PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1

Personal/Professional Development Plan

Melissa Waite

Northwest Nazarene University

NURS 6110: Leadership Perspectives for Advancing the Profession of Nursing

Kattie Payne, PhD, RN, MSN

February 8, 2020
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Personal/Professional Development Plan

Introduction

Becoming a family nurse practitioner can be a daunting task. However, with a personal

and professional development plan in place, it will help me to navigate my future plans and

goals. In the future, I will be expanding my leadership skills by becoming a nurse practitioner.

In order to become the best leader possible, I determined what type of leader I naturally

gravitated to by using an online questionnaire. Learning about different leadership styles helped

me understand how one method is preferred over another based on the team a person needs to

lead. With the leadership style established, I used research to help guide my focus on why I need

to become an ethical leader. Knowing the importance of having a solid future goal, I prepared a

SMART goal plan, which helped give me a better idea about leadership goals while obtaining

feedback in an effort to produce a well-rounded mentorship for the student and new nurse

practitioner graduates. As a nurse practitioner, I am encouraged that Idaho allows nurse

practitioners (NP) to work in their full scope of practice, but unfortunately, not all nurse

practitioners can practice at their highest level of education. I believe individuals should work

within their full range of training. One way is to support other nurse practitioners by joining

associations and organizations that closely align with my personal goals, gain a political voice to

evoked change in policies. Therefore, nurse practitioners must take time to rest, relax, and center

oneself to become a proficient care provider.

Lastly, rural health is a personal passion for me, and it has been recognized that obtaining

a legislative voice in necessary, especially dealing with new laws and policies for rural health.

While there are multiple avenues one can take to advocate for rural health, my goal is to become
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a community health advisor and assist with creating policies for rural health in the future will

help to decrease rural health disparities.

Leadership Skills Development

Personal Leadership Assessment

Leadership is a complex theory, especially in nursing. Leading others in an effort to attain

an organizations' goal can be challenging, even more so if the leaders possess negative leadership

styles. A good leader will nurture other colleagues' goals, while directing, and guiding each

team player, encouraging them to reach their highest potential (Merrill, 2015).

As I progress in my nursing career, I decided I wanted to understand what kind of leader I

will be in the future. After assessing some online sites, I decided to use The Foundation of

Nursing Leadership website and used the evaluation quiz to discover which type of leadership

style I favored. Upon taking the exam, I learned my preferred leadership style; sixty-two out of

eighty possible points preferred transformational leader; fifty-eight out of eighty possible points

for transactional leadership style; and twenty out of eighty possible points for Laissez-faire

leadership style.

According to Dawes (2015) transformational leadership is made of four elements:

Idealized influence (II), leaders are excellent team role models because they can be trusted to

make respectable decisions for an establishment; Inspirational motivation (IM), are leaders that

encourage others to reach new heights and commit to the standards of an organization;

intellectual stimulation (IS), are leaders who stimulate problem-solving and critical thinking by

innovating and challenging opinions of the group to help make an organization stronger;

individual consideration (IC) are people who coach and counsel their team, encouraging them to

reach their own goals as well as the organizations goals.

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Transactional leadership is made of two elements: Contingent reward (CR), is a leader

who provides rewards and recognition to colleagues who try hard and perform well; and

management by exception (active) (MBEa) are leaders who oversee situations in an effort to

predict oncoming issues, but do not try to change operating procedures or team members as long

as performance objectives are met (Dawes, 2015). Lastly, laissez-faire is also made of two

elements: Laissez-faire (LF) is a leader who does not try to control their team allowing

colleagues to delegate roles and manage their own work; and management by exception

(passive) (MBEp) are leaders who do not try to change operating procedures or team members as

long as performance objectives are met and only steps in when complications or missteps have

already occurred (Dawes, 2015).

When leaders provide a culture that includes the team to help make decisions, foster team

support, provide a positive work environment, and develop a strong relationship with team

members, research shows organizations produce better patient care and successful outcomes for

the organizations (Merrill, 2015). In a descriptive correlation study of an all adult inpatient

department from nine different hospitals by Merrill (2015), found that transformational

leadership style by nurse managers (NM) and nurse executives was the contributing factor for

safety climate in compression to laissez-faire leadership.

According to Giltinane (2013), identifying leadership styles in healthcare permits nurses

to become better leaders by developing their styles, which can improve their relationships with

other managers or teammates who may be a challenge to work with. While leaders typically have

one particular style they favor, they often marry different leadership traits depending on the

environment, circumstances, and the team members being managed (Merrill, 2015).
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Transformational leadership is my natural leadership trait; however, I am can adjust to be

transactional when a situation warrants more direction. Lastly, my lowest leadership score,

liassez-faire, is a skill I would use for colleagues that are self-starters and require little guidance.

Nevertheless, I will still enroll in continuing leadership courses because I believe there is always

something more a person learns to become a better leader.

Plan for Ethical Leadership as Identified in the Scope and Standards of Practice,

Standard #7

Developing ethical leadership in the workplace occurs when nurse leaders have true

charitability and integrity by providing a caring culture to serve patients using their wisdom,

provide compassion, and being mindful to others (Hemberg et al., 2018) Ethical leaders also

exhibit integrity, objectivity, reliability, and respect as they can inspire people to act using values

and principles that embrace ethical behavior (Jambawo, 2018). As a future nurse practitioner

(NP), a few of the ways I plan to model an ethical leadership is by following the standards of

professional nursing practice by promoting open communication with colleagues, patients, and

their family, along with participating in interprofessional teams that address ethical benefits,

risks, and outcomes. It is essential to develop an ethical leadership standard by being aware of

biases, leading by example, providing therapeutic relations with patients while maintaining

professional boundaries.

SMART Goal

Within five years of my NP practice, I will build strong preceptor/mentoring skills by

becoming a Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) Mentorship

Program volunteer to enhance my knowledge on how to be an active preceptor/mentor. In

addition to following the FAAP Mentorship programs course, I will measure my quality of
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leadership by providing weekly evidence-based education and research case studies to discuss

with the mentee at the end of each week in order to expand their critical thinking process and

determine if they understand established weekly clinical skills. Schedule monthly meetings with

my mentee to ascertain if their monthly goals and objectives are being achieved and have an

action plan in place that grows the mentee's designated leadership skills and allowing staff to

provide monthly constructive feedback.

At the end of the mentee's residency, provide a questionnaire for constructive feedback to

each mentee, providing feedback to me to assess my leadership skills as a mentor thus helping

me understand and determine if I am an effective or ineffective mentor and what measures I can

take to become a better mentor future mentees.

The FAAP Mentorship program mutually benefits the mentor and mentee, by allowing

advisors to learn how to be a successful mentor and teaches new nurse practitioners how to

employ policies while learning to advocate and expanding a new graduate education (FAANP

Mentorship Program, n.d).

Personal Skills Development

Practicing at the Highest Level of Education and Competency

While leaning to mentor future nurse practitioners, my goal is to spend my first five

years, gaining more experience in order to become more knowledgeable and a trustworthy nurse

practitioner by learning and growing my transformational leadership style.

Additionally, I will take supplementary classes in leadership, business ownership and

learn a new language allowing me to communicate better with my rural health patients. I aspire

to provide quality patient-centered care providers using up-to-date, evidence-based practice, and
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research. By continuously keeping up to date with current education and practices, I project I

will be a successful primary care provider working full time in a clinic.

However, in ten to fifteen years after becoming an experienced nurse practitioner in a

rural health area, I would like to own and operate my own primary care practice employing one

or two other nurse practitioners and support staff to provide quality care to a rural health

community.

Life-long Learning

In the 21st century, nursing competencies are no longer based on completing tasks; they

now require a more comprehensive knowledge that is evidence-based due to patients becoming

more involved in the healthcare setting (Strong et al., 2014). To support lifelong learning, I plan

to continue be an NP mentor, join nurse practitioner associations, attend yearly nurse practitioner

conferences, and participate in local committees' assessment to advocate for improved rural

health policies. Joining different nurse practitioner associations allows a working NP can stay up

to date with certification by using their online certification modules.

Code of Ethics Provision #5 Personal Plan to Support Self-Care

According to the American Nursing Association (2014), the fifth provision states, "The

nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to promote health and

safety, preserve wholeness of character and integrity, maintain competence, and continue

personal and professional growth" (American Nurse Association Code of Ethics for Nurses,

2015, Table 5).

As an advanced nurse practitioner, it is necessary to care for myself in order to continue

to provide compassionate care to others due to the healthcare environment being high-stress and

complex (Turkel & Lynn, 2015). Ways to support self-care is to eat clean and nutritious meals,
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exercise regularly, practice relaxation techniques such as imagery or mediation, and identify

ways to stimulate your mind (Purdue University Global, 2019).

One way I plan to enlist self-care is to go for daily half-hour walks with my dog, walking

my dog helps me relax and enjoy the outdoors.

It has been my experience that nutritional meals tend to be a little difficult to achieve

because life gets busy. Doing meal preps for the week helps me control my food intake, and

premeasured meals help keep calories within my daily goal limit.

Recently I have started to incorporate a ten-minute morning daily meditation to help

center and ground myself, calm my mind, which helps me focus on my goal to help others to the

best of my ability. I also make an effort to pause during the day and take three or four deep

breaths, allowing me to feel more refreshed and allowing me to re-centering myself.

Lastly, I will instill a work-life balance by leaving at least once a month to my cabin

where I am surrounded by the smell fresh air and pine trees. Having a quiet place to retreat helps

me restore and recharge my soul, allowing me to more myself on the days I work.

Professional Organization Involvement

To support lifelong learning, by May of 2020, I am joining The American Association of

Nurse Practitioners (AANP) as a student member and after graduation transfer to their regular

membership, and the Nurse Practitioners of Idaho (NPs of Idaho). Associations such as AANP

offers continuing education and certifications, which helps NP's keep up to date on evidence-

based best practices while staying up on current health and political issues. I feel it is vitally

important to provide the evidence-based practice to my patients.

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In addition, joining different associations offers a place where like-minded leaders can

join together to assist each other to become influential leaders in their communities while

allowing current researched-based information to be readily available online.

My ten-year goal is to become an advocate at the state level for NP's in Idaho to help

support and nurture policies that will offer funding for improving rural health communities.

Besides, helping to develop advanced care models that EBP will help foster collaboration with

community partners, businesses, and organizations (Norlander, 2011).

Promoting Nursing's Future

Funding sources for acute care, home, and community health programs need to be

addressed by nurses on the local, state, and national levels by health care advisors and policy

committees (Norlander, 2011). Policies for rural health is often being lumped with urban

circumstances, as informal community leader's, rural health nurses need to become more

involved in policymaking to help political leaders understand the needs in rural community's

health services (Kulig et al., 2004).

One way to help obtain better patient outcomes in rural health is to become an active

participant in creating health care policies. By joining nursing associations like the American

Nursing Association (ANA), American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and Nurse

Practitioners of Idaho, they allow nurses to "…represented Capitol Hill, provide support for state

nurse associations as they advance their advocacy agendas; empower nurses to share their

perspective and expertise with policymakers; and foster political engagements among nurses"

(Advocacy, n.d. para 3).

Nurses can enlist in local politics by joining local committees such as running for city

council or volunteering to be on the school board. On local councils, nurses can advocate for the
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community and offer community health considerations that other council members may not

consider. I often attend school board meetings in my small town and have sat through city

council meetings. I am interested in being a voice for the community, and in about

approximately eight years, I will consider running for a city council seat. However, I intend to be

a member of a few nursing associations, along with attending yearly conferences.

Conclusion

Around the country, nurses are capable and prepared to meet the different needs of

communities by providing guidance, appealing to investors and applying evidence-based practice

models to help close the gap between primary care services and preventative health needs

(Montalvo et al., 2011). To be a successful nurse practitioner in a rural health community, a new

graduate needs to find focus by designing a development plan to help direct focused goals for

future achievements.

Learning about leadership styles helps a new graduate learn what type of leader is natural

to them, and if they should pursue additional leadership education. Being a trusting and

dependable leader colleague look to for guidance creates a cohesive workplace for staff and

patients. Additionally, leading with moral and ethical standards is essential. Ethical leaders aim

to be honest, fair, and respectable who focus on team building, encourage ethical policies,

practices, and guidelines (Lippincott Solutions, 2018).

Having a nurse practitioner practice in their full scope of practice is essential for helping

close the disparities gap that exists in rural health communities. Furthermore, advance practice

nurses should become familiar and engage in political advocacy such as nurses’ practice under

evidence-based models in an attempt to provide quality patient care.

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Because nurses tend to give more of themselves to others and less to themselves, nurse

practitioners need to be mindful of self-care by finding ways to give back to themselves. Simple

ways a care provider can be mindful could be as simple as taking three or four deep breathes

before entering a patient room to help the nurse practitioner center themselves. By managing

their self-care, nurse practitioners will provide better care to their patients.
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References

Advocacy. (n.d.). American Nursing Association. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-

policy/advocacy/

American Nurse Association code of ethics for nurses. (2015). American Nurse Association.

https://nursing.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ANA-Code-of-Ethics-for-

Nurses.pdf

Dawes, D. (2015, March 12). Welcome to the Foundation of Nursing Leadership. The

Foundations of Nursing Leadership. http://www.nursingleadership.org.uk

FAANP Mentorship Program. (n.d.). American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

https://www.aanp.org/membership/fellows-program/fellows-workgroup-products-and-

initiatives/faanp-mentorship-program

Hemberg, E., Syrén, J., & Hemberg, H. (2018). Ethical leadership in a new light: As described

by leaders in public healthcare. International Journal for Human Caring, 22(4), 179–188.

https://doi.org/nnu.idm.oclc.org/10.20467/1091-5710.22.4.179

Jambawo, S. (2018). Transformational leadership and ethical leadership: Their significance in

the mental healthcare system. British Journal of Nursing, 27(17), 998–1001.

https://doi.org/nnu.idm.oclc.org/10.12968/bjon.2018.27.17.998

Kulig, J. C., Nahachewsky, D., Thomlinson, E., Macleod, M. L., & Curran, F. (2004).

Maximizing the involvement of rural nurses in policy. Nursing Leadership, 17(1), 88–96.

https://doi.org/10.12927/cjnl.2004.16245

Lippincott Solutions. (2018, October 4). Best practices for ethical nursing leadership. Wolter

Kluwer.
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http://lippincottsolutions.lww.com/blog.entry.html/2018/10/04/best_practices_fore-

dxFs.html

Merrill, K. C. (2015). Leadership stle and pateint safety implications for nurse managers. The

Journal of Nursing Administration, 45(6), 319–324.

https://doi.org/nnu.idm.oclc.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000207

Montalvo, W., Torrisi, D., Hansen-Turton, T., & Birch, S. (2011). Nurses close the gap on

community health (Appendix G of the future of nursing: Leading change, advocating

health). Institue of Medicine.

http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Workforce/Nurs

ing%202009/Transformational%20Models%20of%20Nursing%20Across%20Different%

20Care%20Settings.pdf

Norlander, L. (2011). Transformational models of nursing across different care settings

(Appendix G of the future of nursing: Leading change, advocating health). Institue of

Medicine.

http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Workforce/Nurs

ing%202009/Transformational%20Models%20of%20Nursing%20Across%20Different%

20Care%20Settings.pdf

Purdue University Global. (2019, February 13). The Importance of self-care for nurses and how

to put a plan in place. https://www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/nursing/self-care-for-nurses/

Strong, M., Kane, I., Petras, D., Johnson-Joy, C., & Weingarten, J. (2014). Direct care registed

nurses’ and nursing leaders’ review of the clinical competencies needed for the successful

nurse of the future. Journal of Nurses in Professional Development, 30(4), 196–203.

https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000076
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Turkel, M. C., & Lynn, C. E. (2015). Caring for self. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Scienes,

613–614. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12288