Interview of a Health Care Leader

Interview of a Health Care Leader

Shirley Lemacks

Nursing 492

July 1, 2013

Jean Urick

Interview of a Health Care Leader

A leader is a person who has a vision (Owen, 2002), is driven for success, is committed to their vision and goals, and applies behaviors and strategies to influence others to obtain certain goals. Focusing their attention on problems at hand leaders are determined, motivated and careful planners as well as effective communicators. They are the key to a successful business, especially in nursing. By definition a leader is "someone who uses interpersonal skills to influence others to accomplish specific goals" (Sullivan, 2012, p. 329). An effective leader is motivated and motivates everyone to contribute to the health care organization. This paper is the results of an interview of Y. Charles, nurse manager of a very busy medical surgical floor of a Veterans Hospital.

Nurse Charles began her career in the health care field as a nursing assistant in a long- term facility and as a field orderly in the military. After completing her time in the military she studied nursing, completing her practical nursing degree and accepted a position at the Veterans Hospital. After working several years she returned to school and completed her associate's degree, her bachelor's degree and is presently completing her master's degree in nursing. She has been a registered nurse for 18 years, all of which has been spent in the Veterans Hospital. When I requested this interview she gladly accepted stating that leadership is a very important position in nursing and every nurse needs to be a leader.

Description and Qualities of a Leader

To assess the description of a leader I asked Nurse Charles what her views of a leader entailed. She answered, "A leader is one who can inspire others and give them the tools to work toward their full potential" (personal communication, 2013). She explained that good leadership is needed in every aspect of business and if success is to be had good leaders are needed. There are many types of leadership positions with different types of people performing the job of the leader, but not many possess the true qualities of a good leader. She replied, "Just because you have a Type A personality does not mean you can be a good leader. One should have good people and communication skills as they go hand in hand." Another quality needed for leadership is honesty and integrity. According to Nurse Charles, "If you are honest and straightforward with your staff they will learn to trust and respect you as a leader. Accountability for yourself as well as your staff is another importance as a leader as well" Y. Charles (personal communication, 2013). Good leaders inspire others to be the best at their skills.

Personal Philosophy of Leadership

Nurse Charles has a unique philosophy of a good leader because of how she came about the job and that she was a staff nurse on the same floor that today she is the manager on. Her philosophy is "never forget where you came from or how you got to be where you are today. As I grow in my professional career, I never forget the days of being a staff nurse, a practical nurse or a nursing assistant. This helps me to understand what each group goes through during their shift and helps me to encourage, mentor and support everyone who is part of my team" Y. Charles, (personal communication). I started my career as a nursing assistant many years ago and worked my way to the registered nurse I am today and I can relate to Nurse Charles' philosophy. If you have worked in the positions that your staff are in you can relate to the changes, problems, and rewards of what they go through on a day to day basis.

Learning Experiences

Time management was the largest learning experience for Nurse Charles. With only two years of experience as a registered nurse she took the manager's position while she was still finding her own way on a busy medical surgical floor. Today, she works long hours as a manager, student, wife, and mother. She will complete her Master's degree in August 2013, and has plans of "moving up the ladder" within the Veteran's Administration system. She invented the process of identifying isolation patients on the patient board without revealing the patients identity. She also perfected the process of code status identification within the patient's electronic medical record and also within the nurse's notes. She has worked to improve the management of the floor, working with both day and night crews to make the floor run smoother and better and to increase patient satisfactions. When asked, Nurse Charles stated, "The biggest learning experience as a manager was working with the different nationalities and personalities on the floor. It really taught me how to be considerate of everyone and to respect everyone's ideas and feelings" Y. Charles (personal communication, 2013).

Evolution of Nursing Leadership

Nursing is constantly changing and evolving. As health care changes, quantity becomes more of the focus than the quality of care given. Health care has become a booming for profit business. Nurse Charles believes good leadership will be used to help institutions develop programs such as disease management, fall reduction, and other preventive programs that will in turn help improve quality. She also believes that nursing leaders will have to continue to mentor and educate themselves and others and sees the nurse with the Master's degree as the head of all management. She also feels that evidence based practice nursing will become the mainstay of nursing practice and sees many institutions changing their entry-level to bachelor's degrees instead of associate degrees.