Saint Louis University School of Nursing Baguio, City

Presented to the Faculty of School of Nursing In partial fulfillment for the requirements for Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center

Journal Report

Submitted to: Ms. Agor, RN

Submitted by: PAGALING, Gerald T.

January 2012

Summary In the nursing profession, another function of being a nurse is being a leader and this function was given emphasis through the role of the head nurse and/or chief nurse. The role of the head nurse is to supervise his/her staff nurses in their task performance. This role entitles the person to lead his/her group upon achievement of a common goal, which is quality nursing care to all the patients in the ward. This also gives them the responsibility to be accountable for all the actions performed by the people under him/her. In this journal they pointed out 14 core forces of magnetism that would affect the management and leadership skills of a Head nurse. Which were the following: 1 Quality of Nursing Leadership. The organization has knowledgeable, strong, risk-taking nurse leaders who also act as staff and patient advocates. 2 Organizational Structure. Through shared decision-making with strong nursing representation, the organizational structure is dynamic and responds to change. 3 Management Style. The organization and nursing leaders foster an environment that encourages and values participation and feedback from staff at all levels. 4 Policies and Programs. Salaries and benefits are competitive. Staffing models are creative and flexible enough to support a safe and healthy work environment with ample opportunities for professional growth. 5 Professional Models of Care. The models of care give nurses the responsibility and authority for providing direct patient care. The models take into consideration patients unique needs and provide skilled nurses and adequate resources to accomplish desired outcomes. 6 Quality of Care. Quality is the driving force for nurses and the organization. Nurses in leadership positions are responsible for providing an environment that positively influences patient outcomes. 7 Quality improvement. The organization has processes to measure quality and programs to improve it. 8 Consultation and Resources. The organization provides adequate resources, support, and opportunities for using experts, particularly advanced practice nurses. Nurses involvement in professional organizations and among peers in the community is promoted. 9 Autonomy. Nurses are expected to practice autonomously based on competence, professional expertise, and knowledge, consistent with professional standards. Independent judgment is exercised in the context of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to patient care. 10 Community and the Healthcare Organization. The healthcare organization is a strong presence in the community, forming partnerships that, in turn, enhance patient outcomes.

11 Nurses as Teachers. Professional nurses are involved in educational activities in the organization and community. A development and mentoring program with staff preceptors for all levels of nursing staff or students is in place. The patient education program meets the diverse needs of patients in all care settings of the organization. 12 Image of Nursing. The services provided by nurses are characterized as essential by other members of the healthcare team. Nurses are viewed as integral to the healthcare organization s ability to provide patient care. Nursing effectively influences system-wide processes. 13 Interdisciplinary Relationships. A sense of mutual respect is created as collaborative working relationships contribute to meaningful clinical outcomes. 14 Professional Development. The organization values and supports professional and personal growth and development of the staff. They found out that nurse leaders who exhibit democracy towards their staffs creates a healthy workplace that in turn would lead to healthier patients. While leaders who are impatient, defensive, unsupportive and lacks guidance and supervision stresses the staff nurse and in turn dulls the work environment. The use of feedbacking is considered effective since the staff nurses would perceive the nurse leaders to be visible, accessible and committed. Also new trends leadership provides the nurses to sharpen their focus towards health care delivery wherein they involve the family of the patient in their care plan, follow-up of patients after discharges, use of technology, tools on assessment , empowering health teachings, promoting nursing in the community, enabling participative management between nurses, and lastly evolving the nursing care to a multidisciplinary care. Significance of the Study Nursing Profession In the nursing profession, it is inevitable to have someone in charge of all the work to be done, the one who delegates task for better performance and the one who would lead the nurses towards the common goal. That is through the presence of a nurse leader, which in the case in the ward, the head nurse. With appropriate management skills the head nurse would ensure a smooth delivery of care towards the patients without compromising the abilities of his/her subordinates. This journals enumerated the qualities of a good head nurse that would create a healthy and effective work environment that in turn would lead to healthier patients from receiving essential health care. Nursing Education

Whether in the classroom, hospital and community setting the presence of a learner would only take place when someone enables himself/herself to be the teacher or a leader. Same as through being a leader, the role of the teacher is to lead his/her followers towards gaining new knowledge that would further increase their efficiency as a nurse. Also the role of experiential nursing is a type of knowledge that is obtained by a nurse that cannot be accessed in other ways. This can be concluded that in order for learning to take place, the nurse leader would enable his/her subordinates to be exposed into different situations and give them enough freedom for learning to take place. Whether this is in the school, hospital, community or other setting where learning can take place. Nursing Research Since the foundation of nursing has been established by Florence Nightingale, evolution of nursing has been perpetual to further enhance the quality of care being rendered. This journal has cited recent developments in the nursing practices which were mentioned earlier. Openness to the aspect of change enables the nursing profession adapt to the changing needs of clients. Local Setting Here in the Philippine setting, variety of leaders can be found but nevertheless through a rough assessment, still the most effective type of leadership is exhibit through the use of democracy. In the University alone, effective nursing leaders were the ones who are perceived by their subordinates to be always in contact with them. They were the one whom they see as concerned and physically present and not only omniscient on pressing matters. These characteristics of leadership were the one mentioned in the journal that would facilitate good working environment for staff nurses and student nursed respectively. From a bottom-up approach, allowing the subordinates to play major roles in identifying areas and strategies of improvement promotes innovation and effective adaptation of specific settings. And also the use of feedbacking enables the subordiantes feel their sense of selfworth in the environment. Finally, this research would like to give light on the emphasis of tearing the down the fundamental approach of leadership of being cold and authoritarian in its ways. Since this method is only goal-oriented and somehow compromises the aspect of taking into the consideration of the subordinates of an organization. Nursing leadership also entails the aspect of rendering care not only towards the patients but also to the people under your supervision.