop programs that focus on increasing the time that nurses spend in direct patient care. Other than the treatment that patients receive, the quality of care and the environment in which patients are treated in greatly contributes to their perception of the quality of care. Increasing the time in which nurses spend in direct patient care will allow nurses to pay closer attention to the patients’ needs (Shamian, 2014). The interaction will also enable nurses to collect information about what changes can be introduced in order to transform bedside nursing. Since transformational leadership seeks to mutually benefit the organization as well as the employee, it can be used to share the management’s vision with other members of staff (Griffiths et al, 2016). The vision can be structured such that it communicates the role that nurses and other caregivers play in enhancing patient satisfaction with the quality of service provided.
Transformational leadership can greatly improve communication and collaboration with administrators and the entire healthcare team. Leaders that use transformational leadership are able to create a compelling and positive vision that not only seeks to met the organizational objectives, but also ensure that the needs of the entire healthcare team are met. Its success therefore hinges on positive relationships, interactions and understanding between the leader and other members of staff (Fischer, 2017). Traditional leadership styles used in the past like autocratic leadership created an environment where communication flowed in one direction made it difficult for employees to engage with the top management. This in turn disrupted communication as feedback was rare and employees were only expected to perform the tasks assigned to them under the provisions given by the top management (Fischer, 2016). When transformational leadership is used however, the leader is able to create an environment that is built on effective communication and collaboration that seeks to serve the interest of both the organizations and the entire healthcare team. Rather than dictating terms and issuing orders, the leader is able to engage with other employees, gain their insight on some of the approaches that can be implemented and work together towards accomplishing a common goal (Fischer, 2017). The leader is also in a position to inspire and motivate the healthcare team and include them in the development of policies that strive to enhance communication and collaboration.
Concerning structure, process and the outcomes that are linked to the assessment of care and accreditation, transformational leadership has an advantage as it regards fulfillment of the healthcare teams’ needs as being vital to high work performance and provision of high quality of health to all patients. As stipulated by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, human beings place some level of importance on their needs and wants depending on their urgency or importance (Griffiths, 2016). In nursing, the structures used in the healthcare organization will influence the quality of care provided by nurses and also their attitude when performing their duties. The assessment of care is therefore dependent on factors like the leadership style used, the channels of communication used and whether the leader and other members of staff share the same vision for the expected outcomes (Shamian, 2014). Through transformational leadership, the nurse leader can share his vision of the assessment of care and accreditation with other employees and engage them in activities that seek to improve the structure and processes used in the organization to enhance the quality of care as well as motivate the entire medical team.
I aspire to be one of the influential Emergency Department Nurses in my field and act as a role model for others aspiring to join the profession of nursing. Other than pursuing courses that help grow my academic knowledge, I also intend on carrying out research on how to become a more effective leader. I also plan to engage with other professionals who are experts in their field to learn how to be a better leader. I also plan to use the information I gain to assist in the development of policies that advocate for high quality standards when attending to patients and also the importance of an ideal working environment. The quality of care provided heavily relies on the attitude that nurses have when performing their duties. Creating a safe and ideal environment will likely motivate the entire medical team and encourage them to seek out more innovative and efficient approaches to handle patients under their care.
References
Fischer, S. A. (2017). Transformational Leadership in Nursing Education: Making the Case. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(2), 124– 128. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318417693309
Fischer, S.A. (2016) Transformational leadership in nursing: a concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing 72( 11), 2644– 2653. doi: 10.1111/jan.13049
Habel M and Sherman O, (2021) “The role of transformational leadership in nursing” Nurse, retrieved from, https://resources.nurse.com/magnet-hospitals- transformational-leadership
Ratclife C, Roussel L, and Thomas L, (2017) “Leadership theory and application for nurse leaders” retrieved from, https://samples.jbpub.com/9781284067620/Sample_CH02_Roussel7e.pdf
Shamian J, (2014) “The role of nursing in health care” Scielo, https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167.2014670601
Vaismoradi, M., Griffiths, P., Turunen, H. & Jordan, S. (2016) Journal of Nursing Management 24, 970– 980. Transformational leadership in nursing and medication safety education: a discussion paper. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12387
Xu H, (2017) “leadership theory in clinical practise” Chinese nursing Research, retrieved from, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnre.2017.10.001
