Management Model: Managed- Care Critical Pathways
Managed-care critical pathways are crucial for professional nursing practice and leadership. These are frameworks that facilitate coordination of teamwork and streamline service delivery. Significance of the care pathways is realized in a series of events, such as scheduling and execution of processes in healthcare systems.
It enhances accomplishment of nursing objectives (Sullivan & Decker, 2001). However, development of managed-care critical pathways entails nursing activities that are accomplished within a specified period. These activities include monitoring the progress of patients, diagnosis of patients, and formulation of achievable goals in every step of operation. Furthermore, it entails establishment of various interventions to attain the projected outcomes on time (Frances & Elvina, 2013).
Sullivan & Decker (2001) reveal that managed-care pathways have various advantages that include minimization of fragmentations in service delivery, promotion of collaboration among disciplines, facilitation of efficient time management, and enhancement of accountability. This model also improves provision of standardized care and communication methods in every unit. As a result, it elevates patients’ satisfaction; hence, it improves the overall quality of service in the hospital (Sullivan & Decker, 2001).
Leadership Style: Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is a style that inspires staff to adopt the change due to interventions of managers who are energetic, enthusiastic, positive, and passionate about their activities. This style of leadership emphasizes interpersonal relations and organizational change (Blais & Hayes, 2011).
It also focuses on motivation, desires, goals, and values of leaders and their junior staff in an attempt to accomplish organizational targets. Therefore, it encourages pursuance of individual goals. Furthermore, transformational leadership inspires the staff to exercise their skills in matters that pertain to nursing leadership.
A nursing career involves ethics and social mandates that promote delivery of professional service to patients. According to Blais & Hayes (2011), nurse managers need to practice transformational leadership styles to promote both the cohesion of staff and suitable healing environments.
Hospital environment requires appropriate conditions to carry out the staff duties effectively. In this sense, transformational leadership styles create an interactive environment that allows for consultation among nurses and their managers. This state of affairs discourages burnouts; hence, it promotes positive work relations among staff (Blais & Hayes, 2011).
Blais & Hayes (2011) reveal that transformational leadership style comprises various components that include influence, motivation, and stimulation. Healthcare leaders serve as role models to the junior staff. Therefore, they should be in a position to influence staff, take risks, and abide by the rules, core values, and ethical principles that are stipulated by their institutions. Such practices enable healthcare leaders to influence staff through establishment of trust and confidence in them (Blais & Hayes, 2011).
Confidence and motivation among staff are essential for effective leadership in nursing practice. Building confidence and self-drive is accomplished by formulating clear visions, effective communication, and commitment to the goals of the organization. Managers also have to portray optimism to ensure ultimate leadership transformation in nursing practice (Sullivan, 2012).
Last but not least, nurses have immense skills that are nurtured through self-creativity and specialization. Transformative leaders should engage the junior staff in decision-making processes to allow them to generate ideas and innovative solutions to challenging healthcare issues. Hospital setups that encourage stimulation enhance open-mindedness, cohesion, and a feeling of existence. As a result, their employees see a wide view of finding solutions to healthcare problems (Sullivan, 2012).
Management concepts: Charge Nurse
A charge nurse is a professional who is responsible for day-to-day flow of activities in a healthcare setup. The nurse must ensure that all the activities are coordinated in accordance with the problems of patients in all the hospital units. Therefore, the charge nurse is responsible for educating and directing staff, scheduling their duties, and testing competencies among the others.
The nurse has an access to the cases of night shifts in the morning, readdress of patients, and confirmation of the available staff for the day’s activities, etc. A charge nurse also plans listings of patients’ attendants. Professional nursing practice and leadership demand consistent flow of information to ensure effective management.
Therefore, the nurse is charged with recording of patients and staff information. The charge nurse pins information on certain display boards that are strategically placed within the hospital to avoid the cases of roles’ confusion (Blais & Hayes, 2011). However, effective leadership requires the charge nurse to adhere to effective communication, teamwork, and proper management of resources.
Effective communication and proper management of resources encourage flow of information that leads to increased work output. The charge nurse should utilize both verbal and non-verbal communication cues effectively. Listening skills are also paramount to providing proper responses and ensuring successful communication among nurses, patients, and other staff.
This state of affairs creates a lively and humanistic atmosphere that enhances work efficiency (Joel, 2009). Additionally, the charge nurse encourages teamwork to create safe environment that is effective for patients’ care.
In conclusion, professional nursing practices require robust management models, such as managed-care critical pathways, in order to promote dependable healing environments. Cooperation among staff creates an effective hospital environment that offers a certain degree of safety to patients.
Reference List
Blais, K., & Hayes, S. (2011). Professional nursing practice, Concepts and perspectives. Boston: Pearson.
Frances, M., & Elvina, W. (2013). An integrated care pathway for burns. Paediatric Nursing, 15(8), 14-18.
Joel, L. (2009). Advanced practice nursing: Essentials for role development. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.
Sullivan, E. (2012). Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.