Patient-focused care mediations are reliant on many factors. Regardless of far-reaching preparations and tedious work, some interventions do not lead to predetermined outcomes. Elements out of reach and outside the limits of our awareness alter the expected consequences. Wagner (2018, p. 93) states, “this is typical of events in complex adaptive systems.” How can nurse leaders, in their endeavor to guide others thrive, if foretelling the outcomes is not probable?
Clinical nurse leaders furnish their staff with bearing and comprehensive supervision to achieve the organizational vision. A transformational leader appreciates input from subordinates and, through communication, captivates their cognitive and emotional capabilities, resulting in beneficial developments in performance. Bonsu and Twum-Danso (2018) state that a transformative leader strives to inspire his aides to perform their best. I noticed that the nurse leader built relationships by empowering his subordinates.
Over the years, healthcare leaders have examined multiple means to counter the increased demands on the healthcare system. The nurse leader is accountable for the coordination of patient care (Wagner, 2018) and gives the responsibility of care to a suitable candidate. The clinical leader I observed assigned the role of dealing with dental patients to the orthodontist as this was within his training. In another instance, he delegated the task of ensuring patients took their medications to another nurse, though they could not prescribe any medication. Although others were carrying out these duties, the nurse leader was still accountable. Wagner (2018) states the nurse leader keeps the duty of coordinator of patient care all through the delegation process. Through the delegation of duty, a nurse leader ensures that patients get the quality of service they need in a timely manner.
As the number of hospitals has been reducing, there has been an increase in instances of home and community-based care. Home-based care includes the provision of medical, psychological, and social care at home (Wagner, 2018). Nurses have to come up with innovative ways of care. An example is through telehealth, where the nurse tends to patients via telephone and video calls with community health workers. I witnessed a nurse tending to a patient located miles away via Zoom call. By listening to patients’ views, the participation of their families in careful consideration and application has led to an increase in the quality of care.
Collaboration entails the sharing of knowledge between several care providers to provide quality care. Through communication, the shared wisdom and skill influence the outcomes of care provided. Wagner (2018, p. 114) states, “Inter-professional leadership fits with a participatory style of leadership.” I observed the team in a meeting discussing the needs of a patient who had fallen down a flight of stairs and had multiple fractures all over their body. The inter-professional team included a cosmetic surgeon to replace a disfigured section of his face, a bone specialist to deal with the fractures, and a surgeon who had to perform surgery on the patient. The inter-professional meeting discussed the best ways to tackle the patient’s problem and agreed on a solution.
Provision of quality care is a duty of all health workers. Improvement in the environment that nurses work in leads to the attainment of positive patient results. By applying transformational leadership approaches, subordinate nurses feel they are part of the decision-making process. Bonsu and Twum-Danso (2018) state that “a staff that is self-confident, self-motivated, knowledgeable, and capable of performing tasks in autonomy reduces the risk associated with the uncertainties.” Through the transformative leadership approach, the quality of care of patients improved substantially.
References
Bonsu, S., & Twum-Danso, E. (2018). Leadership style in the global economy: A focus on cross-cultural and transformational leadership. Journal of Marketing and Management, 9(2), 37-52.
Wagner, J. (2018). Leadership and influencing change in nursing. University of Regina Press.