Transformational Nursing Leaders
DISCUSSION
Review Appendix A, Sections I–V in Finkelman (2016).
Select one of the sections and share how your chief nurse executive demonstrates expertise in these competencies. Your comments should be about the “highest nursing leader” in your organization. Typically this is the leader who represents nurses and nursing to the governing board.
In your own words, explain the differences between a transactional nursing leader and a transformational nursing leader. What one is more like your Nurse Executive?
Describe how the Nurse Executive “leads the charge” for transformational leadership in an organization where you work or have done prelicensure clinical experiences
====250 words, APA, double spaced.
reference: Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
II. Knowledge of the Health Care Environment
Clinical Practice Knowledge
Maintain knowledge of current nursing practice and the roles and functions of patient care team members
Articulate patient care standards as published by JCAHO [Joint Commission], CMS, and professional nursing literature
Understand, articulate, and ensure compliance with the State Nurse Practice Act, State Board of Nursing regulations, regulatory agency standards, and policies of the organization
Ensure that written organization clinical policies and procedures are reviewed and updated in accordance with evidence-based practice
Role model lifelong learning, including clinical subjects such as disease processes, pharmaceuticals, and clinical technology
Delivery Models/Work Design
Maintain current knowledge of patient care delivery systems and innovations
Articulate various delivery systems and patient care models and the advantages/ disadvantages of each
Serve as change agent when patient care work/workflow is redesigned
Determine when new delivery models are appropriate, and then envision and develop them
Health Care Economics
Articulate federal and state payment systems and regulations, as well as private insurance issues, which affect organization’s finances
Understand and articulate individual organization’s payer mix, CMI, and benchmark database
Health Care Policy
Articulate federal and state laws and regulations that affect the provision of patient care, e.g., tort reform, malpractice/negligence, reimbursement
Participate in the legislative process concerning health care through membership in professional organization and personal contact with public officials
Educate patient care team members on the legislative and regulatory processes and methods for influencing both
Interpret impact of state and federal legislation on nursing and health care organizations
Governance
Articulate the role of the governing body of the organization in the following areas:
Fiduciary responsibilities
Credentialing
Performance management
Represent patient care issues to the governing body
Participate in strategic planning and quality initiatives with the governing body
Interact with and educate the organization’s board members regarding health care and the value of nursing care
Represent nursing at the organization’s board meetings
Evidence-Based Practice/Outcome Measurement
Interpret information from research
Utilize research findings for the establishment of standards, practices, and patient care models in the organization
Disseminate research findings to patient care team members
Participate in studies that provide outcome measurements
Allocate nursing resources based on measurement of patient acuity/care needed
Patient Safety
Support the development and implementation of an organization-wide patient safety program
Design safe clinical systems, processes, policies, and procedures
Monitor clinical activities to identify both expected and unexpected risks
Support a non-punitive reporting environment and a reward system for reporting unsafe practices
Support safety surveys, responding and acting on safety recommendations
Ensure staff is clinically competent and trained on their role in patient safety
Articulate and take action to support the JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals
Utilization/Case Management
Articulate organization for the criteria model adopted by the organization
Communicate key points of the model to a variety of audiences (nursing, financial, medical staff)
Involve physicians in on-going utilization management practices
Design continuum of care options for managing patient throughput (long term care units, urgent care centers, admission/discharge units, etc.)
Quality Improvement/Metrics
Articulate the organization’s QI program and goals
Determine patient care quality improvement goals and objectives
Define metrics as related to process improvement
Explain and utilize metrics as a unit of measure for any process
Articulate the link between metrics and goals
Articulate the link between organization metrics and national quality initiatives/metrics
Target outcomes that are evidence-based (comparison data benchmarking)
Define quality metrics by
Identifying the problem/process
Measuring success at improving specific areas of patient care
Analyzing the root causes or variation from quality standards
Improving the process with the evidence
Controlling solutions and sustaining success
Risk Management
Identify areas of risk/liability
Ensure staff is educated on risk management and compliance issues
Develop systems which encourage/require prompt reporting of potential liability by staff at all levels
Envision and take action to correct identified areas of potential liability
III. Leadership
Foundational Thinking Skills
Address ideas, beliefs, or viewpoints that should be given serious consideration
Recognize one’s own method of decision making and the role of beliefs, values, and inferences
Critically analyze organizational issues after a review of the evidence
Maintain curiosity and an eagerness to explore new knowledge and ideas
Promote nursing leadership as both a science and an art
Demonstrate reflective leadership and an understanding that all leadership begins from within
Provide visionary thinking on issues that impact the health care organization
Personal Journey Disciplines
Value and act on feedback that is provided about one’s own strengths and weaknesses
Demonstrate the value of lifelong learning through one’s own example
Learn from setbacks and failures as well as successes
Assess one’s personal, professional, and career goals and undertake career planning
Seek mentorship from respected colleagues
Systems Thinking
Promote systems thinking as a value in the nursing organization
Consider the impact of nursing decisions on the health care organization as a whole
Provide leadership in building loyalty and commitment throughout the organization
Synthesize and integrate divergent viewpoints for the good of the organization
Succession Planning
Promote nursing management as a desirable specialty
Conduct periodic organizational assessments to identify succession planning issues and establish action plans
Serve as a professional role model and mentor to future nursing leaders
Establish mechanisms that provide for early identification and mentoring of staff with leadership potential
Develop a succession plan for one’s own position
Change Management
Utilize change theory to plan for the implementation of organizational changes
Serve as a change agent, assisting others in understanding the importance, necessity, impact, and process of change
Support staff during times of difficult transitions
Recognize one’s own reaction to change and strive to remain open to new ideas and approaches
Adapt leadership style to situational needs
IV. Professionalism
Personal and Professional Accountability
Create an environment that facilitates the team to initiate actions that produce results
Hold self and others accountable for actions and outcomes
Create an environment in which others are setting expectations and holding each other accountable
Answer for the results of one’s own behaviors and actions
Career Planning
Develop own career plan and measure progress according to that plan
Coach others in developing their own career plans
Create an environment in which professional and personal growth is an expectation
Ethics
Articulate the application of ethical principles to operations
Integrate high ethical standards and core values into everyday work activities
Create an environment that has a reputation for high ethical standards
Evidence-Based Clinical and Management Practice
Advocate use of documented best practices
Teach and mentor others to routinely utilize evidence based data and research
Advocacy
Role model the perspective that patient care is the core of the organization’s work
Assure that the clinical perspective is included in organizational decisions
Ensure that nurses are actively involved in decisions that affect their practice
Active Membership in Professional Organizations
Participate in at least one professional organization
Support and encourage others to participate in a professional organization
Solution Preview
Chief Nurses are expert in their field career. They are highly educated, skilled, and very valuable in the field of healthcare, they make rules, provide policies for other nurses to follow. As a leader, chief nurses are termed as the life blood or the connective tissue of the healthcare.
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