Nurse leaders are in charge of all activities that take place in the nursing department or organization. They make sure there is adequate job distribution among the nursing team and that patients get good quality care. Good nursing leadership leads to better delivery of patient care. This article focuses on nursing leadership and also gives you a guide on how to write a good nursing leadership essay.
As a nursing student, writing an essay on nursing leadership helps you understand the qualities of a nursing leader and how to run a nursing organization after you qualify as a licensed nurse. A nursing leadership essay should provide a thorough explanation of nursing leadership, including information on what nursing leadership entails, how to become a nursing leader, the skills of a nursing leader, and appropriate nursing leadership styles.
Format of nursing leadership essay
Below is the format of a nursing leadership essay:
a) Write a research outline
You should create a research outline before writing your nursing leadership essay. You organize your essay’s workload in the research outline. You should do considerable research using various nursing leadership essay samples to understand what nursing leadership essays are about. Make a note of the important information while you conduct your research so that you may refer to it when you begin writing your nursing leadership essay.
b) Write the introduction
The introduction should draw the reader’s attention hence you should make it interesting. Start by outlining what nursing leadership is as well as the various components of effective leadership. You should briefly describe the purpose of your nursing leadership essay in the introduction since it establishes the tone for the entire paper.
c) Write the body
You explain the nursing leadership essay in depth in the body paragraphs. You should describe the influence of nursing leadership on a nursing department, organization, and healthcare industry. You should discuss various nursing leadership skills and your nursing leadership traits. For example, give an illustration of how you applied your nursing leadership skills to address a specific issue in your nursing practice or academic setting.
Always make sure to include your unique perspective in the nursing leadership essay by using examples from your own experiences. This increases the reader’s attention in the article and helps them learn how to put different leadership traits into practice. You should also elaborate on the value of your nursing leadership skills to you and your overall nursing career.
d) Write the conclusion
You provide the overview of your full nursing leadership essay in the conclusion. In your conclusion, you should discuss how important nursing leadership is to the healthcare industry and how your leadership skills benefit both you and the nursing field. The conclusion is a sum up of your nursing leadership essay, therefore you should always make sure you don’t add any new information.
Using the format above, you will be able to compose a good essay. You may also look at examples of nursing leadership essays from various sources to gain more knowledge of nursing leadership essays.
Leadership in nursing
What is leadership in nursing? Leadership in nursing is the administration of nurses’ daily activities, which includes scheduling nurses’ shifts, distributing work equally among the nursing staff, making sure there are adequate resources for the nursing department or organization, and resolving issues as they arise.
Leadership skills in nursing
Leadership skills in nursing are essential for the proper management of a nursing department or organization. They include:
a) Good communication
A nursing leader should be able to establish an effective communication channel for the other nursing staff members so that they can voice their concerns and the leader can then take the necessary action to address the concerns. The nurse leader should also have proper communication with other leaders in the nursing organization thus providing proper healthcare to patients.
b) Emotional intelligence
Being a nurse leader, you should have a high emotional intelligence which enables you to effectively deal with stressful situations. You should also guide the other nurses on how to handle challenging and stressful situations thus building their emotional intelligence.
c) Empathy and compassion
A competent nurse leader frequently possesses empathy and compassion, which aids them in understanding and supporting others. These traits are useful for nurse leaders to have not only while treating patients but also when managing and instructing other nurses. Nurse leaders can better comprehend and lessen nursing job pressures with the use of compassion and empathy, which also enhances team performance.
d) Dedicated to excellent performance
A good nurse leader instills a culture of excellence in their staff. They are committed to providing good quality care, and they instill this desire in all other nurses. They encourage this commitment by placing an emphasis on good performance and patients’ safety as well as establishing routine reviews on the performance thus upholding the standard of care.
e) Team building and mentorship
Nurse leaders establish a shared goal, emphasize collaboration, and foster a feeling of community. They serve as an example of effective dispute resolution and communication in the workplace. Nurse leaders instruct and motivate their nursing staff to carry out their caregiving responsibilities to the highest standards. They determine what assistance their trainees require to accomplish that requirement. Additionally, they provide nursing leadership mentoring for nurses who might eventually rise to those positions.
Leadership management and team working in nursing
Nursing management is the process of guiding teams and nursing departments to uphold the best standards and structure while providing patient care. The nursing staff is instructed by nurse managers to use practical methods to ensure there is effective treatment of the patients. Nurse managers also oversee the daily operations of the healthcare organization in which they operate.
Nurse managers are in charge of hiring, allocation of schedules, and evaluations of performance in the nursing team. Nursing management positions require leadership skills thus nurse managers continue to treat patients and interact closely with nursing teams to implement their daily duties.
Team working in nursing is vital since it helps in the delivery of good-quality patient care. A good nursing team maintains effective schedules in the organization, constantly expands its knowledge of drugs, techniques, patient care, enhances leadership and teamwork abilities, gives proper treatment to the patient, and educates the patient’s family on how to care for the patient once discharged.
Authentic leadership in nursing
Authentic leadership in nursing ensures a healthy balance between the healthcare organization’s business and caring for others. Authentic nurse leaders exhibit empathetic behavior, are open and honest, have high moral standards, engage in good decision-making, are skilled at proper communication, and cherish strong interpersonal relationships.
A healthy work environment grows and develops as a result of authentic leaders. Authentic leadership is defined as the fundamental element of good leadership necessary to foster trust and a more positive work environment that supports proper patient safety and high-quality care as well as employee recruitment and retention. The key to being a good leader is authenticity, which is why nurse managers should possess it.
Below are the four pillars of authentic leadership:
a) Self-awareness
Being conscious of your values and views is a definition of self-awareness. Authentic leader who embodies this character is conscious of their assets and liabilities. They demonstrate that they are conscious of how their strengths and weaknesses may affect others through their behavior. Learning about oneself is a lifelong path toward self-awareness. Integrity and openness are communicated by managers who are self-conscious, aware of their basic principles and show how they guide their decisions.
b) Authentic behavior
Authentic leaders should exhibit authentic behaviors, they are sincere, open about their motivations and feelings, want to make a change, and are governed by selfless principles. They learn about their own beliefs, value systems, and the reason behind their leadership position. A true leader upholds and exemplifies good morals.
c) Balanced information processing
Balanced processing entails being prepared to unbiasedly study evidence and weigh other viewpoints before to making a choice. Before deciding, they solicit sufficient input and viewpoints from followers, including both favorable and negative ones. Authentic leaders should be conscious of their own opinions and receptive to those of others.
d) Relational transparency
Relational transparency is the presentation of a person’s authentic self through communicating your thoughts and feelings in a manner that is right for the circumstances. This calls for a degree of honesty so that others will be honest with you. Others are inspired to share their feelings, difficulties, and opinions by this kind of transparency.
In general, authentic leadership in nursing is an effective type of leadership since it ensures a better provision of healthcare and a conducive working environment for the nurses. All nurse leaders should embrace authentic leadership in nursing.
Summary
As a nursing student, writing a nursing leadership essay is part of your class work. You can use this article to learn about nursing leadership and how to write a good nursing leadership essay. If you need help with your nursing leadership essay, we provide professional essay writing services.
