Introduction
Nursing involves making important decisions that can affect patients’ treatment. Nurturing leadership and appropriate knowledge can lead a nurse to be able to implement new approaches and practices in everyday work. This article will discuss how to use theoretical foundations and academic literature as the knowledge that nurses can apply in practice. A process that will need improvement, the patient’s dissatisfaction with their wait time before appointments in the med spa, was chosen. Nursing leadership qualities and their application in practice are critical to maintaining high-quality care and patient satisfaction.
Introduction and Background of The Practice Issue
The problem of long waiting times is one of the main ones in medical institutions. Queues created by the large number of patients wishing to receive the necessary medical care have a negative impact on them. According to Xi and Or (2017), “studies in various settings, such as military outpatient clinics, outpatient veterans administration clinics, outpatient primary care units, or health service departments, have all demonstrated that patient waits associated with various levels of dissatisfaction” (p. 2). It is essential to emphasize that a long wait can affect the patient’s mood and provoke the desire to leave the medical institution (Xi & Or, 2017). This fact is critical because the patient does not receive the necessary care when he decides that he has more urgent matters than is in the queue to see a doctor. Such behavior could pose a direct threat to his life. In addition, it should be emphasized that the psychological impact on patients with a long waiting time can lead to a hostile or aggressive attitude to the medical institution and the doctor.
Stakeholders
As stakeholders, patients, employees, nurses, and other medical staff should be considered. Various medical professionals may have helpful information that can be used to solve a particular problem. As Yoder-Wise (2019) states, “the skills of leading, managing, and the following can be used whether the nurse is providing direct patient care or collaborating with stakeholders of a large healthcare system.” (p. 42). By communicating with stakeholders using change practice, which will be discussed later in the essay, the nurse will be able to constantly get the necessary information about the current situation regarding patients. Therefore, the decisions she makes as a leader will be more rational and literate.
Change Theory
The Diffusion theory was chosen as a practical theory to reduce the level of patient dissatisfaction with their wait time before appointments. Rogers contributed to this theory in 2003, and its main idea is to improve communication among healthcare staff using innovative methods (Yoder-Wise, 2019). This method of communication with new tools will allow healthcare providers and nurses to adapt more quickly to new changes and engage in the implementation process (Yoder-Wise, 2019). As Yoder-Wise (2019) states, “equally important is making certain the communication that occurs between healthcare providers and patients and families ensures quality care and patient safety and satisfaction.” (p. 238). For example, by using Twitter, it is possible to establish communication that would facilitate engagement with employees and communicates changes quickly (Yoder-Wise, 2019). Therefore, one of the main advantages of Diffusion theory in medicine is communication between employees to introduce ideas and knowledge into practice, including those that have emerged in their adaptation process.
Nurses Leadership
The nurse leadership will impact the change process by using communication ability. As Yoder-Wise (2019) states, “to understand what matters to staff, leaders must listen, establish the connection, and build trust. Dialogue is a method that helps accomplish this goal” (p. 578). It is important to emphasize that communication, which the nurse will initiate as a leader, will occur between health workers and patients. It will allow a better understanding of the problem’s features and the patient’s level of dissatisfaction. Therefore, the nurse can make the right changes using this data and the Diffusion theory. As leadership characteristics, it is vital to highlight communication abilities, responsiveness, listening to others, attention, and care.
Answers to The Questions
The ability to communicate with healthcare staff and patients makes nurse leadership unique. The main feature of such a leader is his closeness to the problem and, therefore, to patients. Speaking with them, he will understand the situation and conclude what needs to change. As a critical attribute of that leader, the ability to manage communication among employees to investigate all aspects of necessary changes should be highlighted. Using new tools like Twitter in the process will make this approach innovative and effective. For my leadership style, I identified the importance of being close to both sides of the issue. It means that communication should be done not only with people who are supposed to deal with it but with those who experience the problem. The nurse leader’s approach is similar to my own. Methods of interviewing and communicating with people and establishing competent collaboration with other employees are vital points in my approach.
Proposed Intervention and Possible Improvements to The Identified Issue
Nurses, in the role of the leaders, should organize a communication plan among medical spa staff. An important component of such intervention is the desire to highlight changes that would make patient expectations more comfortable. To achieve this, the nurse’s actions must include creating interviews with as many patients as possible from different age groups. After receiving certain conclusions, the next important aspect of the nurse’s leadership is respect for and attention to the opinions of other employees regarding possible interventions. According to Yoder-Wise (2019), “Collaboration requires a set of special conditions between leaders and followers. Among these conditions are the ideas that each voice will be valued in an equitable manner.” (p. 59). Using the Diffusion theory, it will be possible to consider the most relevant innovations and suggestions from employees to improve the situation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the importance of leadership qualities of health care providers and nurses should be emphasized. The characteristics of nurses, such as sociability, proximity to patients, and attention to their dissatisfaction, can help solve many medical problems. Features of the Diffusion theory and its possible application to the problem of patients’ dissatisfaction with their wait time before appointments have been reviewed. Active communication with stakeholders will provide important information about the current state of the problem. Involving as many people as possible in the change implementation process will be controlled by the nurse’s managerial abilities and leadership qualities. In addition, the practices of the nurse have been compared to my leadership approach. Critical knowledge, theories, and their competent application in practice will help to develop the ability of the leadership of nurses and significantly improve the work of the entire medical institution.
References
Xie, Z., & Or, C. (2017). Associations between waiting times, service times, and patient satisfaction in an endocrinology outpatient department: A time study and questionnaire survey. Inquiry: a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing, 54.
Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2019). Leading and managing in nursing (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.