Any healthcare facility needs proper management to run its operations efficiently. And for that, nurse leaders play a significant role. Being one of the essential parts of a healthcare system, nurses have huge responsibilities on their shoulders. They have to multitask several times in their long day at shift and still keep their attitude positive. It becomes quite challenging, and for that, a nurse leader has to be there to look after their team.
A nurse leader is an emerging role in the healthcare industry. They devote their time to innovating ideas to improve caregiving to patients. They work on making their experience at the hospital better by giving them access to quality care. But besides managerial or administrative duties, they are also responsible for making critical decisions when needed. They play an integral leadership role in keeping the nurses at work motivated and optimistic. Throughout their nursing education, they learn how to establish and enhance their leadership skills and practice to become more capable. There are two types of leadership styles that nurse leaders follow; democratic and affiliative. Democratic are more inclusive and ask for their team-members opinion before taking a decision, while affiliative prioritize the needs of the team members first. Both are very efficient ways to fulfill these roles as a nurse leader in a healthcare facility:
Team Motivation
As a Nurse Leader, you must motivate your team while supervising and managing them. Since nurses spend so much time on their feet, it is normal for them to tire out and have rows which could be challenging for a leader to sort out. But, team leaders make sure that their team of nurses knows about the positive impact of maintaining good work relations.
Leaders are there to encourage their team to like their jobs. For this, they need certain skills which they could acquire through clinical and educational expertise. Many nurses who want to become nurse leaders may further expand their careers. They can opt for online DNP programs to play an essential role as a nurse leader. These programs allow them to study at flexible hours and keep on with their jobs to continue gaining clinical expertise. They get to polish their teamwork and leadership skills, which helps them deal with different team-workers.
Agility and Flexibility
Nurse leaders have to make critical decisions for the healthcare facility. Often, they have to be very quick about them. Among other leadership skills, the ones which are most useful here are flexibility and agility. They have to be flexible and agile enough to get settled in any environment. Their career expansion as a leader will lead them to many different processes in the nursing industry. Add up the increasing use of technological advancements in nursing practices and updates on the systems and policies; they must adapt as soon as possible. Also, a nurse leader is a highly trained and educated individual, so their demand in the industry is immense. Agility allows them to be more progressive in making career choices and impacting patient care globally by conducting researches, making policies, and dealing with different challenges. Their roles are now more dependent on their agility as we sweep through very uncertain times, making them very exceptional to the organization.
Communication
The importance of communication in improving the efficiency of any operational organization is not something we could underestimate. It is a primary skill to have as a leader. Nurse leaders play an immense role in maintaining good communication across the healthcare facility. To get this communication and other important skills, aspirants who want to become a nurse leader can opt for the DNP program online, which help them enhance their skills. With the help of online education, they can easily manage their studies with their current job.
Furthermore, they bridge a gap between several workers and departments at the hospital by maintaining strong relationships with all the colleagues. For instance, when new nurses join the organization, nurse leaders introduce them to a senior doctor. They also communicate with other stakeholders like the patients, families, physicians, nurses, doctors, shareholders, etc. A good communication system protects patients and their families from harm and ensures that they receive quality services.
Mentoring
A good leader inspires their team and educates them so that they could also become leaders someday. Mentoring young and new nurses is a part of their jobs, but nurse leaders effectively carry out efficient educational programs. Nurses are always in the learning phase, and nurse leaders become their mentors to empower. They understand the needs and necessity of a modernized hospital and its expectation from its staff. Hence, they motivate their team members to think outside the box, be creative and thoughtful so that their innovative ways could improve patient care. They become friends with their staff and help them find their strengths while working on their weaknesses. It is what makes them very successful at work.
Conclusion
The role of nurse leaders in a healthcare facility is vast – it can’t be summarized through their skills as their need is constantly growing. Mismanagement and negligence in a healthcare system are the primary cause of downfall and decreased optimum patient care. Nurse leaders ensure that it doesn’t happen under their control and constantly work on their leadership skills to improve the experience for all the shareholders.
