Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management
In the contemporary medical world, the nursing shortage and turnover challenges have crippled the effectiveness of various health care facilities, much to the disappointment of the sector. Such is the case given the current statistics that shows the impending danger of nursing shortage in the USA. The projection is that the total number of the USA registered nurses will reduce in the period between 2009 and 2030 (“American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Nursing Shortage”, 2014). Thus, there is a need to address this issue with immediacy if the success of this sector is at heart of health care stakeholders. Central to this kind of intervention are the leaders and managers whose role is to develop practical approaches that will champion a change in the output despite the current situation. In essence comparing the strategies utilized by the leaders and managers is the core theme of this discussion. With such information, there is hope that an understanding forged from it will result in better leaders and managers in their daily activities.
To begin with, managers and leaders have completely different roles in an organization, which largely denote their utilization of differed approaches in solving this issue. For instance, characteristic to managers is the organizational position that they hold. In such positions, the expectation regarding this matter is that they have a management function of organizing. Thus, they are responsible for ensuring that the low number staff is not a cause of worry by taking to consideration of certain organizational factors. Noteworthyfactors in their approach to controlling this issue include but not limited to the type of patient, patient acuity and staff level of competence (Armstrong, Rispel, & Penn-Kekana, 2015). With such a managerial function, the manager is thus in a pole position to address the issue in the best possible way.
On the contrary, from a leader’s perspective, the position held is not the basis of his/her existence in the organization and thus a differed approach in solving this issue is characteristic of him/her. A leader’s role is to inspire others so that they can contribute to the realization of the organizational goals. In cases of nurse shortage and turnovers, however, an achievement of these goals is at risk of jeopardy. Despite this risk, a leader must have a strategic plan that will result in the best output of the available labor force. An example befitting of such an intervention is the utilization of their participatory leadership style, which forges a relationship with subordinates. Tsai, (2011) is of the opinion that this type of approach can improve patient outcomes regardless of the surrounding circumstances like low nurse-patient ratio. A deduction of this kind is on the basis that participatory leadership style encourages a calm atmosphere for subordinates to offer their insight on the resolution of nursing staff shortage and turnover. Clearly, this leadership style serves a profitable way that one may use to address this issue.
That notwithstanding, in the resolution of staff shortage turnover, a manager has the role of instituting nurses’ retention measures. Staff retention initiative may take the form of motivational approaches and provision of good working conditions (Hussain, Rivers, Glover, & Fottler, 2012). Likewise, a manager motivating his/her subordinates through an instant provision of feedback will enable them to feel appreciated for their efforts and work for many years for the organization. Moreover, having a workplace culture of respecting the rights of employees will also encourage the employees to stay on due to the contentment of the working environment. Evidently, with such measures in place, the manager is on course to get past this challenge.
On the other hand, a leader has the responsibility of fostering a workplace culture that will ensure more commitment by his/her followers. Central to this role, Tsai, (2011) notes that staff development activities such as mentorship, coaching, and training are of the utmost priority of an individual wishing to retain his/her followers. Similarly, a leader must ensure that the organization he/she is working for has such programs in place so that a feeling of redundancy is evitable among employees. Apparently, a strategy of this kind can help address this challenge with ease.
Lastly, an approach that befits my personal and professional philosophy of nursing is the one that of a democratic leader. My rationale is on the premise that I have the preference of consulting widely before arriving at a decision. Moreover, teamwork is at heart in my personal philosophy of nursing, which is only achievable through a participatory leadership style. Furthermore, I believe that working with people is the only way to go when it comes becoming successful. Consequently, without a doubt, I am a strong believer that the democratic leadership style is the only way that will help me realize all these personal goals while I uphold my values.
In conclusion, the challenge of the nursing shortage and turnover is here to stay if the managers and leaders do not have the right plan in place to correct or avert this problem. Addressing this matter is a collective responsibility for both sets of individuals and therefore it is high time they devise a master plan that will generate a long-lasting solution. Failure to do so will only guarantee a persistence of this challenge in the long term.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Nursing Shortage. (2014). Aacn.nche.edu. Retrieved 12 November 2016, from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage
Armstrong, S., Rispel, L., & Penn-Kekana, L. (2015). The activities of hospital nursing unit managers and quality of patient care in South African hospitals: a paradox?. Global Health Action, 8(0). http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/gha.v8.26243
Hussain, A., Rivers, P., Glover, S., & Fottler, M. (2012). Strategies for dealing with future shortages in the nursing workforce: a review. Health Services Management Research, 25(1), 41-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1258/hsmr.2011.011015
Tsai, Y. (2011). Relationship between Organizational Culture, Leadership Behavior and Job Satisfaction. BMC Health Services Research, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-11-98
