Introduction
Leadership is critical in nursing and other healthcare professions since it defines the degree to which the provided services meet clients’ needs. For young specialists, learning from experienced professionals who have dealt with multiple difficult situations at work is a priceless opportunity for self-improvement. For this assignment, a 35-year-old nurse supervisor at my current place of employment, A.D., was interviewed about her perspectives on being an effective leader.
Main body
Within the frame of the interview, the nurse supervisor was supposed to answer four questions referring to nursing leadership and stewardship. As for my impressions, the first question about the woman’s role in the healthcare team allowed the interviewee to problematize the most challenging aspects of her job and highlight the way that nurse supervisors are responsible for the quality of healthcare services. According to the interviewee, as a healthcare team member, she takes on a variety of roles, including supporting patients and their families, concerting the efforts of different nursing specialists, and updating policies that nurses implement into practice. Judging from the interviewee’s responses, the aspect of her role that she emphasizes most of all is staff training to enable nurses to meet patients’ expectations. A.D. also collaborates with doctors to make sure that there are no barriers to understanding between the nursing and medical teams.
The interviewee’s definition of professionalism that she used to answer the second question also deserves attention and aligns with what can be found in academic literature. A.D. regards professionalism in the context of nursing as an employee’s ability to multi-task, collaborate with others, and demonstrate the commitment to ethical and professional standards in any situation. Just like other definitions offered by professional researchers, the interviewee’s one highlights the importance of “responsibility and commitment” (Farhadi, Elahi, & Jalali, 2016, p. 18). The interviewed person’s professional responsibility has a profound impact on her work since it shapes her behaviors. For instance, to keep her practice safe and ethical, she has to consult the organization’s code of ethics and comply with the legal standards of care. Failure to do so may result in unwanted consequences impacting her team and patients, and this is why A.D. is extremely responsible when it comes to rules and standards.
The third question related to stewardship in healthcare made the interviewee think about her understanding of the term. Stewardship encompasses a variety of competencies and responsibilities associated with managing and planning the critical resources, and A.D. totally agrees with this point of view (Ochasi & Clark, 2015). In general, the interviewee regards herself as a steward of health care since many of her responsibilities are linked to the management of the nursing workforce. For instance, apart from providing employee education as soon as needed, she assigns nurses with tasks and ensures maximum effectiveness of the team.
According to my impressions, the fourth question about the qualities of leaders encouraged A.D. to think about some unpleasant situations from her practice and use her negative emotions to generate new knowledge. From her answer, it follows that the interviewee finds it necessary when leaders exercise authenticity and advocacy apart from power because it is a prerequisite to healthy inter-team relationships. Nine years ago, A.D. worked under the supervision of an inexperienced leader who paid no attention to the effects of new policies and rules on nurses. The overuse of power resulted in high turnover rates since the nursing team was dissatisfied. Having learned from that situation, A.D. tries to protect her team’s interests if her colleagues raise similar concerns.
Conclusion
To sum it up, my impressions from interviewing a person with more than ten years of professional experience are positive. It seems that A.D. recognizes her responsibilities and manages to fulfill them with reference to the principles of transformative leadership. In general, the interviewee’s answers provide new knowledge concerning the basic values of nurse supervisors and the way that they impact their workplace behaviors.
References
Farhadi, A., Elahi, N., & Jalali, R. (2016). The effect of professionalism on the professional communication between nurses and physicians: A phenomenological study. Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences, 3(3), 18-26.
Ochasi, A., & Clark, P. (2015). Reuse of pacemakers in Ghana and Nigeria: Medical, legal, cultural and ethical perspectives. Developing World Bioethics, 15(3), 125-133.