This course has equipped me with valuable knowledge concerning leadership in the diverse society with a focus on the healthcare setting. I understand various peculiarities of and issues, as well as opportunities, associated with emotional intelligence, conflict management, time management. Importantly, I learned more about myself as I learned about my personality type. All this information will help me in my clinical practice. I would also like to note that this knowledge is helpful in understanding peculiarities of nursing informatics, its implementation, associated barriers, and benefits. This paper includes a brief summary of major points learned as well as a discussion of the peculiarities of nursing informatics and its influence on leadership.
Brief Summary
The implemented research and class discussions helped me understand the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) for effective leadership. Emotional intelligence can be characterized by such elements as empathy, motivation, social skills as well as self-regulation and self-awareness that are critical for proper communication and development of relationships (Cherry, 2011). Clearly, nurses should have a high level of EI since they have to provide care to different people who may be in different psychological and physical conditions. I have certain emotional intelligence skills, but I still have to improve my level of EI.
The discussion of personality types enabled me to discover my type and my qualities. I can be characterized by the ESTJ formula (which is Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging). Thus, personality type can help me be an effective leader as I can encourage people and inspire them, I can understand their feelings and, hence, collaborate effectively. The discussion of time management had revealed a number of gaps yet to be filled.
At that, the knowledge and skills acquired will help me be an efficient leader who can prioritize and manage tasks effectively. More importantly, I learned the difference between the manager and the leader, which was quite an eye-opening experience as I understand that the leader cannot simply do “things right” but has to do “the right thing” (Hamel, 2016, para. 2). Finally, the discussion of conflict management has equipped me with important skills and knowledge that helps in understanding the benefits and challenges of implementation of nursing informatics, which is associated with various conflicts. Of course, the ability to manage and avoid conflicts is essential for an effective leader.
Role of Nursing Informatics
Technology is seen as a phenomenon that has both negative and positive outcomes. However, when it comes to healthcare and nursing, the negative side is hardly visible. Nursing informatics can be regarded as an area where the positive outcomes for major stakeholders cannot be overestimated (Kennedy & Hussey, 2014). One of the illustrations of this effectiveness can be the use of Electronic Health Record (EHR). King, Patel, Jamoom and Furukawa (2014) claim that the implementation of EHR strategies has resulted in the reduction of medical error, increased patients’ safety and improved patients’ and healthcare professionals’ satisfaction.
It is necessary to note that the US healthcare system slowly adopts advances of nursing informatics, and there are various factors for that trend (Surkunte, 2014). For instance, many healthcare professionals still resist the change as they focus on the need to do extra tasks rather than stick to what is already known. Besides, funding is often limited, which results in the slow implementation of nursing informatics practices.
However, when healthcare facilities do use technology, the benefits are apparent. Nurses’ workload decreases significantly, and communication between healthcare professionals improves considerably. Access to the necessary data is highly valued by nurses who can provide care in a more efficient way since they are aware of all the changes in the patient’s health conditions (King et al., 2014). Clearly, EHR is only one aspect of nursing informatics that may take various forms in the healthcare setting. Knowledge sharing and time management are other areas where technology can improve significantly nursing professionals’ operations.
It is also noteworthy that nursing informatics can play the central role in the development of the healthcare system as the flaws of each operation, each facility or the system can be identified within a short period of time. Therefore, nursing professionals should employ technology in their everyday practice with an emphasis on such areas as clinical operations, knowledge sharing and management, communication and collaboration.
Nursing Informatics and Leadership
It is necessary to add that nursing informatics and technology as specifically valuable for nursing leadership. As has been mentioned above, nursing informatics can be instrumental in managing (or rather leading people through) knowledge sharing and time management (Kennedy & Hussey, 2014). Nursing leaders can and should use technology to facilitate communication and collaboration among nursing professionals. For instance, the use of EHR can be beneficial for clinical operations and lead to the decrease of nurses’ workload and elimination of medical errors and associated issues.
At that, the use of electronic schedules can result in better communication and improved conflict management. The leader can help nurses in prioritizing and managing their daily routines. As far as my leadership is concerned, I will use technology to make sure I do not miss anything or anyone. Electronic schedules will enable me to organize my work and my collaboration with peers. I will have all my projects in order, which will help me lead others. I will also try to develop my emotional intelligence through the use of technology. I can create peers’ profiles that will be helpful when working in teams.
Some may argue that technology makes the communication rather impersonal, which can make communication less effective. However, I would disagree with that statement as technology may help people communicate and collaborate irrespective of distances and schedules. Thus, online conferences, instant messengers, organizational social networks create the necessary links. Of course, it does not mean that face-to-face communication will be completely replaced. I believe this type of communication is still preferable when it is possible. Moreover, team-building activities can help in addressing the lack of face-to-face communication.
Conclusion
On balance, it is possible to note that the course discussions, as well as research associated, have enabled me to unveil numerous peculiarities of leadership in the clinical setting. I learned a lot about leadership, time and conflict management, emotional intelligence, as well as nursing informatics. I believe technology will help me provide high-quality care to patients, gain the necessary information and manage it. I understand that technology (and nursing informatics, in particular) can help me become an effective nursing leader who will contribute to the development of the healthcare facility (and the entire system, in the long run). Furthermore, I have detected some gaps to be addressed, which will ensure my professional growth.
References
Cherry, M. (2011). Health care leadership: Emotional intelligence competencies of hospitalist leaders. Digital Commons, 1(1), 1-46.
Hamel, G. (2016). What is the difference between management and leadership? Web.
Kennedy, M.A., & Hussey, P. (2014). Nursing informatics. In K.J. Hannah, P. Hussey, M.A. Kennedy, & M.J. Ball (Eds.), Introduction to nursing informatics (pp. 11-35). New York, NY: Springer.
King, J., Patel, V., Jamoom, E. W., & Furukawa, M. F. (2014). Clinical benefits of electronic health record use: National findings. Health Services Research, 49(1), 392-404.
Surkunte, A. (2014). Technology innovation, US healthcare and health reforms. Healthcare Reform. Web.