Nursing Leadership Blog

Coming into the last two weeks of the semester, motivation seems like a great topic to cover at this time! It makes so much sense that the success of a team or workplace is directly related to the level of motivation that team or employees have. The key part of motivating is finding out what people wants and figuring out how you can best provide that or assist them in earning it. There are so many different facets of ways that managers can motivate employees. It mostly all boils down to learning to understand them individually and learning what makes them tick! What you know that you can “attack” them from all sides finding different ways to motivate that individual employee and every employee.  I thought it was great the way Sean orchestrated that everyone is motivated in different ways and that it is a leader’s role to continually find ways to motivate those around them. Recognition seems to be one of the best ways to motivate and encourage. Even when handing out recognitio...

Strategic planning is all about how we are going to go from where we currently are to where we want to be (our goals). I like how Sean pointed out that making goals is the easy part, the action necessary between making goals and reaching goals is what is hard. I once heard someone say of goals, “goals without actions are simply wishes”. In the past strategic planning was done without exact data or research. Modern day strategic planning is more data based. Data is more easily accessible and being in the information sharing era, research is so much easier and simpler than it used to be. Strategic planning should focus on 6 months to 2 year periods. The days of projecting out 5 years and strategically planning for it are in the past. We currently set long term goals, but strategically plan for the short term to take the steps to eventually reach our goals. Sean discussed a particular CEO who made his personal values also the values of his organization. Sean discussed how this often ...

For this interview I interviewed Lori. Lori is the office manager as well as the billing/tax lady for a local small business. I really haven’t given too much consideration to budgeting before now. It is funny because my wife is the daughter of a CPA and her entire life she has been taught to budget, budget, budget! I was not, and I think it drives my wife crazy sometimes! Having the opportunity to interview Lori was a great learning experience. It has been my experience that people who work in business finance/accounting do not always have the most upbeat or friendly of personalities, Lori was not as expected. She was so entertaining to talk to and happy to share with me her insights into budgeting. This was the first thing I learned from her, budgeting isn’t always boring and the people who do it aren’t either! Within Lori’s business there is a lot of room is left for employee/numerical error. The opportunity for big mistakes is budgeted into their budget! This almost alway...

I am right along with Sean when it comes to change. I love it! It excites me and is something I am always seeking out. I do believe a solid foundational way of doing things is needed and good, but there are always ways to do things better! No matter what it is, there is always a way to do it better. It seems that with every task I do I am always running scenarios through my mind of how I can change it. I know this isn't the case with everybody. Some people enjoy clear cut direction and longevity so that they may perfect their skills and job. I completely understand this as well, but like Sean says, change is one of the only constants in the universe. Change must and will happen to adapt to our surroundings and way of life. Without change, we would all eventually fail. Often times introducing change is difficult in the workplace. Many people have done things one way their entire career and then they are asked to adapt to a new way. This can obviously be difficult for many. For cha...

I had not considered the complexities of scheduling before this unit. As units get larger the difficulty of scheduling increases as well. It is vital to have staff aware of their scheduled work times and present for them, these RN's are depended upon to support and maintain people’s lives. If scheduling is not done well or if RN's are not properly informed or do not understand their schedules people may suffer physically because of it. Charge nurses and managers carry a heavy load in creating schedules and ensuring staff is aware of their responsibilities. I now more fully understand the stresses on these managers who have to juggle people’s personal schedules, being short on staff, and whatever other problems present themselves. At first glance it seems that scheduling should be a quick and simple process, but in reality it is a difficult and very important job of the charge nurse/managers. I will be sure to be mindful of this burden when receiving future schedules on my unit...

The future of nursing is bright! I think this study and results that we examined this week are fantastic, their vision is taking nursing in a great direction! Diversity in the workforce and treating diverse populations will increase. I think it is great that wellness is going to again be a huge focus in healthcare and in society. For so long the focus has been centered on treating symptoms rather than maintaining and promoting wellness. Primary care will see a rise as more incentive is placed on staying healthy and not becoming sick. Professionals working hand in hand to best treat their patients is the way healthcare should be handled. I believe these forums and group efforts to best support patients is vital to the future of healthcare. We will see an increase in quality of care as these systems change and as technology and education improves. Nurses have always been and will continue to be the forefront of patient care. These new focuses and systems being implemented will be done s...

You’re right Sean, budgeting isn’t the most exciting! I completely agree that all healthcare is about money. Obviously budgeting is a huge part of that. This week did give me a great opportunity to see further into facility management, budgeting, expenses, and how the day to day is managed in the healthcare facility. I feel that knowing these things and keeping them fresh in my mind, working day to day on the hospital floor I can personally work to conserve budget and avoid waste. The articles this week provided deep insight into how to create hospital budgets and how to better understand expenses. Being able to work through these documents allowed me to see step by step how these things are done. I am not sure how active I will be in using these in my career, but I know I will be a better nurse and manager better understanding the implications of budget management. I like what Sean said about how simply good leadership can result in dramatic budget cuts.  Things like educating an...

I learned a lot about disciplinary action and firing this week. These are not easy things to do and should not be taken lightly. Warnings and notice should be given to employees in regards to unacceptable behavior the potential of being let go. It is not morally okay to simply fire someone on a wimb, they should have forewarning and an opportunity to correct errors in action. With that said, sometimes firing is the best situation for the business and for the employee as well. Sometimes being fired and the lessons learned there in are needed by some to fully understand this misconduct and to begin bettering themselves for the future. This is why I believe a big part of the firing process should involved explanation, teaching, and guidance. When I attain a leadership position, I personally plan on do this hard job myself. I want to be the one to look my employee in the eye and explain to them how be removed from one opportunity will hopefully open them up to many more. I want to be able...

For this interview we interviewed Mike. Mike is a lead technician for Utah Communications Agency Network (UCAN). I haven't given much thought to the firing process until now. It is an aspect of management that is important but not one I have really had to consider until now. Speaking with Mike about discipline and firing was a great opportunity to learn from someone who has had to deal with it routinely. One thing I thought was impressive about Mike was the responsibility he was willing to take in the firing process. He talked about now involving others in the final decision and act of actually dismissing somebody. He said as the manager it is up to him and him alone, and as the decider, he also says it is his responsibility to take care of the actual act of firing. He also talked about the importance of being honest with the person that is being fired as to the reasons why and how you think they could improve in the future. I think this is a great way to approach it, you are putt...

I was able to interview Robert Brough. Robert oversees a team of programmers for Utah Communications Agency Network. This state organization makes sure public safety units have communication with each other (in a nutshell). I feel like this was a great learning opportunity for myself in better understanding how a manager operates their performance appraisal interviews. I found Robert to be pretty short in his answers but exact and concise as well. He talked a lot about how the main focus of his interviews is on employee reliability and their ability to complete their responsibilities with quality work and on schedule. He said that if results fall outside of those two parameters then he considers expectations not met. His exactness in this area surprised me. He demands near perfection with these employees and without it his assessment of their performance falters. I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing, it is just surprising and a bit of a wake up call hearing it from a manageri...

I learned a lot about ethics this week and the usefulness of an ethics committee. Ethics are a complicated thing as they are subjective person to person. What one person values another one might not. This conflict can often present with difficult dilemmas and situations, especially in the medical field. I have rarely thought about or heard about ethics committees. Although their purpose is meaningful I just haven’t had to deal with them at all up until this point in my nursing career. Now with learning about these committees, it is quite comforting. I have often thought about medical moral decision-making and the grey areas often involved. The legality and the ethical decision-making involved in such situations seems so much less stressful and simpler with the availability of an ethics committee. I think that it is great that these committees are required throughout healthcare. An ethics committee is a group of people that are put together to present ideas and perspective on the ...

I enjoyed learning about performance appraisals and problems employees this week. It is not the most exciting topic but it is definitely interesting to delve into and learn about. I feel that I personally learned the most about performance reviews and team improvement/building this week. I learned that the purpose of performance reviews is to assess the quality and effort that employees are putting into their job and to communicate with them on way to become better. It is an opportunity to give employees reassurance of their value to the workplace and to recognize them when they are doing well. It is an opportunity to work with employees on goal setting and learning new skills/behaviors. I think making, scheduling, and assessing goals is a huge part of reviewing performance. I learned that it is hugely beneficial to strategically stay consistent with criteria and technique from interview to interview. It is important that employees have a baseline and understand how they...

Although this unit didn't have much class material, I feel like the activities we participated in were full of learning opportunities. I have never spent much time researching team dynamic and communication. In researching and beginning the Team Building Activity I began to understand more fully the necessity for good team coordination, teamwork, and relationships. The influence these factors have on work productivity and quality is impressive to learn about and instills in me a desire to work in an environment and team that nurtures this. It was fun learning and writing about different team building activities and seeing the different ways you can begin to build trust and friendships with people you just barely met. I always understood and knew the value of good team work, but I feel that this week has influence my perspective on the actual value a good team provides. After this week I feel that I will spend extra time focusing on participating with my team, rather than just comp...

We interviewed Doug Dahlin this week. He is a construction foreman/independent contractor in Fairfield, CA. This was a great opportunity to gain some knowledge and understanding from someone who has hired/fired so many people throughout his career. One thing that stood out to me in our interview was the large value he placed on candidate’s confidence, composure, and self-esteem. Much of these characteristics are conveyed with little to no speaking whatsoever. As soon as a candidate steps foot in the door, these attributes can instantly begin to be assessed.  I feel that of all the information he shared with me, this was most important to me personally. I actually spoke to Doug in further detail as to how he likes to see people act in the interview setting, how he likes them to carry themselves and deeper details on what he likes to see from their nonverbal communication. I feel like I learned a lot from him in this area. He also talked a lot about personality and how important it ...

I thought Sean's lecture method of presenting Hiring from the managements perspective was very interesting. It makes that turnover is the leading of cause of turnover in nursing hiring. It is interesting that turnover has changed so much in the recent decades, so much so that the term "long term commitment" has drastically changed. It is relieving to know that management is accepting of reasons for leaving a position to pursue additional education or career goals. Some of the benefits and cons of turnover are things I had not considered before. The temporary negative effects of nursing turnover is shocking to me. I had no idea the complications that a nurse leaving a unit has on the effectiveness, profitability, and ability to care for patients on that unit. The positives of bringing in less paid nurses, newly educated nurses, and new blood into the unit all make perfect sense. It leads me to believe that management even wants some degree of turnover each year. With t...

This week I feel like I learned a lot! I came into this course not really knowing what to expect and wondering how we could take a whole semester talking about the subject of leadership. I think this week my eyes were opened to the broader world of what is involved in leadership as a whole. It is so great to better understand the difference between management and leadership, to begin to understand the differences between leadership styles, and to be introduced into the realm of management/leadership theory. Discussing our own personal definitions of leaders, in our group we found that we all thought very much alike. The list that was provided to us to discuss, included great people and villainous people, but yet all showed the characteristics of leaders. It was a bit difficult to think of people like Hitler as a leader, but it was also an eye opening experience being able to look at it from other perspectives. I don’t think this discussion really changed my opinion on the subject, b...

1.         Leadership requires personal mastery  – Nurses demonstrate leadership when they show competence and mastery in the tasks they perform. Nurses are deemed competent by means of a license to practice nursing (NLN 2010). 2.         Leadership is about values  – Nurses demonstrate leadership when they are honest, respectful, and professional to their patients and fellow staff. Acknowledging and honoring the moral responsibilities the nurse owes to their patients is vital to caring for them effectively. 3.         Leadership is about service  – Nurses demonstrate leadership when they show dedication by giving of their time and energy. Nursing can often be a strenuous job, yet nurses continue to work hard to provide for those that are depending upon them. 4.         Leadership is about people and relationships  – Nurse...

a. The results of the test: The test results show me with 6 marks in Steady, 4 marks in Conscientious, 3 marks in Influential, and 2 votes in Dominant. b. Was this a revelation/ new knowledge about yourself? After seeing the test categories, these results are about what I was expecting would show for me Though it was not new knowledge, it is a nice confirmation in knowing one’s own skillset. c. How will this effect your leadership style? Although I expected to fall under the steady category based off skillset, I actually disagree with the definition that this category label puts me in. So although this tests definition of my skillset suggests I am more of a supportive role, I do not plan on this altering my leadership style. I believe a steady and conscientious leader is he best kind of leader I can personally be. d. What will you do with the knowledge this test gives you? Truthfully, although this test confirmed some of my strengths, it made me feel a bit diminished in other...