Combining Nurse Leader with Advocacy
The purpose of this paper is to establish the strengths and areas for improvement in four leadership areas (personal and professional accountability, career planning, personal journey disciplines and reflective practice reference behaviors/tenants). Furthermore, it seeks to identify the current personal skill set and how I can use them to advocate for change in the workplace. Lastly, this discussion will determine the personal goal for leadership growth and its implementation plan. With such analysis, it is beyond doubt that an individual will come to a new understanding of leadership and advocacy practice, which will enhance his/her contribution to the nursing professional.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The four leadership areas that are the focus of this evaluation include personal and professional accountability, career planning, personal journey disciplines and reflective practice reference behaviors/tenants. Primarily, the rating scores in these leadership areas will help me determine my strengths and weaknesses.
Firstly, in the area of personal and professional accountability, one of my strengths is the possession of a career plan that gives me a sense of direction on where I am headed as a nurse. Moreover, I have the desire of advancing my educational level as a nurse upon completion of my studies at this basic level. Another strength that I possess on this account is my ability to comply with ethical standards of the nursing profession given my inherent value of beneficence and justice. Despite these strengths, I possess some deficiencies that are worth noting. For instance, currently, I am only a member of a student nurses’ professional organization that I am not actively involved in its activities. Such a deficiency needs to change because one professional obligation of a nurse is to be a member of a professional body and actively participate in its operations.
Secondly, in the area of career planning, the strengths and weaknesses are also apparent. The noted strengths include my awareness of where I want to be in future and what I need to do to get to that point. Such is the case given that I understand I have to start working from the present moment so that I can make the dream becoming the best nurse practitioner in the area of clinical nursing true. As such, I have a career plan in place that will guide me through every step of this journey (Turner, 2007). On the downside, I have not managed to position myself in strategic areas that will facilitate my achievement of this dream. Thus, going into the future, I believe I have to address this area of career planning if I am to attain my aspiration.
That notwithstanding, the score in the area of personal journey disciplines also gives me another dimension on what I need to do to improve the rating. For example, my strengths in this area are my ability to involve others in decision-making through consultation and my philosophy of learning by doing. From such inclination in my persona, I have successfully managed to enhance my skills in teamwork and engaging in new activities without fear of making mistakes respectively. Despite these achievements in this leadership domain, there is a need for improvement in the area of reflective practices. That is the case given that in most cases I fail to reflect on my daily activities. As stated by Paget, (2008) reflection helps nurses to learn and improve their practice on a daily basis. In light of this advantage, it is clear that I have to improve in this area.
Concerning the area of reflective practice reference behaviors/tenants, my strongholds include but not limited to being truthful and sensitive to other cultures, yearning to learn on a daily basis and constantly seeking to establish my potential. That is the case because, in my entire life, I have always held dear to being truthful and envisioned all human beings as equal regardless of the culture. Besides, as each day comes, I have made a commitment to learning something new in my life that I can take back home. Additionally, shying away from activities that I am not conversant with is something that I cannot associate with my persona since my belief is that to know something new I need to make mistakes. Despite these positive remarks in this area, I bear the deficiency of not anchoring my decision on reflective practice. That is the case because most of the days I fail to take stock of the day’s activities. Given that this area is a prerequisite for effective leadership, I have to improve on this deficiency if I am to become a better leader in the future.
Leadership Skills and Advocacy
From this evaluation, it is apparent that my current leadership skills set include effective problem solving and teamwork skills. Competencies of this kind are essential in my assumption of the advocacy role, which is central to implementing changes in the workplace. For instance, at the heart of the advocacy process, is the determination of problems and seeking ways to address them (Tomajan, 2012). As such, my expertise in problem-solving will come in handy, as they will enable me to identify areas that need change and seek ways to advocate for the change in those areas.
Additionally, my teamwork skills will also come in helpful in the advocacy for change in the workplace. Tomajan, (2012) is of the opinion that an individual must collaborate with others to garner support for his/her proposal for a change in certain areas, which affect them. As such, utilizing my collaboration skills will improve my chances of effecting change in the workplace.
Personal Goal for Leadership Growth and Implementation Plan
My personal goal for leadership growth is to ascend to the highest level of the nursing profession where I can have much more say in the policy formulation areas. The driving force of this goal is my desire to spearhead changes from the forefront rather than being led.
An implementation plan is of the essence for the achievement of this goal and is worth noting. Primarily, my implementation plan entails engaging in a lifelong education process. According to Turner, (2007), a continuous learning process is of the essence in nursing since it enables one to update his knowledge on issues of this profession. Consequently, taking part in this process will help me get nearer to the aspiration of having command in the nursing profession. Also, seeking to get involved in the activities of the professional bodies is also part of my plan. It will enhance my growth in leadership skills like teamwork.
Conclusion
In closure, this discussion aimed at establishing my strengths as well as weaknesses as a leader, how I can use my leadership skills to effect change and my personal goal for leadership growth along with its implementation plan. Indeed, it is clear that going forward I need to get more involved in leadership positions and take part in the lifelong educational process if I am to achieve the personal leadership target. Failure to do so, however, will result in this aspiration just being a dream for the unforeseeable future.
References
Tomajan, K., (2012). Advocating for nurses and nursing. Online journal of issues in nursing, 17(1), A1.
Paget, T. (2008). Reflective practice and clinical outcomes: practitioners’ views on how reflective practice has influenced their clinical practice. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 10(2), pp.204-214.
Turner, S. O. (2007). The nursing career planning guide. Sudbury, Mass. ; Toronto: Jones and Bartlett.
