Leadership Responsibilities and Formal Role of the Nurse Leader
One example of a formal nursing leadership role is a clinical nurse manager. This position requires working in a clinical setting and conducting performance responsibilities of a supervisor of the nursing staff who delivers direct patient care. In particular, “the nurse manager is defined as a person who is responsible for coordinating and managing” a hospital department during the accomplishment of daily operations (Siirala et al., 2019, p. 919). In addition to management and monitoring, a clinical nurse manager is expected to arrange staff meetings, prepare schedules for the department, resolve contradictory issues and conflicts in the workplace, and coordinate the department’s performance. To become a clinical nurse manager, a nurse must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, as well as relevant state licensure.
Educational Preparation and Competencies Required
To become successful in this role, a person should have a set of leadership traits and soft skills. In particular, a successful nurse manager should be self-efficient, resilient, competent, confident, empathic, and have well-developed decision-making, critical thinking, teamwork, and people management skills (Heinen et al., 2019, pp. 2378-2380). The most effective leadership styles for this role might be transformational leadership and situational leadership. Transformational leadership means inspiring and guiding a team to work together toward a shared goal, and situational leadership emphasizes the establishment of focusing on the interaction between leadership behavior and circumstances (Heinen et al., 2019, pp. 2379). Overall, a goal-driven person with agility and good communication skills would be able to assume this role most effectively.
Leadership Traits and Their Alignment with a Christian Worldview
The abovementioned traits and styles align with the Christian worldview due to their emphasis on facilitating the process for the greater good, which is delivering care to patients. Indeed, the Bible holds that a good leader should prioritize the benefits of the followers by setting an example and inspiring them. The verse is as follows, “let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (“King James Bible,” 1 Timothy 4:12). These words align with the transformational leadership style and the traits required for a clinical nurse manager to be successful.
References
Heinen, M., van Oostveen, C., Peters, J., Vermeulen, H., & Huis, A. (2019). An integrative review of leadership competencies and attributes in advanced nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(11), 2378-2392.
King James Bible. (2023). Web.
Siirala, E., Suhonen, H., Salanterä, S., & Junttila, K. (2019). The nurse manager’s role in perioperative settings: An integrative literature review. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(5), 918-929.