Nursing Leadership in Changing Health Care Environments

Historically, viewed as more hands-on medical providers, nursing has evolved to demand much more of nurses in terms of management. As the practice of nursing has changed, so have the demands of the medical system. Today's nurses are faced with the challenge of continuing to provide excellent medical care while possessing management skills in many different areas of the medical process. In order to be successful, a nurse today needs to be a strong leader, capable of not only excellent patient care but helping to further the practice of nursing and increase its role in the larger medical community.

The demands of a changing health care system require strong leaders who can collaborate with other professionals and perform more efficiently than ever before. One area that demands increased attention in nursing is education. Nursing is unique because there are multiple educational pathways that can lead to careers in the field. In order to increase leadership and management opportunities, nurses must remain competitive with their educations. To ensure continued improvement in the field, educational opportunities must be more readily available to allow seamless transition from entry-level programs to baccalaureate, master's and doctoral programs (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011, p. I-9). A workforce of more highly educated nurses would help those in the field to be viewed as more relevant members of medical teams, as most professionals in the medical community have advanced degrees. Higher-level education would encourage mentoring programs within medical settings, as well as nursing residencies, like those that are standard for medical doctors (Antrobus & Kitson, 1999, p. 751). Mentoring and residency programs would allow shared knowledge and a greater opportunity to understand how the medical system works. Major changes in the field, however, would require a great deal of cooperation between schools and medical professionals.

In order to encourage nurses to further their education, medical administrators and directors of educational programs need to work cooperatively to ensure that programs are accessible and worthwhile. Stakeholders, including nursing programs, hospitals, physicians and other health professionals would have to participate in the development of new programs and changes to current standards. Small changes such as implementing nurse mentor programs and counting field hours towards higher-level degrees could increase leadership skills now and make way for greater change in the future (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011, p. I-13). By encouraging increased education for nurses, stakeholders would improve patient care and allow more opportunities for nurses to be a part of medical team collaborations.

In order to manage changes to the education of nurses, health care providers and educators would have to create programs focused on educational advancement, experiential learning, cross-practice partnerships, mentoring and diversity in medical teams, with many different health care professionals. By working in partnership, agencies and educators could effectively manage large-scale changes, and ensure that all people interested in change are involved in the decision-making process (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Through planning, partnership and smaller changes implemented over time, access to higher-level education could be improved for nursing, however, there are existing barriers to the change.

Though increased educational opportunities would help to create a stronger nursing pool and increase leadership opportunities, there are barriers to implementing large scale changes. The current medical system is rapidly changing, and though the demand for highly educated nurses is increasing, there are not enough educators for nursing programs (Antrobus & Kitson, 1999, p.747). Nursing programs require a large time commitment that could be a burden for currently employed nurses who may not be able to justify the commitment (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011, p. I-6). Despite barriers to change, nurses could serve as strong advocates to work towards better education in work environments and improved access to educational programs.

Though there are challenges involved in implementing large-scale change in the field of nursing, nurses currently in the field are helping to drive change and create stronger standards of care and practice. With experiential learning, case studies, mentoring, and an increase of continuing education programs, nurses who are currently practicing and those looking to start a nursing career, could gain the education and skills necessary to improve not only their patient care but also their leadership abilities.

References

Antrobus, S., & Kitson, A. (1999). Nursing leadership: Influencing and shaping health policy and nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29(3), 746-753.

Marquis, B., & Huston, C. (2012). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application. (7 ed.). New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine. (n.d.). The Future of Nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Retrieved from http://thefutureofnursing.org