This report is aimed at giving an analysis of the concept of Nurse Leadership, the accomplishments attained in its practice, the main goals of the concept and the roles it plays with reference to the nursing practice. The methods used in the analysis of the data were the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results obtained from the survey given to some of the patients. The reviews provided in the website link where clients make their reviews of the levels of service and the facilitation of the smooth process of obtaining clinical assistance done through the assistance by nurse leaders was also analysed. The results of the analysed data show that the concept of nurse leaders has revolutionized the clinical assistance process and have made management of health care centres.
A clinical nurse leader is a role in the nursing field meant to prepare nurses for the task of improving the quality and safety for patients. For one to be rendered as a clinical nurse leader, they should be registered and wield a Master’s Degree in Nursing. The role may be permanent or rotated depending on the context and the management style of the health care centre at hand. The roles, goals and accomplishments of this concept are outlined below.
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"Clinical Nurse Leader".
Roles of the Clinical Nurse Leaders
The nurse leaders play the role of frontline managers even though they might not have the relevant expertise for managerial tasks. They are the overall overseers of the whole nursing team and some hospitals and healthcare centres shift the role amongst the nurses. They are the ones who ensure the tasks within this setup are delegated accordingly; give mentorship to new comers and solve any misunderstandings within the team. They are the change agents that ensure goals are achieved on a daily basis.
The clinical nurse leaders may also perform managerial tasks like evaluation of performances, interviewing, signing off on staff competencies and budgetary roles that relate to staffing. They are however not part of the management but they provide a connection between the middle management team and the members of staff and act as the representation of the management team.
Clinical nurse leaders ensure the members of staff are well trained and qualified for the different types of patients they are assigned; they match the competence level of the nurses to the needs a patient has. They also ensure the adequacy and availability of resources is at a high level. They also make sure policies and procedures are followed in accordance with the virtues of the institution and act as an information resource to the staff members.
Clinical nurse leaders also possess the ability of solving problems and even identifying them before they arise. They are accountable to a large group of people including the safety of patients in their institution along with their families, the members of staff they are put in charge of and the health care institution in which they work.
Generally, clinical nurse leaders should be educators, agents of change, innovators, mentors, mediators, evaluators and most importantly leaders.
Achievements of the Clinical Nurse Leaders
Clinical nurse leaders have contributed greatly to the resourcefulness of the medical institutions since they give the clients or patients the assistance they need not because they know everything, but because they have the knowledge of where to find the answers.
They offer an immediate source of the information about the progress and current situation of a health institution in the sense that they know the number of patients in the units they are located in, the potential number of admissions, the population of patients in their units and others, the strengths and weaknesses of the members of staff, the equipment available within the centre and the core procedures that underlay the functioning of that institution. Therefore, they provide a reliable and immediate source of information needed for the logistical functions of the management in terms of planning e.g. for upgrade of equipment, outlining the number of patients that can be admitted at a particular time, the technical additional staff required and so on.
When the clinical nurse leaders are shifted from one unit to another, they carry with them the strengths observed from their previous units hence ensure the whole institution is at a constant improvement of its level of quality of operation. They also apply the methods of improvement that worked in the previous unit to the new one hence sharpen the problem solving process while making it take less time since some of the problems like unplanned admissions are mutually faced by all units.
The concept of clinical nurse leaders has also increased the speed with which decisions are made within a unit since they are constantly making decisions on a minute-to-minute basis. They also have the capability to identify and anticipate problems likely to arise in the casual operation of the institution and since they know the strengths and weakness of the members of staff, they offer a quick directory to the fastest way to solve a problem. This saves time, reduces risk levels and enhances the level of response in the institution; all of which are very crucial in a health care centre.
- Harris, J. L., & Roussel, L. (2010). Initiating and sustaining the clinical nurse leader role: A practical guide. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
- King, C. R., & Gerard, S. O. T. (2013). Clinical nurse leader certification review. New York: Springer Pub. Co.
- Tate, C. W. (1999). Leadership in nursing. Edinburgh ;New York: Churchill Livingstone.
- O’Brien, M. E. (2011). Servant leadership in nursing: Spirituality and practice in contemporary health care. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
- Zuzelo, P. R. (2010). The clinical nurse specialist handbook. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
