Leadership

Leadership Scholarly Paper & Guidelines Purpose:

The purpose of the Leadership paper is to apply leadership principles and theories to current leadership practices within health care. Students will apply various theories and principles to creating and sustaining a healthy work environment for safety and quality nursing care. After completing this paper, students will be able to critically analyze leadership styles and apply strategies to strengthen healthy work environments in their future employment settings.

Course Learning Outcomes:

CSLO #3: Use principles of effective leadership to analyze delegation related to patient, nursing staff, and the organization.

CSLO #5: Appraise quality and safety in current health care systems as they relate to the competences of patient/family-centered care, teamwork, and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics as a caring professional.

Guidelines & Requirements: Students will write a scholarly paper on the role of leadership in creating and sustaining a healthy work environment for safety and quality nursing care. Introduction Identify a leader that you have interacted with or watched during one of your clinical rotations. Introduce the leader, their position, and your interactions. (This could be a unit director, supervisor, or charge nurse) DO NOT GIVE THE SPECIFIC UNIT OR NAME OF THE LEADER.

Introduction

• Identify a leader that you have interacted with or watched during one of your clinical rotations. Introduce the leader, their position, and your interactions. (This could be a unit director, supervisor, or charge nurse) DO NOT GIVE THE SPECIFIC UNIT OR NAME OF THE LEADER.
• Identify the type of leadership style the leader exhibits.

Body of the Paper

Define, describe, and discuss the leadership theory you feel most aligns with the leaders style. Provide examples with details that demonstrate the leaders leadership ability.

Describe a positive interaction that you had or that you witnessed with this leader. Discuss why the interaction was positive. Use current research to further discuss.

Describe a negative interaction that you had or that you witnessed with this leader. Discuss why you felt the interaction was negative. Use current research to further discuss.

Within the department that the leader works in, identify and discuss in detail three ways that the staff exhibits either a healthy work environment or a negative work environment.

Identify four leadership strategies to improve the unit environment. Either apply the current leadership theory to these strategies or suggest a new type of leadership theory to build a healthy work environment.

Use current literature to support the strategies. Review and apply key literature throughout the body of the paper Include relevant citations and describe what others have said, what research has been done, and how it applies to nursing leadership.

Be sure to use peer-reviewed journals.

Summary/Conclusion

• Summarize what has been addressed in the paper the main ideas

1. Provide a reflection about what you learned and experienced while writing this paper. Would you want to work in this unit? Why or why not?

• This may be in first person

Format of the Paper APA format (7th Edition)

Double spaced (avoid extra spaces between paragraphs), 1 inch margins, 12 font Title page Headings use headings to identify key elements of the paper.

Reference page with a minimum of 8 references be sure references are cited in text of paper Paper should proceed in a logical manner and reflect nursing scholarship.

Paper should be in APA format and a minimum of 5 pages not including title page and references.

Do not include an abstract or table of contents. Use APA Manual (7th) students should not rely on APA software or templates as Faculty will refer to the APA Manual (7th) when grading. References should be comprehensive, current, and the majority from nursing literature. A minimum of 8 references should be utilized. Articles must be peer reviewed.

MY EXAMPLE

For this paper, please write about a nurse leader that I observed during my senior practicum. The leader is an ICU charge nurse. Please do not include the hospital name, the unit name, or the leaders name in the paper. Introduce the nurse leader as a charge nurse that I observed closely during my practicum experience. Explain that the charge nurse was responsible for overseeing the unit, supporting staff nurses, coordinating admissions, and responding to emergencies. Based on my observations, describe her leadership style primarily as transformational leadership, but also demonstrate that she occasionally used autocratic leadership when immediate decisions were necessary in critical situations. Description of Leadership Style Explain transformational leadership and how it applies to this charge nurse. Include characteristics such as supporting staff, promoting teamwork, and being actively involved in patient care and unit operations. Provide examples showing her leadership abilities: She was highly involved in helping nurses with new admissions, especially when the unit was busy. She frequently stepped in to assist nurses who were overwhelmed or managing multiple high-acuity patients. She made herself available for questions and guidance and actively supported teamwork within the unit. Positive Interaction Describe an experience where the charge nurse took me to a Code Save a Brain emergency response. During this situation she demonstrated a more autocratic leadership style, which was necessary because rapid decisions were required. She provided clear direction to the team and ensured that critical interventions were completed quickly. Explain that this was especially important during night shift, when it can sometimes be difficult to reach providers quickly. As the ICU charge nurse, she was required to respond because intubation was anticipated. This example demonstrates that strong leadership and decisive communication are essential during emergencies to maintain patient safety. Also mention that outside of clinical situations she was very supportive of her coworkers and frequently checked in on staff members both professionally and personally, which helped contribute to a positive work environment. Negative Interaction One area for improvement is that the charge nurse can sometimes be very sarcastic and extremely direct in her communication style. While this may not always be intended negatively, it can occasionally come across as blunt or intimidating to staff members. Discuss how communication style plays a significant role in leadership effectiveness and how tone can influence team morale. Use research discussing the importance of respectful communication and emotional intelligence in nursing leadership. Work Environment Describe three characteristics of the unit environment that demonstrate a generally healthy work environment: Strong teamwork among nurses. The charge nurse actively supporting staff during busy or stressful shifts. Staff feeling comfortable asking for help when needed. However, also mention that high acuity and stress can sometimes lead to communication that feels abrupt or rushed. Leadership Strategies to Improve the Environment Provide four strategies to further strengthen the work environment: Encourage open and supportive communication among staff. Promote emotional intelligence and self-awareness in leadership communication. Continue fostering teamwork and collaboration. Provide mentorship and support for nurses experiencing stress or burnout. Explain how transformational leadership can help implement these strategies and maintain a healthy work environment. Conclusion Summarize the importance of leadership in creating a safe and supportive nursing environment. Reflect on what I learned from observing this charge nurse. Explain that while no leader is perfect, strong leadership skills such as teamwork, decisiveness during emergencies, and staff support are critical to patient safety and nursing success. Conclude by stating whether I would want to work in a unit with leadership like this and why. Additional Requirements Minimum of 5 pages (not including title page and references) APA 7th edition format At least 8 peer-reviewed nursing journal references References should focus on nursing leadership, transformational leadership, communication, and healthy work environments.

PLEASE EXPLICITLY FOLLOW THE RUBRIC

USE PEER REVIEWED NURSING JOURNALS WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS