DETAILS: part 2

Professional Identity and Stewardship

Professional identity and stewardship are important components in the health care industry. There are many roles within health care, one being a leadership role. The views of a leader are similar to those of a team member, however they differ slightly. This difference can be attributed to the shift in mentality and focus when one takes on the leadership role. Although there are slight differences in ways of thinking, the overall beliefs and views of an individual in a leadership role compared to a peer are very similar.

Role as a Health Care Team Member

Leaders are an important part of any organization. In health care the leadership role can vary from one area to another. In the acute care setting Clinical Supervisors are an important leadership role. XXXXXX is a Clinical Supervisor on an acute care floor for pediatric patients. Ms. XXXXX describes her position as a Clinical Supervisor as a leadership role in which she is able to aid with patient care, as well as encourage growth and development of her team (A. XXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018). A typical night for a clinical supervisor includes aiding staff when needed, creating patient assignments for the next shift, productivity reports and handling any issues that may arise. Ms. XXXX has functioned in this role for a year and was previously a staff nurse and charge relief on the unit she currently works on. “I believe being part of the same unit, now in a leadership role, has given me insight to the needs of my team and unit (A. XXXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018).” Ms. Linehan states that this leadership role has allowed her to aid staff members in the development of their knowledge and skills as well as create changes on the unit to make it better for patients and staff (A. XXXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018).

Professionalism

Ms. XXXXX described professionalism as a combination of several attributes including knowledge and skills, appearance, attitude, behavior as well as others (A.XXXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018). Ms. XXXXX states that professionalism is not only being knowledgeable in a certain field but also being punctual, dressed appropriately and considerate of those around you (A. XXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018). Health care workers interact with individuals from all walks of life, being professional includes accepting and honoring the differences in everyone.

Steward of Health Care

“Being a steward of health care, to me means being open minded to change and encouraging those who I influence to bring change to health care. It means to encourage lifelong learning and maintain a high standard for patient care (A. XXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018).” Ms. XXXXX states she sees herself as a steward of health care in the sense that she is always continuing to learn and encourage those around her to do the same. She encourages employees who are furthering their education to bring their knowledge and evidence based practice projects to the unit. Ms. XXXX participates in regular continuing education classes and encourages her team members to do the same (A. XXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018).

Leadership

Ms.XXXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018).” An important characteristic that leaders possess is authenticity. Ms. Linehan believes that if she can be authentic with her team members it will lead to a better working relationship, creating trust and understanding between her and her team members (A. Linehan, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018). “I want to be the type of leader whose team members feel comfortable approaching when there is an issue, I believe being authentic is a part of building that relationship and trust (A. XXXXX, personal interview, Feb. 21, 2018).” Ms. XXXXX wants to influence her team members by encouraging them to seek out opportunities to grow and develop their skills and knowledge.

Peer VS Leader

When comparing the interview answers from someone in a leadership role vs the answers from a peer there are some subtle differences. Ms. XXXXX’s responses, being in a leadership role were more focused on her view of herself as a leader and the type of leader she is. Ms. XXXX responses focus largely on the development of her team and less on patient care. While patient care is still an important part of Ms. XXXXX’s role, in regards to questions about leadership her answers focus on her team. XXXXXX 2, was interviewed as a peer, and her responses are more centered on what she expects out of leadership and focus on patient care (J. XXXXXt, personal interview, Feb. 20, 2018). The responses from Ms. XXXXXX focus on a bigger picture, her team. She focuses on what she can do to better patient care and her team. The expectations Ms. XXXXX had of a leader are similar to the attributes Ms. XXXXX uses to describe herself. The overall beliefs of professionalism and important characteristics of a leader are consistent between the two interviews.

References

AAAAA, A. (2018, February 21). Personal interview.

BBBBBB, J. (2018, February 20). Personal interview.