Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management (Benchmark Assessment) PDF

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Leading vs Managing Nursing Shortages...

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Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES

Leading vs Managing Nursing Shortages

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Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES Leading vs Managing Nursing Shortages High nurse turnover, and the resulting shortage of nurses, is a problem that has plagued the nursing profession for years. It is not only expensive (loss of patients, increased staffing costs) and disruptive to a hospital’s operations, but also threatens the quality of care and patient safety (as the rate of accidents increases). Discussion surrounding this issue is both complex and interrelated. It is impossible to isolate single factors and solutions. It is therefore imperative that managers and leaders employ a systems perspective to gain the greatest depth and understanding of the relationships between multiple variables (Raup, 2008). Ensuring that operations run smoothly in an understaffed healing environment calls for concerted efforts from not only those occupying managerial and leadership positions, but also from members of staff as well. It has been said that leadership is doing the right thing while management is doing thing right. The fact of the matter is that in such a situation, leaders and managers will have to put their best foot forward to avert a potential crisis. A manager’s role is often viewed to be primarily logistical and task-oriented. When a hospital is experiencing an acute shortage of staff, a manager should focus all his efforts on ensuring that the organization’s resources are used effectively and efficiently. In this particular scenario, this would mean achieving the best possible outcomes (high quality of care and patient satisfaction) with a limited workforce. In a period when a lot is expected from the staff, a manager’s chief role is to make life easier for his employees by setting expectations and rules to be followed by each employee (Turk, 2007). This may include: designing a work shift schedule or timetable, ensuring that all members of staff have all the tools required to perform their assigned duties, & responding to

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Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES situations as they arise. When a hospital is experiencing staff shortages & high staff turnover, the following responsibilities fall under the manager’s domain: 1. Determining and paying out overtime for employees who work extra shifts 2. Ensuring that the available staff is enjoying the requisite technological support to make their work easier. 3. Sourcing for additional staff. 4. Implementing specific strategies to prevent more exits, & retain experienced nurses in the provision of direct patient care, such as: a) Introducing greater flexibility into work environment structure and scheduling programs. This may involve redesigning work to enable an aging workforce to remain active in direct care roles. b) Rewarding experienced nurses for serving as mentors for new registered nurses c) Implementing appropriate salary and benefit programs. 5. Designing rules, regulations and protocol to be followed by all employees. I would expect a manager to follow hospital policy and do things strictly by the book. He/she would be reactive to situations as they crop up. When problems arise, a manager responds. When they pursue action, it’s on familiar terrain or through time-tested strategies. This is in stark contrast to a leader who is more emotional than a manager and likely to follow his intuition. He doesn’t just react and respond but takes the initiative and generates action. A leader is innovative and creative, as opposed to a manager who is traditionalist. By trying variations of standard actions, a leader finds new and better paths to success (Douglass, 1996).

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Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES

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Leadership involves influencing the activities of a group toward a shared goal while helping them cope with change. In a scenario where a hospital is grappling with nursing shortage and/or turnover, a leader would ideally play the role of motivator, encourager and problem solver. Employees working in an understaffed environment would be called upon to go the extra mile, sacrifice, & perform consistently at a high level. As working long hours and fast-paced operations become the norm, it takes a high-caliber leader to inspire every employee to dig deep; propelling them to heights of caregiving they never thought they were capable of. The ideal leader would encourage growth and progress; not letting members of staff remain where they were in terms of skill level. First and foremost, the leader has to rally the members of staff behind him by communicating his vision of a health facility that is able to meet patients’ demands despite being highly understaffed. This vision should be backed by a definite strategy which not only improves clarity, but also makes it easier for the employees to buy into it. Of course, the vision must be supported by the hospital’s resources in order to make it a reality in the present. This is arguably the hardest part of leadership which requires leaders to overcome political, bureaucratic, and resource hurdles to bring their visions into fruition. A leader with good interpersonal skills can be a huge asset when it comes to convincing members of staff who might have been considering leaving the organization to stay. In most cases, the employee is just feeling unappreciated or unimportant and only needs just a little recognition. Good people skills will also come in handy when inspiring qualified and capable individuals – particularly the younger generation – to take up nursing as a profession. The

Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES

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leaders must be capable of motivating them to join healthcare organizations as nurses and to stay there for long (Hunt, 2009). This can be done my making nursing more lucrative and switching to a more collaborative style of management. Traditional administrative structures e.g. top-down control, have gone out of style and are no longer seen as desirable. People who can create environments of teamwork and creativity are the definition of strong managers (Nevidjon & Erickson, 2001). Furthermore, leadership must give importance to the concept of work-life balance by implementing programs to help reduce the stress faced by nurses. This has the desired effect of improving the psychological state of the employees, which in turn boosts their performance (Yoder-Wise, 2014). Personal Leadership Style & Philosophy My life philosophy is to leave every person I come across better than he/she was before we crossed paths. This trickles down to every aspect of my personal and professional life. Couple this with my personal leadership style which is a blend of laid-back and domineering and I would say that a leader’s approach best fits my philosophy. I say this because the leader’s approach is more than anything, transformational. A leader transforms the life, or in the very least raises the skill level of everyone he comes in contact with – which is, more or less, what I endeavor to do in all my interactions. I would definitely adhere to a leadership, as opposed to a managerial approach, since this would help me: boost staff retention, reduce the turnover rate, motivate my staff to do more, open communication lines which provides feedback as well as fostering a feeling of inclusion, & improve my ability to solve problems as they arise.

Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES

Conclusion Solving the problems of nursing shortage and turnover requires the striking of a delicate balance between leading versus managing. Both approaches are complementary and none can be fully independent of the other.

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Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES References Courtney, M., Nash, R., Thornton, R., & Potgieter, I. (2015). Leading and managing in nursing practice: Concepts, processes and challenges. Leadership and Nursing: Contemporary perspectives, 1. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TrN3ZS0CNQcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3& ots=msizC3aEvl&sig=O3FSMzT78L5j2E5LI5tDFXUNvc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Douglass, L. M. (1996). The effective nurse: leader and manager. Mosby Incorporated. Retrieved from DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0001-2092(07)66262-0 Hunt, S.T. (2009). Nursing Turnover: Costs, Causes, & Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/handouts/LHHS%20081312%20NursingTurnover.pdf Nevidjon, B. & Erickson, J.I. (2001). The Nursing Shortage: Solutions for the Short and Long Term. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 6(1). Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/ workforce/NursingShortage/Resources/NursingShortageSolutions.html Raup, G. H. (2008). The impact of ED nurse manager leadership style on staff nurse turnover and patient satisfaction in academic health center hospitals. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 34(5), 403-409. Retrieved from

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Running head: LEADING VS MANAGING NURSING SHORTAGES DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2007.08.020 Turk, W. (2007). Manager or leader?. DEFENSE AT AND L, 36(4), 20. Retrieved from http://www.dau.mil/pubscats/pubscats/atl/2007_07_08/turk_ja07.pdf Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2014). Leading and managing in nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.chegg.com/textbooks/leading-and-managing-in-nursing-6thedition-9780323185776-0323185770

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