Critically Discuss the Effectiveness of Nurse Leadership Order Instructions: Using current literature critically discuss the effectiveness of nurse leaders use of the five major conflict resolution/management strategies (ie compromising, avoidance, collaboration, competition, accommodation) in terms of evidenced patient, staff and organizational outcome in a range of contemporary clinical practice context including new graduate practice context.
Critically Discuss the Effectiveness of Nurse Leadership Sample Answer
Nurse leadership
Leadership competencies are some of the most basic competencies that an individual in any profession or organization must possess, whether at the individual or at the group level. Effective and efficient leadership in a healthcare setting is very necessary. Research on leadership reveals that good leadership in a hospital environment contributes directly to patient outcomes (Curtis, Vries & Sheerin, 2011). Leadership in nursing is one of the very foundations of a nurse because of the great duties of interacting with the patients are more on the nurses than any other professionals in a healthcare setting. Good leadership, health work environment, job satisfaction, lower worker turnover rates, positive outcomes for the patient and healthcare providers greatly rely on effective leadership (Curtis, Vries & Sheerin, 2011).
Several researchers have come up with different leadership theories. Spector (2006, as cited in Curtis, Vries & Sheerin, 2011) classifies these theories into four approaches:
- The trait approach, which focuses on the individual characteristics of a person and how these characteristics affect leadership
- The behavior approach, which just like the trait approach looks at leadership from the perspective of the leader, the way the leader behaves, and how it contributes to effectiveness in leadership
- The contingency approach focuses on leadership as the way a person applies leadership skills according to the situation that they face within their environment.
- The leader-member exchange approach, also called charismatic or transformational leadership looks at leadership from the perspective in which the leaders and supervisors engage in the coordination and delivery of the organization’s objectives.
While all these leadership theories are crucial in helping nurses lead, transformational leadership is the most suitable choice for advancing nursing leadership. This type of leadership is all about vision and the ability to influence others, sharing a bond with followers, trust and being able to empower others (Wagner, et. al., 2010). Nursing leadership differs from all the other types of leadership because the nurse assumes and emphasizes more on nursing assuming responsibility and improving the practice environment (AANAC, 2014). This assumption differs from Lorber, Brigita and Savic (2011) findings in which they concluded that all leaders in whatever position they were in a combined sphere of nursing practice. In this sense, nursing knowledge derived from nursing leadership influences their leadership. In their definition they defined nursing leadership as the ability to empower others, facilitating learning, developing nursing knowledge and working with and through others in order to achieve success ( Lorber, Brigita and Savic, 2011). This definition clarifies further that a nurse leader is any nurse who can assist or help others. In this sense, it means a nurse student who provides medical assistance to patients is a nurse leader just like a practicing nurse offering a medical prescription to the patients in a ward. A ward manager is a leader to all team members. From this definition we can derive that every nurse is a leader, the only difference is the area under which they practice or the authority that they practice.
Conflicts are very common in any working environment where people differ in terms of ideas and ideologies. Conflict resolution competencies are very essential for nurses in a healthcare setting. In their research, Khanaki and Hassanzadeh (2010) came up with the conclusion that conflicts among individuals have proved to have a negative impact in on organizational efficiency and efficacy. This gives us a reason why we should manage conflicts effectively in a work environment. The manner in which the conflict is managed whenever it occurs can determine the effectiveness of the organizations activities. There are several causes of conflicts some of which include poor communication among individuals, a dissatisfaction which may result out poor management style, desire to obtain power, ineffective leadership and lack of openness. Khanaki and Hassanzadeh ( 2010) classify the causes of conflict into three major categories, these are the power, value and economy. Power conflict results when one party demands more power so that to influence the other lesser party. Value conflict results out of inconsistence in people’s culture and way of life. This type of conflict results mostly when individuals from different backgrounds are not ready to adjust to other peoples opinion because to them they feel their opinion is the best. This may be caused by differences in cultural beliefs, religious beliefs and political alignment. Economic conflicts results out of the competition for human basic needs, which are ever limited in nature.
In nursing, conflicts occur in many circumstances. In the first circumstance is the nurse-client conflict. Good nurse client relationship is the foundation of the clients well being (Akerjordet & Severinsson, 2010). The main aim of the nurse in the nurse-client relationship is to help achieve the client’s health goals (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009). Existence of a conflict can be a hindrance to the achievement of this goal. This conflict may escalate if the client is constrained for instance not smoking, fatigued or over stimulated, tense anxious, worried disoriented or afraid. In this case, the avoiding strategy will not help in such a conflict.
The conflict must be brought to an end in order to help achieve the health goals of the client. In this case, the compromising strategy will help solve the problem partially. The nurse needs to find out the medical history of the client by seeking to understand the healthcare needs of the client and the client’s perspective. Acknowledging the clients concerns and addresses them calmly. Anticipate the conflict in situations in which it has previously occurred and create a care plan to prevent its escalation.
Conflicts among colleagues at the workplace are also very common among individuals, and nurses are no exceptional. Poor relationship among members of the healthcare team directly affects the delivery of care to the patients (Henry & Ginn, 2010). For instance, workplace bullying can interfere with the nurse’s confidence and the ability to foster therapeutic relationships with the clients. Struggle and the desire for power can result to a conflict in a workplace. it’s not only the struggle but also misuse of power can also result to the conflict in a workplace where individuals do not feel comfortable with the manner in which they are lead by their nurse leaders. Other major causes of conflicts in nurse leadership include differences in practice perspectives where individuals feel their way of doing things is best based on experience, education level and culture of practice. Bullying of junior staff such as the student nurse on placement and age differences result to conflicts among colleagues (Royal College of Nurses, 2011). It is very important to note that before seeking for a solution to a conflict one must understand its root cause by interacting with the individuals conflicting in order to find out the real cause of the conflict. Collaborating and compromising strategy can help resolve such a conflict. The collaborating strategy requires that the concerns of both conflicting parties must be analyzed and a middle solution that can help solve the conflict is arrived at which satisfies both parties. This strategy is very assertive and cooperative in nature. In compromising strategy, it requires that a solution is arrived at by looking at the concerns of both parties and addressing them while neglecting others as much as necessary and finding a middle-ground position. This strategy is moderately assertive and moderately cooperative (AANAC, 2014).
The other form of conflict that can occur in the nurse work environment is the conflict between workers and the management. This may result out of several factors and this will affect quality service delivery to the clients. Poor management skills applied by the managers can result to the conflict between the managers. For instance, supervision is a very common activity in any work environment, however, the way the supervision is carried out will determine the attitude that the nurses will develop towards the work. Thorough supervision will result to the poor relationship between the management and the workers because the workers will feel that the management does not have trust on them that they can deliver the expectation of the management. Another very common cause of conflict between them management and the workers is equality. All workers are equal as long as they are under one supervisor; none of them is more superior that the other and therefore they should all receive the same treatment (Porter-O’Grady, 2012). Accommodating is one of the strategies that can help solve such a conflict. Lack of engagement of staff workers in managing them and taking care of their concerns can cause conflicts between the management and the staff. if the management cannot manage such conflicts there are very high chances of soldering by workers. This requires that individuals overlook their own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the others. This strategy basically relies on generosity and selfless that is followed by choosing to do what one could not have preferred to do under normal circumstances. Another strategy that can help deal with such conflicts is the competing strategy one seeks for own concerns at the expense of others by using appropriate power to win the position and defend something that is believed to be correct (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009). It is assertive and uncooperative.
Nurse leadership is purely responsible for the management and resolution of conflicts in a work environment. Subordination of individual needs for the best interest of the client’s health should be a driving force for conflict resolution in a working environment. Nurse leadership requires proper inquiry to the cause of the conflict that comes out of the client’s behavior in client-nurse conflict. The nurse needs to assess the cause of the conflict and design the appropriate solution for the conflict. Nurses are required in their professional practice to promote a respectful work environment, mentor, and support and integrate new staff members into the practice setting. In order to function effectively as a team nurses need to have a positive collegial relationship (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009). This relationship can result from good communication, mutual acceptance and understanding, use persuasion pother than coercion and balance of personal emotions in a work environment. The management is purely responsible for soldiering of workers and therefore they have a fully responsibility of preventing the occurrence of such conflicts in a work environment. Management can promote quality practice by establishing good communication networks between the management and the staff and among the staff workers. A fair and efficient reporting system will help the nurses report their dissatisfaction before it results into a conflict. Open communication will promote an atmosphere in which individuals share freely identify the cause of the conflict and finding an appropriate solution before it escalates.
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