Time management, self-assessment information
One thing I have learned is that nursing student life is chaotic. Juggling between personal life, school responsibilities and other essential physiological needs are challenging. Therefore, time management skills a vital component of every great nurse.
This is because effective time management and task ease the transition process. In the time management assessment, my score was 28, which indicates that I have above average time management skills. This implies that there is still room for improvement (Ghiasvand et al., 2017).
The roles and responsibilities of a nurse practitioner are limitless. One has to be proficient in all healthcare aspects including financial management, interpersonal effectiveness, and leadership. To effectively manage all these responsibilities, it is important to have excellent time management skills. To start with, I will have to learn on ways to set priorities. Learning how to prioritize my tasks has been my greatest challenges.
This includes thinking through the situations using the following the following questions: which task is important? What is the consequence of not acting now? What is important? Although this feels like one is just dawdling, the process helps one learn how to prioritize activities through questioning, dialogue, and reflection. Through critical thinking process, one can break down the demands of the situation efficiently and quickly (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014).
However, it is also important to exercise some flexibility and patient. This is because part of the nursing profession is to confront the unknown. I have also learned that it is important to create a mental space so as to create a good tone for the rest of the day as it allows one to calmly assess the environment which helps one to prepare and plan. Lastly, it is important to take a break. I always find it difficult to take a break as I consider it time wasted. However, after this course, I have practiced taking 5 minutes breaks whenever necessary which greatly improves productivity and mental concentration (Ghiasvand et al., 2017).
Leadership theory that describes the leadership style
Nursing leadership plays an integral role in the healthcare institution. The leadership styles affect their productivity and patient outcomes. It is important to understand the various types of leadership styles found in the workplace as it influences nurse’s ability to work as a team and to deliver quality care. Nurse leadership goes beyond care planning, organizing and care coordination of the patients. It entails leading the nurse team and subordinates and facilitates smooth flow of healthcare processes (Vesterinen et al., 2013).
Many leadership theories have evolved including trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories and the recently contemporary theories. My leadership style is informed by transformational theories. These are theories that focus on the relationship between leaders and group.
I feel more obliged to help the team members to fulfill their potential. As a leader, I understand that my roles and responsibilities include promoting teamwork between team members, encouraging positive self-esteem and empowering the team members to become more involved in the development and implementation of policies and procedures (Porter-O’Grady, 2016).
Comparison between management and leadership
Leadership and management terms are often used interchangeably in many disciplines; however, there is a big difference between two terms. According to my perception, nursing is a calling to leadership. Across the continuum, nurses are looked as leaders because we inspire, empower and motivate others. Nurses possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills and are risk takers.
These are the core responsibilities of a leader. Nurses do not need to be in a managerial position to deliver these responsibilities; they are energetic and devote their entire life to serve the society. Therefore, nurses are inherently leaders and are a mandatory role in healthcare (Nancarrow et al., 2013).
However, there are various types of leadership. Authoritarian leadership is dictatorial whereas democratic leadership involves democracy where team members are included in the decision-making process. The other types of leadership are delegated where the leader allows everyone to make independent decisions. From my assessment, I am a democratic leader.
This is because I listen to other people ideas and incorporate them during the decision-making process. On the other hand, nurse management focuses mainly in fields that deal with the management of staff and the service users. In this capacity, nurse managers are expected to fulfill the assigned tasks and projects. However, nurse managers and nurse leaders do complement each other (Porter-O’Grady, 2016).
Application of leadership concepts in work environment
Throughout this course, the concept of health-promoting leadership in workplace focuses on the interaction between the leadership behavior and the working environment. From my research, I have learnt that successful leaders are those who create healthy workplace. This is achieved by promoting positive climate among employees such as gratitude, compassion, and forgiveness. The main aim is to create an environment that respects each and brings out a sense of responsibility and integrity. This, in turn, creates a sense of commitment, peace, and the creation of healthy environments that are a representation of our life and values (Al-Sawai, 2013).
References
Al-Sawai, A. (2013). The leadership of Healthcare Professionals: Where Do We Stand? Oman Medical Journal, 28(4), 285–287. http://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2013.79
Ghiasvand, A. M., Naderi, M., Tafreshi, M. Z., Ahmadi, F., & Hosseini, M. (2017). The relationship between time management skills and anxiety and academic motivation of nursing students in Tehran. Electronic Physician, 9(1), 3678–3684. http://doi.org/10.19082/3678
Kourkouta, L., & Papathanasiou, I. V. (2014). Communication in Nursing Practice. Materia Socio-Medica, 26(1), 65–67. http://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2014.26.65-67
Nancarrow, S. A., Booth, A., Ariss, S., Smith, T., Enderby, P., & Roots, A. (2013). Ten principles of good interdisciplinary teamwork. Human Resources for Health, 11, 19. http://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-11-19
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here
Porter-O’Grady, T. (2016). Leadership in Nursing Practice, 2nd Edition. [South University]. Retrieved from https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/9781284091557/
Vesterinen, S., Suhonen, M., Isola, A., Paasivaara, L., & Laukkala, H. (2013). Nurse Managers’ Perceptions Related to Their Leadership Styles, Knowledge, and Skills in These Areas—A Viewpoint: Case of Health Centre Wards in Finland. ISRN Nursing, 2013, 951456. http://doi.org/10.1155/2013/951456
