Nursing Leadership Paper

Leadership in nursing is the foundation in which employee motivation and patient satisfaction are built upon. A nurse leader, as defined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, is one who displays clinical expertise in a specific clinical practice and works to lead nurses and other members of the interdisciplinary team to improve patient care and hospital standards (n.d.). The nurse, upon licensure, acknowledges responsibility to lead the health care team in a manner that promotes open and clear communication, effective decision making, and appreciation for diversity in all healthcare settings (Blake & Young, 2015). The ability of the nurse to utilize leadership skills to guide the healthcare team is the key to hospital improvement and enhanced patient outcomes. The importance of the nurse to be able to provide leadership in …show more content…
Nursing leadership is a subject I tend to back away from as I have not felt confidence in my nursing abilities enough to ever consider myself a “leader”. With that being said, after writing my Leadership Paper and shadowing a charge nurse for a day, I feel more comfortable with the topic. The Leadership Paper was an eye-opener for me as I realized that I already have the capabilities I need to lead. When shadowing Lorraine Leach, charge nurse of 4 North Telemetry Unit at St. Joe Hospital in Fort Wayne, it became clear to me at what a nursing leader role is. I have always thought of the charge nurse as someone who sits in an office and reviews case files, charts, and patient complaints. During rounding with Leach, I realized my perceptions were far off. To begin, being a nurse leader is not all about being the boss of the unit and delegating tasks that one does not wish to do. Being a leader is stepping up to assume a role that betters patient outcomes and hospital