Reflection on Nursing Roles - Essay Example

Since enrolling in the RN-BSN program, a lot has changed in regards to my understanding of change management, nursing leadership and communication. It is has occurred to me that the role of BSN nurse quite involving and, therefore, require nurses to have certain skills for successful performance of their duties. For one, the academic exposure has helped me understand that change is an ongoing process when it comes to nursing practice. New evidence-based practices emerge very often, and nurses must keep themselves updated on their developments. More specifically, I have learned that change has to be domesticated in hospital settings and also involve stakeholders. As Batras, Duff and Smith (2014) indicate, change must be modified to fit internal settings of the hospitals and all must be involved to ensure that change efforts reflect the needs and welfare of the nurses and patients.

Leadership has also come out as a vital component of nursing practice. It has occurred to me that a good leader embraces teamwork to diffuse the stressful circumstances under which nurses work. At this juncture of the course, it has become apparent to me that a leader needs higher levels of emotional intelligence to guide and influence others in the emotionally demanding environment. These lessons have been captured in a research conducted by Giltnane (2013) who posts that nurses leaders manage emotions in social contexts. Besides, nurses leaders get involved directly in clinical care while influencing their subordinates to improve the care they provide to patients. My own view after this academic exposure is that nurses leaders inspire and motivate more than doing managing of nurses.

Conflicts increase nurse turnover and patient dissatisfaction (Overton & Lowry, 2013). Just as I communicate on a daily basis with my course mates during discussions, I have learned that so is the case with hospital settings. In other words, I have to effectively to deliver quality care. According to Overton and Lowry(2013), communication is critical to resolving conflicts in hospital settings in addition to helping foster close relationship among teams. Another lesson that this course has taught me is that one cannot make it alone in nursing settings; there must be constant communication with colleagues. This has occurred to me as the most valuable tool to engage with subordinates and other hospital leaders.

References

Batras, D., Duff, C., & Smith, B. J. (2014). Organizational change theory: implications for health promotion practice. Health Promotion International, dau098. doi:10.1093/heapro/dau098

Giltinane, C. L. (2013). Leadership styles and theories. Nursing Standard, 27(41), 35-39. doi:10.7748/ns2013.06.27.41.35.e7565

Overton, A., & Lowry, A. (2013). Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People. Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, 26(04), 259-264. doi:10.1055/s-0033-1356728