The focus on the concept-based class activities and teaching can be discussed as the modern trend because there are many advantages which are associated with teaching conceptually. The concept-based approach is effective to be implemented in relation to different theoretical and practical fields of knowledge, including nursing. General benefits of teaching conceptually are the focus on the students’ understanding of the theoretical material and the focus on discussing the concepts and phenomena in the large context (Giddens, 2013, p. 24). Furthermore, much attention is paid to discussing important concepts in their relation to each other in order to form the working framework. In this case, the benefits of teaching conceptually in nursing are associated with the opportunity to discuss the important concepts and their principles as related to each other and associated with the idea of the nurse’s professionalism (Timby, 2009, p. 12). Thus, the conceptual teaching plan related to the idea of ‘leadership’ in the nursing practice is based on presenting the factual information related to the concept in the form of a lecture which is supported with guiding questions; on the case study example; on two activities; and on the assessment.
The Lecture Component of the Plan
The key concept discussed in the teaching plan is ‘leadership’ in nursing. In order to discuss the concept in detail, it is necessary to outline the lecture points which are supported with the use of the concept map, guiding questions, and generalizations (Butts & Rich, 2014, p. 112).
- Leadership as the key concept is based on such concepts as:
- Competency.
- Professionalism.
- Achievement.
- Direction.
- Empowerment.
- Progress (Clark, 2009, p. 52).
(The visual concept map is used to discuss the material).
- Leaders are professionals who work in order to manage, dictate, control, and direct the activities of the other persons while focusing on inspiring and empowering the employees. As a result, the staff can develop the potential, reach the goal, and complete the set objectives (American Psychological Association, 2011, p. 12; Giddens, 2013, p. 24). (The focus is on generalizations).
- What is the role of leadership in nursing? (The guiding question).
- Leaders in healthcare and nursing work to direct activities and delegate duties and responsibilities in order to achieve the effective realization of the healthcare tasks (Timby, 2009, p. 84). (The focus is on generalizations).
- Leadership theories:
- Trait theory.
- Behavioral theory.
- Transformational leadership (Clark, 2009, p. 24).
(The visual concept map is used to discuss the material).
- Leadership attributes, qualities, and abilities determined according the trait theory are the following ones:
- Decision-making ability.
- Problem-solving skills.
- Creativity.
- Collaboration skills.
- Negotiation abilities.
- Communication skills.
- Ability to reflect on the process and result.
- Ability to persuade and influence (Clark, 2009, p. 12).
(The visual concept map is used to discuss the material).
- Behavioral leadership theory is based on the idea that leaders’ behaviors are caused by their developed skills, experience, and knowledge instead of inherited traits (Giddens, 2013, p. 28). (The focus is on generalizations).
- Transformational leadership is based on the choice to focus on needs, necessary changes, and the ways to complete changes. Transformational leaders promote changes with the focus on innovation and inspiration (Clark, 2009, p. 24). (The focus is on generalizations).
- What are the characteristics of transformational leaders in nursing? (The guiding question).
- Transformational leaders in nursing are characterized by such attributes and behaviors as the following ones:
- The focus on the use of advanced technologies.
- The focus on quality.
- The focus on building the patient-centered service.
- The quality on the role of community.
- The focus on the growth and development (Timby, 2009, p. 84).
The Case Study Example
In order to understand the concept of ‘leadership’ in detail, it is reasonable to focus on the example in the form of the case study. Mrs. Smith is a nurse leader who works in a large outpatient clinic more than twelve years. Mrs. Smith is described by her staff as an effective leader who can not only direct activities but also delegate responsibilities. However, Mrs. Smith often rejects or ignores the implementation of any technologies in the nursing environments because of the unwillingness to learn new strategies, tools, methods, instruments, and techniques. As a result, the quality of the work performed by the nurse team headed by Mrs. Smith decreased significantly in comparison with the other nurse teams headed by transformational leaders. In spite of Mrs. Smith’s great experience in the field, the clinic’s administration made a decision to appoint Ms. Anderson to the position of the nurse leader in the team because she had demonstrated such qualities of a transformational leader as the abilities to adapt, flexibility, the focus on innovative technologies, the focus in improving quality, promoting changes, inspiring the team to work with new strategies and devices, and the focus on the professional progress (Dutra, 2013, p. 15; Just the facts 101 textbook key facts, 2013, p. 24-28).
Students are expected to answer the following discussion questions:
- Why did the administration of the clinic make a decision to replace experienced Mrs. Smith who took the leader position with the less experienced nurse?
- Why transformational leadership is effective in the nursing environment?
The Didactic Activity
In order to increase the nurses’ knowledge and skills related to the concept of ‘leadership’, it is necessary to focus on such a didactic activity as a classroom discussion:
Depending on the lecture materials and personal experience, think about the answers to the following questions:
- What concepts can you add to the list presented as the leadership concept map discussed in the lecture?
- Propose your own definition of leadership in relation to the nursing context.
- Why do you agree or disagree with the principles of the trait theory in relation to leadership?
- How can you formulate the basic idea of the behavioral theory?
- How is it possible to distinguish a transformational leader among other nurse leaders?
The Clinical Activity
Nurse leaders demonstrate their abilities and skills not only in working with the staff but also while building the partnership relations with individual clients. There is a proposed clinical activity:
Focusing on the strengths of the transformational leadership model, develop an individual health promotion plan in order to work with the patient who uses tobacco and suffers from such consequences as the chronic respiratory diseases. The health promotion plan should include effective steps and strategies to eliminate tobacco use and address respiratory diseases. The strategies should be appropriate for the individual, and they should be based on the information received as a result of the effective communication between the nurse as a leader and the patient. The proposed plan should be easy enough to be implemented by the patient in the everyday life (Clark, 2009, p. 24).
Conclusion
The proposed conceptual teaching plan which consists of the lecture component, the case study example, and two activities is developed in order to address such teaching and learning objectives as the necessity to discuss the concept of ‘leadership’ in the nursing environment; to focus on the role of leadership to promote health in the community; to distinguish between different leadership theories. As a result of listening to the lecture and participating in the class and clinical activities, students are expected to define and discuss the idea of leadership; to determine the attributes characteristic for nurse leaders; to analyze the advantages of transformational leadership in the nursing context; and to apply the leadership qualities to the work with the staff and patients in the clinic environments.
The students’ performance can be evaluated with the help of question-and-answer sessions and performance tasks. The students are expected to provide the accurate answers to the stated questions and argument their position basing on the lecture material and personal experience. The performance task related to the clinical activity is expected to be evaluated according to the rubric where excellent, comprehensive, and appropriate health promotion plans are graded in 100 scores, and the plans which are not appropriate to the situation are graded in 0-20 scores. The main focus is on the students’ ability to communicate effectively with the client in order to receive the necessary information and persuade the client to follow the proposed plan in order to eliminate tobacco use in the everyday life.
References
American Psychological Association. (2011). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: Author.
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2014). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Clark, C. (2009). Creative nursing leadership and management. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Dutra, D. K. (2013). Implementation of case studies in undergraduate didactic nursing courses: a qualitative study. BMC Nursing, 12(1), 15-25.
Giddens, J. F. (2013). Concepts for nursing practice. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.
Just the facts 101 textbook key facts: Studyguide for Concepts for Nursing Practice by Giddens, Jean Forett. (2013). New York, NY: Cram101.
Timby, B. (2009). Fundamental nursing skills and concepts. New York, NY: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.