Modern medicine is inextricably linked to the constant stress conditions created by high daily patients’ flow, a variety of problems, and the search for an individual approach to each patient. Such a chaotic state can be confusing, as medical personnel does not always understand exactly which tasks are more important at the moment. In order to create a formal structure, there is a senior nurse responsible for delegation, task allocation, and nurse management. This essay discusses my own experiences, impressions, and lessons learned from the head nurse’s work.
Indeed, most of the time, the patient spends with nurses and other nursing staff, and they are the face of the institution through which patients learn about the culture and values of the clinic. Nevertheless, as a leader, the head nurse is responsible for inspiration, management, and distribution. Initially, it is worth noting that the diversity of tasks assigned to the head nurse is daunting. It is a complex and responsible job associated with the management of subordinate employees to achieve maximum efficiency in clinical processes. There may have been moments when I wanted to give up the burden of responsibility, but I am convinced that such crisis conditions, or rather overcoming them, make medical staff more serious professionals.
Lessons learned from training and personal experience suggest that it is essential to create a comfortable and stimulating work environment in which the risk of stress complication is minimized. In addition, as a senior nurse, I need to be aware of the responsibility placed on me to lead more effectively: the abundance of patients with a unique clinical picture should not be intimidating but should be used as a tool to perform medical duties. From the simulation, I learned more about how to draw a brief but logical conclusion based on a variety of medical data. With a diagnosis in hand, I need to have a clear understanding of the severity of the damage to health, so that I can then delegate the patient to the nurses or send them to the operating theatre.
As an administrator, the head nurse solves current nursing issues by focusing on today’s problems and ensuring that the work is done efficiently through the available staff capacity. A simulation of a medical organization has demonstrated that it is not enough to manage the nursing staff in the department, but that it is also necessary to schedule and monitor performance. Correct, accurate, and skilled management of the medical team, based on the rational use of each employee, is one of the direct responsibilities of the head nurse. The nurse should reasonably allocate direct duties to subordinates, assigning each to a specific patient according to the severity of the illness. Among other duties, it can be argued that the head nurse has an obligation to prevent and manage conflict, to develop the psychological maturity and high resistance of staff to the stresses of the profession, and to create a particular corporate culture that calls for respect, tolerance, and friendliness.
Through my simulated clinic experience, I realized that not all of my steps could be classified as correct, which was most likely due to a lack of objective assessment of the clinical picture. The leading indicators I paid attention to were primary medical data such as heart rate, pressure, as well as recommendations and diagnosis. However, additional emphasis should also be placed on breathing frequency, oxygen concentration, and, in particular, the blood’s biochemical composition. I am convinced that only by integrating these results can a correct decision be made about the type of treatment and the allocation of nursing responsibilities. If I were able to do the simulation again, I would definitely evaluate each patient more carefully and try not to spend as much time as I do now.
This experience has clearly shown me not only my strongest points as a head nurse but also moments in which I have to work extra. It was a useful practice: despite its virtuality, it helped me to get an initial idea of the complexity of organizing effective work in a medical institution. When more than a dozen patients are asked every day for medical help, the head nurse must do everything possible to demonstrate the clinic’s quality and high reliability.
In terms of more specific lessons I have learned from virtual practice, it is worth mentioning that I have rethought the definition of some diseases. In particular, if a cursory analysis of anamnesis highlights complex conditions such as appendicitis or brain injury, it does not mean that the patient’s condition is critical. It has become more apparent to me what measures need to be taken by the doctor and nurse for specific diagnoses and their urgency. While some diagnoses require urgent care, others can be completed within 16-18 hours or more.
In conclusion, I would like to clarify that the head nurse’s work is multifaceted and challenging. The nurse should act as a manager, psychologist, and teacher for subordinate staff in order to create an environment in which internal clinical processes are addressed quickly, correctly, and effectively. In this course, I had the opportunity to go through a virtual simulation of the head nurse’s clinical work, which showed me the importance of making objective decisions based on a comprehensive view of the patient’s medical data. In addition, in the course of the assignment, I found that it is not enough to find keywords in the anamnesis to conclude the severity of the diagnosis, but it is necessary to back up the arguments with facts.