nursing

Compilation

South University

NSG4029 Leadership in a Diverse Society

Professor

Compilation

The papers completed from week 1 to week 4 have tremendously helped me to gain new insights about the nature of leadership in nursing. I was able to understand various issues including my time management skills, personality type, conflict handling style and the level of my emotional intelligence. Since I managed to score relative high points in the aforementioned domains, I believe that I can be an effective leader in the health care environment. It is also worth mentioning the nursing informatics plays a very critical role in the profession and the society in general. For instance, it aids in the processing and management of nursing data, which can aid in effective delivery of nursing care. Ultimately, nursing informatics and technology will significantly help my leadership in the health care establishment. This discussion synthesizes the insights gained from completing the week 1 to week 4, identifies the role of nursing informatics and concludes with an explanation of how technology and nursing informatics can help to improve my leadership.

Compilation from week 1 to week 4

From completing the time management assignment, it emerged that I am highly proficient in managing my time. Some of the main factors that have aided me in time management include having an organized schedule, using self-stick notepapers, reviewing my goals periodically and multitasking wherever possible. The assignment also enhanced my understanding of leadership theories. A leadership theory that I believe best reflects my leadership style is the behavioral theory, which assumes that the success of a leader depends on what he/she is able to accomplish (Grossman & Valiga, 2012). Some of the behaviors that have been critical in enhancing my leadership effectiveness and time management abilities include being creative, tactful, diplomatic, persuasive, socially skilled, active listener, knowledgeable and organized.

From completing the week 1 assignment, I was also able to understand the differences between management and leadership. For example, goals in leadership arise from personal interest whereas in management the goals mainly come from what the organization envisions. Furthermore, while management focuses on systems and structures, leadership typically focuses on people. Grossman & Valiga (2012) also contend that the powerbase in management comes from a person’s position of authority whereas in leadership the powerbase comes from the knowledge and credibility of the leader. Having effective time management abilities can help nurses and other practitioners in the healthcare profession to dispense their duties diligently and improve treatment outcomes for patients.

The assignment related to personality types was also informative. The Jung Typology Test revealed that my personality falls under the ENFJ category. This indicates that I am an extrovert with a moderate preference for intuition, feeling and judging. The ENFJ personality can greatly enhance my leadership effectiveness. For instance, it enables me to become an effective communicator, which can facilitate better interactions with patients and fellow colleagues at the health care establishment (Curtis, Vries, & Sheerin, 2011). Furthermore, my personality suggests that I am supportive, confident, affectionate, affirming, kind, creative and highly organized. All these attributes can improve my leadership effectiveness. Nonetheless, my ENFJ personality type also indicates that I can be manipulative or controlling at times, a factor that can undermine my leadership effectiveness. I plan to take proactive measures in order to prevent such attributes from interfering with my roles.

From the assignment on conflict handling style, I was able to gain invaluable insights about conflict at the organizational, team and individual levels. A major change theory that can aid to illuminate the nature of conflict is Lewin’s change theory, comprised of three stages that include unfreezing, change and refreezing. After an organization undergoes all the three stages, it should be able to manage conflicts effectively and initiate transformational changes. Another important theory is the learning organization theory, which emphasizes that organizations have high levels of responsiveness and flexibility (Grossman & Valiga, 2012). The conflict process model, feminist conflict theory and the chaos theory are also important theories that can provide insights on the conflict management style. In order to deal with conflicts constructively and improve leadership effectiveness, nurse leaders should strive to become agents of change. My ability to manage conflict can indeed enhance leadership effectiveness since it will aid in clarifying roles, responsibilities and expectations while at the same time stimulating creativity and minimizing hostilities within the organization.

The work on emotional intelligence (EI) also helped to highlight my leadership effectiveness. The EI quiz revealed that my emotional intelligence is above average. I scored a total of 14 points out of the possible 20. The above average EI score can aid in enhancing leadership effectiveness at the health care establishment. This is because I am good at reading nonverbal cues, managing my own emotions, understanding the emotions of others and forging strong interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, my EI score indicates that I am self-confident, a factor that can improve my decision-making capabilities.

Role of Nursing Informatics

Nursing informatics play a very critical role in the profession. Through integrating the principles of nursing with management of ICT technologies, nursing informatics helps to promote the wellbeing of communities, families and individuals (Thede, 2012). Nursing informatics also aids in the processing and management of nursing data, knowledge and information in order to guarantee effective delivery of nursing care. In addition, nursing informatics helps in providing clinical workflow support to frontline nurses. This can improve their job satisfaction and commitment, all of which can ultimately translate to better treatment outcomes. As Thede (2012) vividly points out, nursing informatics also aids in the effective evaluation and selection of appropriate technology, customizing functionality and determining end-user requirements, all of which can enable nurses to provide safe, quality and patient-centered care. Nursing informatics has also helped in the smooth implementation of some technologies such as electronic medical records. This has proved effective in minimizing medical errors, saving costs and minimizing the workload of nurses.

Nursing Informatics in Health Care

Nursing informatics and technology in healthcare will significantly help in enhancing my leadership. For instance, I will be able to use emergent technologies in communicating well with my fellow colleagues and patients, a factor that can enhance my interpersonal skills. Incorporating various technologies such as wireless solutions, high-speed data networks and other handheld devices can also improve the quality and safety of interventions provided by the nurses (Thede, 2012). In addition, nursing informatics can aid me to advocate standards that support evidence-based practice. It will also give me the opportunity to serve as a translator between IT experts and end-users. Through this role, I can be in a better position to lead positive change in the organization while serving as a role model to other nurses.

Conclusion

Completing the assignments for week 1 to week 4 enabled me to gain invaluable insights about my time management skills, personality type, emotional intelligence and conflict management style. They also enabled me to have a heightened understanding of leadership theories and change management theories. Some of the main attributes that can enable me to become an effective leader include strong communication skills, high levels of organization, creativity, self-confidence and respect for individual differences. The discussion also reveals that nursing informatics plays a critical role in the profession. It aids in the processing and management of nursing data, providing clinical workflow support to frontline nurses and evaluation of appropriate technology, all of which can help in promoting the wellbeing of individuals. Personally, I believe that nursing informatics and technology will aid in improving my leadership. It will enhance my interaction with staffs and patients while also enabling me to advocate for evidence-based practice and lead positive change in the organization.

References

Curtis, E. A., Vries, J. d., & Sheerin, F. K. (2011). Developing leadership in nursing: exploring core factors. British Journal of Nursing , 20 (5), 306-309. Retrieved August 28, 2015, from HYPERLINK "http://www.nurse2nurse.ie/upload/na6873leadershp.pdf" http://www.nurse2nurse.ie/upload/na6873leadershp.pdf

Grossman, S. C., & Valiga, T. M. (2012). The New Leadership Challenge : Creating the Future of Nursing (4 ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.

Thede, L. (2012). Informatics: Where Is It? OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing , 17 (1), Online. Retrieved August 28, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Columns/Informatics/Informatics-Where-Is-It.html