Leadership and Advocacy in Nursing

Leadership and Advocacy
in Nursing

Student’s
Name

Institutional
Affiliation

Course
Name

Professors’
Name

Date

Leadership and Advocacy
in Nursing

One of the main responsibilities of a
leader is to advocate for their team. As a leader, I employ various advocacy
strategies to create positive change in my workplace. One of these strategies
involves ensuring that the working conditions for the nurses are favorable to
support optimal performance. This means that the nurses have enough tools to
perform their duties, and there are enough nurses to avoid burnout (Stamps et al., 2021). Secondly, I
advocate for positive change by ensuring effective communication between the
entire nursing team and me. Effective communication is about having two-way
communication, whereas as a leader, I pass information and provide channels for
feedback (Indeed Editorial Team, 2021).
This way, the nurses feel heard, and their concerns are addressed, leading to
positive change. I also advocate for positive change by supporting nurses’
decisions regarding patient care. As a leader, I show support to my team to
help them build their confidence and promote autonomy (Tomajan, 2012). Lastly, I advocate for positive change
by involving nurses in decision-making. I often ask for the nurses’ opinions on
various issues. This makes the nurses feel that their voices matter such that
when a change is introduced, they willingly accept it because they feel they
were involved in decision-making.

Response to Peers

On one occasion, I was requested by the
organization’s management to stand in for the nurse manager who was taking
maternity leave. The nurse manager and I had worked closely, so the hospital
felt I was a good fit for the position. My duties included creating work
schedules for nurses, addressing patient concerns, training new nurses, and
keeping records for the department, among others. I was in the leadership
position for six months, during which I received a few complaints from the
staff. Generally, I was able to work well with the staff to create a positive
environment where both the staff and patients flourished. The only thing I
would do differently would be to give nurses more autonomy to make decisions
they feel are best for their patients. As the nurse manager, I was so focused
on getting everything right that I insisted on making all the decisions. This
denied the nurses the opportunity to learn and grow.

References

Indeed Editorial Team. (2021). Advocacy
strategies in nursing: Definition, benefits, and how-to. Indeed Career
Guide. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/advocacy-strategies-in-nursing

Stamps, D. C., Foley, S. M.,
Gales, J., Lovetro, C., Alley, R., Opett, K.,
Glessner, T., & Faggiano, S. (2021). Nurse leaders advocate for
nurses across the health care system. Nurse Leader, 19(2),
159-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2020.07.011

Tomajan, K. (2012). Advocating for nurses
and nursing. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol17no01man04