Every nurse practitioner must possess certain attributes of a leader to be able to exercise self-control and assess one’s personal experience. Master level nurses should have a clear vision of the future of their practice to be able to deliver the message to the team. In addition, leadership qualities include: acting in the right time and place, establishing lasting relationships with colleagues, enhancing self-confidence and the ability to encourage others, willingness to take risks, readiness for change and innovation, self-reflection, the ability to learn from mistakes, and respect for diversity at the workplace (Arnold & Boggs, 2015).
Thus, the major outcome of the course Leadership and Role of the APN is the capability of the nurse to fulfill all these requirements successfully. In this respect, it is demonstrative to assess whether the APN is prepared to meet the MSN program outcome #5, the MSN Essential IX, and the NP Core Competencies #2.
The MSN Program Outcome
The Master of Nursing program is intended to provide a well-organized, lifelong plan for achieving the best outcomes of both personal and profession development. It encompasses values concerning studies, work, and global participation. In most general terms, the achievement of the course outcomes allowed me to get prepared as a professional for the evaluation, selection, and implementation of the best practices in the provision of care (Grossman & Valiga, 2016).
In particular, I learned how to maintain personal and professional growth and ensure engagement in global issues by writing scholarly papers, taking part in conferences devoted to global medical problems, and assisting non-profit organizations in the local settings. There is also an opportunity to go to developing countries in order to provide care to underprivileged communities.
Furthermore, the completion of the course means that I can develop my professional plan using a historical perspective, which will make it possible for me to estimate the influence of nursing leaders on the quality of health care delivery and make conclusions based on other nurses’ experience (Grove, Burns, & Gray, 2014). I am now able to borrow their best practices for integrating them into my own.
In order to ensure that the process of building my career keeps the pace with my personal ambitions, I will use the ability to negotiate contracts learned during the course. I will need the skills of CV writing, undergoing interviews, obtaining certifications, winning privileges, and promoting my skills and knowledge.
Since the Master of Nursing program places a special emphasis on global participation, it will be helpful for me to be able to select leadership strategies that help foster interprofessional cooperation, especially in culturally diverse teams. Working with professional having different backgrounds requires good knowledge of ethical principles and diversity issues, which is one of the most important course outcomes (Anonson et al., 2014).
As far as scholarship and continuous learning are concerned, the completion of the course enabled me to make a personal contribution to the bulk of nursing knowledge and experience. Now, I can do my own studies, participate in systematic inquiry, and apply the results of other professionals’ practice. Moreover, I have learned how to share the findings of the research I conduct, using the most effective dissemination strategies.
MSN Essential IX: Master’s-Level Nursing Practice
MSN Essential IX: Master’s-Level Nursing Practice regards nursing practice at the master level as a wide range of activities, the outcome of which produces a significant impact on individual patients, communities, or entire systems. This implies that being a master level nurse, I must demonstrate a high level of nursing knowledge and skills as well as competence in related sciences and disciplines since all of them can assists with providing data that may be integrated into practice. Also, I must be able to ensure that both direct and indirect care is provided to the patient in due time and to the required extent (Weiss & Tappen, 2014).
Thus, the leadership course I took will be helpful mostly in integrating interprofessional collaboration, which is crucial for meeting the requirements set forward by the population. While it is still possible to satisfy the needs of an individual patient without resorting to the assistance of other professionals, the situation is different when the health of the community is at stake. Since nursing leadership skills are also required for active participation in policy-making, every nurse must be able to organize the process in such a way that each member of the interprofessional team performs his/her functions effectively (Bookey‐Bassett, Markle‐Reid, Mckey, & Akhtar‐Danesh, 2017).
Specialists from other fields (including policymakers, social workers, accountants, etc.) should act in a collaborative effort to be able to assess the conditions, do calculations, write financial reports, provide recommendations concerning the priorities of the community, perform health assessment, and organize care delivery. Each member of the team should have at least the basic knowledge of the work done by others to be able to discuss and improve the process (Pfaff, Baxter, Jack, & Ploeg, 2014).
The course, which I undertook taught me not only to organize the team work, but also to conduct negotiations, manage both physical and labor resources, and to assess the financial situation so as to be able to provide not only high-quality but also cost-effective care.
NP Core Competencies #2
The course Leadership and Role of the APN is directly related to the achievement of leadership competencies required for successful evidence-based practice. First and foremost, it helped me acquire visionary leadership skills that allow combining the best evidence with my own practical experience in order to ensure patient safety, constant improvement of the quality of care, and innovation. This implies that I have managed to master complex leadership roles including the ability to guide change.
As it has already been mentioned in the previous section, the collaboration with multiple stakeholders (including member of the team, patients, policy-makers, etc.) is ensured by the part of the course program related to interprofessional interaction. It makes a special emphasis not on exercising strict control over the process (which is an outdated understanding of leadership) but on innovative leadership, presupposing collective brainstorming, shared responsibilities, and collaborative decision making (Scully, 2015).
Cost effectiveness is ensured by the acquired ability to distribute the given resources in a fiscally sensible manner while maintaining the level of quality.
Innovation is one of the major issues learned through the course. In order to meet the standards of leadership, it is essential to be able not only to develop innovative solutions but also to prepare the team for the change, overcoming resistance, providing incentives, creating motivation, and ensuring commitment to the common goal.
The course has also taught me how to express myself both verbally and in writing since eloquence and persuasiveness are indispensible to the image of a good leader. Doing research I have developed skills allowing me not merely to disseminate results but also providing convincing arguments to support my findings.
Finally, since I had my nursing practice during the course, I was able to develop the last key competence, which concerns participation in professional activities and organizations.
References
Anonson, J., Walker, M. E., Arries, E., Maposa, S., Telford, P., & Berry, L. (2014). Qualities of exemplary nurse leaders: Perspectives of frontline nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 22(1), 127-136.
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal relationships-e-book: Professional communication skills for nurses. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Bookey‐Bassett, S., Markle‐Reid, M., Mckey, C. A., & Akhtar‐Danesh, N. (2017). Understanding interprofessional collaboration in the context of chronic disease management for older adults living in communities: A concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73(1), 71-84.
Grossman, S., & Valiga, T. M. (2016). The new leadership challenge: Creating the future of nursing. Philadelphia, PA: FA Davis.
Grove, S. K., Burns, N., & Gray, J. (2014). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence-based practice. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Pfaff, K., Baxter, P., Jack, S., & Ploeg, J. (2014). An integrative review of the factors influencing new graduate nurse engagement in interprofessional collaboration. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(1), 4-20.
Scully, N. J. (2015). Leadership in nursing: The importance of recognising inherent values and attributes to secure a positive future for the profession. Collegian, 22(4), 439-444.
Weiss, S. A., & Tappen, R. M. (2014). Essentials of nursing leadership and management. Philadelphia, PA: FA Davis.