Module 6 Assignment (N496 Nursing Leadership and Management Full Course)

Qualities of a Nurse Leader

It is important for nurse leaders to engage with other nurse leaders to understand professional roles; a practice experience is assigned to achieve this end. It is expected that you will spend 8-10 hours with the nurse leader, shadowing them in their position, observing them go about their day, and interviewing them. The interview can take place before, during, or after the shadow period or can be on a different day.

**All students are to submit a completed Practice Hour Log of at least 8-10 hours into the Mod 6 dropbox. Note: Students who hold an RN license in the state of Washington must complete a minimum of 10 hours of practice experience as noted on their Log. Upload the Log as a separate document. **

You will engage with and interview a nurse leader in person. You should begin thinking about this activity as soon as possible and identify how you will identify and gain access to the interview. You may include photos, graphs, or charts.

Choose a nurse leader who holds a leadership nursing position in their organization who have direct reports (they supervise other employees). Examples of this include Director of Nursing, Director, Unit Manager. *You may not be employed in the same facility as your interviewee or shadow during personal work hours* (If special accommodations need to be made, approval by your instructor is required first).

Develop an interview guide before conducting the interview. Identify information that you want to know before the interview and plan clarifying questions. You must include at least one question about technology/informatics.

Conduct an interview regarding their professional role in the organization, and a current health care issue that is of interest to you (ethics, conflict management, budget, staffing, culture of safety, “just culture”, career advancement, quality improvement, etc.). Identify the name of the organization and use names of all involved (no anonymity).

Prepare a written report of the interview.

Sample questions below. Feel free to vary the content of the questions to fit your interview:

Please describe the nursing and inter-professional teams that operate in this facility/on this unit.

Can you provide an example of a nursing practice that has been changed in the last year based on current best evidence?

What do you consider your biggest challenge?

What do you love most about your job?

Why did you choose this job?

What other kinds of nursing/other job did you ever do?

How would you describe your company’s culture?

How would you describe your role in admission and staffing decisions?

What is your leadership style?

* If you are employed in a large healthcare facility that has more than one location, you may interview the nurse leader in that organization with prior permission from your instructor. The purpose of this is to get you out of your organization and explore other nursing leadership roles than you might be familiar with.

Assignment Expectations:

Length: 1500 to 1750 words in length; Upload log Separately

Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA format. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Your essay must include an introduction and a conclusion.

References: Use appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Your essay should have at least two scholarly references in addition to the textbook. Please be sure to cite the interview in APA format.

Rubric: This assignment uses a rubric for scoring. Please review it as part of your assignment preparation and again prior to submission to ensure you have addressed its criteria at the highest level.

Format: Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or a PDF document (.pdf)

File name: Name your saved file according to your first initial, last name, and the assignment number (for example RHall Assignment 1.docx)

Submission: Submit to the D2L dropbox for grading prior to Monday at 11:59pm PST

 

 

MORE INFO 

Qualities of a Nurse Leader

Introduction

A nurse leader is a person who guides and leads a nursing unit. They are responsible for ensuring that all policies and procedures are followed, while also being accessible to nurses on their floor and in other parts of the hospital. A nurse leader must be able to mentor other nurses in order to help them improve as professionals within their field of study.

Company champion and enforcer of policies.

A nurse leader is a company champion and enforcer of policies. They ensure that all staff are following policies, procedures, and best practices. The nurse leader tracks incidents to see if they have occurred within the company or on an individual basis.

If you’re in charge of a department or facility with multiple locations, you’ll need to be aware of what’s going on at each location so that you can ensure consistency across all locations. A good way to do this is through reporting systems like online portals where everyone can log in anytime day or night for 24/7 access (or even just once per week).

Communicate effectively with all nurses and physicians.

A nurse leader must be able to communicate effectively with all nurses and physicians. Nurses often feel that they are being managed or ignored by a supervisor, but this is not the case! You need to listen carefully and make sure that you understand what your team members are saying.

Use active listening skills when communicating with others:

• Ask open-ended questions instead of just giving a one-word answer (e.g., “What would you like me to do?”)

• Use nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice and body language in order for people around you know how seriously you are taking their feedback/remarks on issues affecting patient care delivery process within facility/hospital setting where there may be difficulties making decisions about various types of tasks related research projects which require more time investment than usual duties assigned inside hospital staff room during shift schedules change from day shift schedule into evening one every week day except Monday night so that boss doesn’t burn out employees too quickly before deadline date arrives so make sure everyone knows when deadlines start so we can plan ahead accordingly.”

Cultural diversity on the unit.

You will be working with a diverse group of nurses, who may or may not have the same backgrounds as yours. It’s important to understand that this diversity can be a source of strength or weakness in your unit.

The key is to manage cultural differences by creating an environment where everyone feels safe and respected, while still getting the best results from each individual member of your team. In order to do this, you’ll need effective communication skills; excellent time management skills; and a drive toward making improvements on every level—whether it’s process improvement or interpersonal relationships between staff members themselves!

Maintain a presence on the floor while still being available to supervise and mentor nurses.

• Stay on the floor.

• Be aware of what is happening in your unit, and keep an eye on it so that you can be responsive to any issues that arise. This will help ensure that nurses feel comfortable working with you, as well as helping them feel like there’s someone who cares about them and their needs.

• Always be accessible to nurses, whether by phone or in person!

Display a positive attitude constantly.

You should display a positive attitude constantly. This can help to reduce stress and improve morale, as well as improve patient outcomes.

• Be a positive role model for other nurses. Your attitude will rub off on them, so if they see you being positive and upbeat all the time, they’ll want to emulate you!

• Positive attitudes are contagious! If there’s someone who acts like a jerk or always complains about something or other—do not associate with them if possible; instead choose friends who share similar values and outlooks on life (and hopefully have common interests as well).

Time management guru.

• Understand your priorities. It’s important to be able to prioritize tasks, but it’s equally important that you know when and how long tasks take. You’ll have a better time management strategy if you know what each task will take in terms of time and effort, so that when one task is completed before another, you’re not wasting valuable resources on something unnecessary. This can be done through writing down everything on paper or using an electronic checklist such as Trello (https://trello.com/) or Basecamp (https://basecamphq.com/).

• Use calendars wisely! It’s easy enough for nurses today—especially those who work remotely—to forget about their appointments because they are busy with other things at home or work; however, this can lead us into danger if we don’t take advantage of technology such as email reminders or text messages which allow us quick access whenever needed without having any distractions nearby like phones ringing throughout our day…

Asks for help when needed.

Asking for help is an important quality of a nurse leader. Nurses are skilled at recognizing when they need assistance, and asking for it will help ensure that your team members are able to do their jobs effectively.

A good example of this is delegating tasks: if you have a new position with responsibilities that aren’t fully understood by the person who currently holds them, consider assigning them to someone else on the team who could help out with some of the work involved in filling out paperwork or managing meetings. If there’s some aspect of leadership where your expertise doesn’t extend beyond what other nurses might do for support purposes (like directing care), consider having someone else take over as director so that you can focus on developing other types of leaders within your organization—this can make all parties involved happier!

Take charge in emergency situations and provide direction to other nurses.

• Take charge in emergency situations. Nurse leaders are often the first to arrive on scene, and they need to be prepared for anything. If there is an accident or injury in your unit, you’ll need to take control and direct other nurses as necessary.

• Provide direction to other nurses when necessary. Although it’s not always possible or appropriate for a nurse leader (NLP) who has just started their NLP journey with your organization—like myself—you can still provide some guidance if needed by giving advice or suggestions on how best handle certain situations using common sense knowledge of what works best when dealing with people at work in general; even though these may differ depending on where we work!

Conclusion

If you’re an experienced nurse and are looking for a new career, becoming a nurse leader will be extremely rewarding. You’ll have the chance to work with top professionals who share your passion for patient care, along with opportunities to develop leadership skills that can be applied in other roles. There are many different types of leader positions available—from clinical nurses who manage individual units or departments, up through executive directors who oversee entire hospitals—so it doesn’t matter if you’re interested in directing other nurses around the clock or just giving back at home when needed!