Nursing Leadership Qualities

The role of a registered nurse is multifaceted. At the core of nursing is the mission of safe patient centered care and it is each and every nurse 's purpose to maintain and carry out this mission. This also means that each and every nurse is a leader. Registered nurses are responsible for the care coordination and safety of all of his or her patients and those of the rest of his or her team. Registered nurses assign practical nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel duties that help to ensure the safety and proper care of patients. That doesn’t mean that each nurse has the title of manager; but, it does mean that a registered nurse must possess the knowledge, qualities, and passions that are required to create and nurture an environment of …show more content…
“Forbes.com” tells us that universally leaders in general should have the following qualities: honesty, the ability to delegate, communication, confidence, commitment, a positive attitude, creativity, intuition, and the ability to inspire. While an effective nurse leader needs all of these qualities, “Advanced Healthcare Network for Nurses” notes nurses as leaders also need to have “...integrity, courage, initiative, and the ability to handle stress.” So let’s examine some of theses qualities as they pertain to nursing. Honesty is a quality that in nursing could be the difference between life and death. Its always best practice to do whats right when no one is looking and own up to and admit your mistakes. This is a wink and nod at the integrity quality. Ability to delegate contributes to effective leadership. Nurses need to become fluent in delegation and know the scope of practice of each member of the medical team as this is also a factor in safe patient centered care. Communication is the best way to be an effective leader in any setting, but is so often is found to be the area with the most cracks in an organization. Communication with the patient, the family and all of the medical team collaborators is vital to successful treatment of patients and the success of the organization. Communication doesn’t only entail speaking but also listening which generally equates to learning. Confidence is another ingredient that an effective leader must demonstrate. If a nurse seems unconfident or unsure overall, it doesn’t instill confidence in those around him or her that is being lead. The patients, will be uncomfortable with that nurse caring for them as people interpret unconfident and incompetent as equal, and other members of the medical team may feel the same. This is not saying pretend to know everything because a “I don’t know but I will find out…” is more respectable than an untrue answer. Commitment is