Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are expected to integrate their employees and lead them towards a common goal and vision. The first strategy that can be adopted by them is transformational leadership and continuous professional development as a way to remain competent in spite of the changing environment (Kapu& Jones, 2016; Martin, McCormack, Fitzsimons, &Spirig, 2014). By doing so, APRNs will be flexible and dynamic to adjust their team building strategies. The role modeling strategy is proposed by Stetler, Ritchie, Rycroft‐Malone, and Charns (2014) as a viable way to create a fruitful workplace atmosphere, in which nurses are open to communication and may learn from each other. By supporting the staff members with their personal and work-related concerns, the leaders can inspire and stimulate them to move towards the shared goal (Feistritzer& Jones, 2014). Even though role modeling implies a more individual approach to promoting professional growth, it can also be used in team building as a positive example of an APRN leader clearly shows the benefits of being goal-oriented.
The application of formal and informal education is another strategy, which is especially effective with the continuous presence of a leader (Bender, 2016). For example, along with seminars and training sessions, it is possible to initiate games and spend leisure time together. The primary purpose of this strategy is to promote interprofessional engagement of team members, emphasizing that each of them is important. Farrell, Payne, and Heye (2015) state that in the socialization process, employees learn to interact and share values. Thus, an APRN leader may consider personal development, role modeling, and informal education as team building strategies that are useful to engage people and motivate them to adopt and follow shared vision and goals.
References
Bender, M. (2016).Conceptualizing clinical nurse leader practice: An interpretive synthesis. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(1), 23-31.
Farrell, K., Payne, C., &Heye, M. (2015).Integrating interprofessional collaboration skills into the advanced practice registered nurse socialization process. Journal of Professional Nursing, 31(1), 5-10.
Feistritzer, N. R., & Jones, P. O. (2014). A proof-of-concept implementation of a unit-based advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) role: Structural empowerment, role clarity and team effectiveness. Nursing Clinics, 49(1), 1-13.
Kapu, A. N., & Jones, P. (2016).APRN transformational leadership. Nursing Management, 47(2), 19-22.
Martin, J., McCormack, B., Fitzsimons, D., &Spirig, R. (2014).The importance of inspiring a shared vision. International Practice Development Journal, 4(2), 1-15.
Stetler, C. B., Ritchie, J. A., Rycroft‐Malone, J., &Charns, M. P. (2014). Leadership for evidence‐based practice: Strategic and functional behaviors for institutionalizing EBP. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 11(4), 219-226.