NURS 6201 Module 4 Assignment Leadership to Support Excellence in Nursing
- NURS 6201 Module 4 Assignment
Leadership to Support Excellence in Nursing
Student Name
NURS 6201
Walden University
Prof. Name
Submission Date
It’s important to have good leadership to help build an excellent culture around nursing practice. For instance, in evidence-based practice (EBP), the transformational leadership key aspect is its ability to inspire and encourage the nurses to constantly work towards better care, more cooperation, and innovation (Page, 2020). This evaluation highlights the key transformational leadership practices, which include vision setting, empowering others, individual coaching, and role modeling, which are associated with the implementation of EBP within healthcare organizations. This evaluation highlights the need for transformational leadership to ensure high-quality, patient-oriented care and describes an example of an organization’s Chief Nursing Officer who was able to establish evidence-based practice and involve colleagues in the effort to decrease patient readmission.
Scenario
Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Carter at Riverside Medical Center was a true transformational leader and took steps to ensure that adequate discharge planning and post-discharge care were provided to reduce high rates of readmissions. Instead, she set a vision for her employees to unite behind – patients’ long-term success, not just around hospital care. She enabled the nurses with the formation of an interdisciplinary task force, through wellness programs designed for individuality, and by using creative solutions such as a telehealth follow-up program.
The staff was constantly living in a continuous improvement environment, and they were demonstrating to Lia an attitude of accountability, teamwork, and appreciation for the staff. These outcomes led to reduced readmissions, high levels of patient satisfaction, and high levels of employee satisfaction. She exemplifies how the transformative behaviors of vision setting, empowering, and supporting can support evidence-based practice and nursing excellence.
Transformational Behaviors and Actions of the Leader
Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Carter was inspirational in her approach as she gave her staff a unique vision that resulted in the role not only in the hospital, but out into the patients’ lives after they left. She engaged nurses, case managers, and doctors in group discussions, encouraging intellectual stimulation and promoting creative problem solving. One of her frontline nurses implemented one of the most significant results – a follow-up telehealth program to enhance the quality of care after discharge and to decrease the frequency of return to hospitalizations (Grauer et al., 2023).
Instead of imposing solutions, Lisa formed an interdisciplinary task force, which included her own colleagues in staff, so that the staff members would experience a sense of responsibility for the implementation of evidence-based solutions. Also, Lisa could have been mindful of staff issues of burnout, and she began to offer flexible working hours and staff wellness programs.
She set the bar high for idealized influence by sitting in on discharge planning meetings herself, demonstrating that accountability and caring for patients were of significance. She introduced a number of awards to acknowledge and motivate her staff to strive to enhance patient outcomes (Yang et al., 2022). Because of the implementation of evidence-based practices, Lisa was able to integrate these leadership practices within her team and was able to see a remarkable decrease in readmissions and an increase in patient satisfaction.
Behaviors Produce the Best Care and Environment for Excellence in Nursing
The behaviours of transformational leadership cultivate an environment that empowers, motivates, and supports nurses and showcases care excellence. Positive motivation can result in a shared vision, and this makes nurses see themselves making a difference beyond just bedside care (Ahlstedt et al., 2020). When and if Lisa Carter emphasized the need for continuity of care after discharge, for instance, the nurses were more proactive in terms of talking about educating patients and knew what they’d get discharged with and what to do after discharge.
A further aspect that could enhance excellence is intellectual stimulation that can inspire the nurse to think analytically and creatively to arrive at solutions (Miller et al., 2023). In Lisa’s situation, her team instigated a telehealth follow-up program, lessening avoidable readmissions and enhancing post-discharge patient outcomes. One-to-one care helps to value and support nurses, helps them to be happier about their work, and makes their patients happier.
Lisa’s work on the issue of Burnout, flexible scheduling, and wellness programs created a more positive work culture that will allow nurses to best provide thoughtful and caring care. The idealized influence/leadership through example was important because of the evidence-based interventions with regard to Lisa’s role as it relates to discharge planning meetings. Lastly, empowerment and recognition resulted in a culture of improvement and innovation in nursing practice, and nurses were always striving to provide the best possible care.
Behaviors or Actions that Produce a Healthy Workplace Environment
The four Qualities of the Transformational Leadership Behaviors all work to develop a healthy work climate, team-building, employee wellness, and professional development, and each behavior has an impact on patients. Nurses need to have a sense of purpose and inspirational motivation to help them work towards a common goal. For instance, nurses received a target to try to reduce the readmission rate, and a process of educating the patient and post-discharge follow-up of patients took place, which motivated the nurses and enhanced their collaboration and morale. There is intellectual stimulation, and staff feel valued for their skills, encouraging innovation and problem solving.
When Lisa’s team devised a follow-up program for patients through telehealth, the staff were more content with their jobs. Individuals are given consideration that ensures nurses receive support and recognition to excel, and reduces stress and burnout. Lisa introduced flexible working hours and wellness programs, improved the work environment, and reduced staff turnover with consideration of staff’s concerns. Idealized influence (leading by example) fosters trust and accountability, and Lisa was there at the discharge planning, where the leading by example culture of everybody doing their part is taking place (Ystaas et al., 2023). Empowerment and recognition also gave a sense of achievement and a sense of commendation in further solidifying a culture of excellence, job satisfaction, and high-quality patient outcomes.
Relationship among Transformational Leadership, Communication, and Collaboration
It is connected with a capacity to lead, communicate, and collaborate effectively, which are evidenced as the Dominators of Excellence in Nursing practice. Transformational leadership is in place, which allows for an environment that promotes open and honest communication that allows nurses to be heard, appreciated, and valued for their ideas. This fosters an open and transparent workplace that encourages staff to openly talk about issues that may arise with patients as well as innovative solutions to their problems (Ystaas et al., 2023). Leaders, including Lisa Carter, are helping to tear down departmental hurdles and build a sense of unity through positive and open communication, and everyone has the same goal – improved patient care. To ensure a multi-spectral approach to care based on evidence, there needs to be support through collaboration across disciplines.
Transformational “leaders” in a health care organization clear the way for other players and build a nurturing environment where nurses and other health care providers respect the physician, and the case manager respects the nurse. Lisa’s interdisciplinary task force, like other work teams, is effective when it cooperates with each other, and when it does, patient care is more coordinated, effective, and patient-centred (Jankelová & Joniaková, 2021). When all of this happens in a team working in harmony to make the best possible decisions for innovation and constant improvement, it’s a healthy workplace, high job satisfaction, and most importantly, nursing excellence.
Conclusion
In best practice, the concept of transformational leadership is a big part of the positive work culture, effective communication, and interprofessional working, which are crucial to the best practice of nursing. Transformational Leadership offers nurses a vision, a style of creativity and staff well-being to feel empowered, committed and motivated in offering the highest standard of care to their patients. Without communication and good teamwork, healthcare teams can become lost, failing to implement efficient and evidence-based practice that, in turn, would have an impact on better health outcomes for the patient or sustainable healthcare systems. In the light of these principles, nursing is non-stop changing to deliver safe, effective, and care-centered care.
References
Ahlstedt, C., Eriksson Lindvall, C., Holmström, I. K., & Muntlin, Å. (2020). Flourishing at work: Nurses’ motivation through daily communication – An ethnographic approach. Nursing & Health Sciences, 22(4), 1169–1176. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12789
Ballad Health. (2021). Lisa Carter | Ballad Health. Balladhealth.org. https://www.balladhealth.org/leadership/lisa-carter
Miller, B. T., Camarda, A., Mercier, M., Burkhardt, J.-M., Morisseau, T., Bourgeois-Bougrine, S., Vinchon, F., El Hayek, S., Augereau-Landais, M., Mourey, F., Feybesse, C., Sundquist, D., & Lubart, T. (2023). Creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration: Assessment, certification, and promotion of 21st century skills for the future of work and education. Journal of Intelligence, 11(3), 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11030054
Page, A. (2020). Transformational leadership and evidence-based management. Nih.gov; National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK216194/
Employee recognition, task performance, and OCB: Mediated and moderated by pride. Sustainability, 14(3), 1631. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031631
Ystaas, L. M. K., Nikitara, M., Ghobrial, S., Latzourakis, E., Polychronis, G., & Constantinou, C. S. (2023). The impact of transformational leadership in the nursing work environment and patients’ outcomes: A systematic review. Nursing Reports, 13(3), 1271–1290. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13030108