Nurses are mandated with the responsibility of the communities and individual health. The nurses protect, promote, and restore the health of the patients and the community for a safe existence. The focus of the duties of the practitioners is to ensure a unifying goal towards a quality patient outcome (Willis, Grace, & Roy, 2008). The activities carried out in nursing have been to advance the healthcare. However, the concern for effective leadership in nursing calls for a succinct understanding of the ethics of care to guarantee patient safety and outcomes. There are shortcomings associated with lack of the knowledge concerning the ethical requirements governing nurse practices. There is the need to for a leadership transformation that encourages a safe approach to patient needs when under medical care. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to outline the concept of advanced nursing practice leadership from an ethic of care perspective and propose the supervisory approach to nursing administration.
Leadership in Nursing
Leadership in nursing entails the process of inspiring the nurses to participate in activities that will lead to the achievement of the set goals in a particular health facility. Through leadership mechanisms that offer direction to influence the practitioners, the nurses are motivated towards the shared goals to embrace quality (Sullivan & Garland, 2010; Curtis, de Vries, & Sheerin, 2011). It is essential to recognize how a focus towards a common goal in nursing can lead to quality outcomes and standard ethical practices. For example, when nurses are motivated they build the necessary energy that is needed for effective healing. In health care facility, the leaders are bound to establish a culture of trust and credibility that will support the entire practitioners to realize their personal and professional objectives. However, through mechanisms that will guarantee safe practice in nursing will focus on the aspect of constant supervision to ensure that the process is according to the ethical measures and desired quality. For example, it is the duty of the leaders to set up a culture of supervision to encourage effective patient outcomes. Nevertheless, when the actions of the nurses go beyond the ethical requirements, then it signifies lame leadership.
Besides, it is also important to recognize the advantages of conflict management in nursing leadership as a part of supervision during the prevalence of non-interprofessional behavior. In a nursing environment, conflicts are bound to occur but what defines the impacts is when the management of such activities and the scenario is not strategic to offer a timely intervention. The desire for any organizational health setting is to be in a position to settle all the matters that are affecting the integrations mechanisms meant for personal and professional growth (Sullivan & Garland, 2010). Such occurrences call for effective nursing leadership that will allow the moral support as well as the setting example for the nurses to emulate. Conflict settlement in nursing entails the sole purpose of eliminating the current wrangles and establishing measures that will reduce the reoccurrence of such engagements. Sometimes the disagreement between nurses may escalate to unmanageable levels; therefore, an appropriate approach to the matter is critical because it defines the extent of which the effects will be felt by parties involved, leadership, and stakeholders in nursing. Effective advanced nursing leadership can easily recognize actions meant to intimidate others, and necessary measures are taken to encourage healthy integration among nurses and clinicians (Sherman, 2013). Therefore, a strategy that supports conflict resolution from a preventive point of view is the most efficient mechanisms for nursing leadership if amalgamated with reconciliation.
Supervisory Approach to Ethics and Advanced Nursing Leadership
The prevalence of the shortcomings that emanate from the ethical dilemma in hospitals can be controlled by setting up the supervisory standard and quality measures that will encourage patients' safety. Setting up strategies that will ensure that the medical processes are supervised will guarantee safety if amalgamated with adequate facilities such as the modern equipment and human resource. The notion of supervision has not been fully incorporated into medical practice owing to the costs and complexity of the process (Nursing Times, 2009). However, the involvement of the health administrators and managers in the course of the nursing activities is associated with improved patient safety. Worth noting is that other sectors of the economy such as the corporate industry have realized how supervision is attached to the potential of profit margin increase. In nursing, there are no clear mechanisms for engagement and sharing of challenges practitioners face in the working environment; therefore, high chances of cumulative burnouts, ethical malpractices, and incompetence that could compromise the in-hospital quality of patient outcomes and safety exist (Nursing Times, 2010; Zaccagnini & White, 2011). Such forums assist in providing space and time to consider avenues for improving the quality of service and security while taking care of patients to reduce the rates of the nosocomial infections. Appropriate supervisory nursing leadership change is, therefore, essential to assist in reducing risk patients are exposed to from the nursing activities. The quality of health care provided in hospitals is a national apprehension due to the oath of service the health physicians are bound with while undertaking their obligations. For example, supplementary strategies stemming from the external environment such as supervision and conflict management will improve the commitment and competence of nurses and eliminate the non-interprofessional behavior and ethical malpractices.
Ethics and Advanced Nursing Practice
The fundamental aspect of leadership in nursing is associated with the understanding of the ethical position of the respective duties. When solving the conflicts that arise due to the dilemma in ethics in is essential to recognize the Ethics of Care and the Ethics of Justice. The two facets of a dilemma in service delivery are worth noting before decisions are made because of the nature of each perspective (Sorbello, 2008). There is difficulty when defining what is right or wrong in an ethical dilemma. However, the way the practitioner respond to each factor in such a scenario will determine the extent of the consequences that will emanate from the activities and the actions of nurses and clinicians (Simola, Barling & Turner, 2010). When nurses and doctors esteem the holistic care of patients within their respective facility, they are bound to make decisions based on how they value the needs of other. The notion extends to the relationship amongst the caregivers and determines the prevalence of the non-interprofessional behavior. The context of each event will define the decision made; however, the baseline will always be unmerited.
Moreover, the nursing leadership should not ignore the element of ethics of justice. The decisions made during a crisis or dilemma should consider the purpose of justice in settling conflicts within a working environment. The sole reason for defining the effect of justice in ethics is that it assists in building the mechanisms necessary for creating confidence in policies and strategies. Besides, the incorporation of justice of ethical conduct in a dilemma will create a collective decision base for subjects and objects. Conflicts in nursing resolved based on justice create safe future problem-solving processes as compared to the inclination towards the occurrence and needs of others in evaluating the nature of intervention to be applied. Therefore, compassionate approach to sensitive and complicated matters is essential; however, a judicial consideration is valuable if the two notions are amalgamated is resolving the dilemma. It is important to recognize also how power affects the understanding of the patients safety requirements (Beall, 2007). Therefore, the leadership should assist in setting up measures that will ensure that the mechanisms define the path to tread during a particular ethical consideration. However, whenever the professionalism of exercising power is not comprehensive, then the expected standards might be compromised.
Contrary to the ordinary demand by the health stakeholders to undertake their activities based on the ethical definitions, there exists the other side of the notion whenever the nurses don not uphold the ethical requirements. The working conditions of nurses have contributed to the declining quality of service. For example, whenever a facility lacks enough resources such as finance, equipment, and technology, then the quality of the patient outcomes in compromised but it cannot be associated with the competence and experience of nurses. Besides, the effect of short staffing in another factor that affects the quality of service and creates room for ethical compromise. Whenever the nurses are subjected to pressure emanating from burnouts and working overtime, then the attention they give to the patients will be reduced (Zaccagnini & White, 2011).
Conclusion
The activities carried out in nursing have been to advance the healthcare. However, the concern for effective leadership in nursing calls for a succinct understanding of the ethics of care to guarantee patient safety and outcomes. Leadership in nursing entails the process of inspiring the nurses to participate in activities that will lead to the achievement of the set goals in a particular health facility. Moreover, the fundamental aspect of leadership in nursing is associated with the understanding of the ethical position of the respective duties. When solving the conflicts that arise due to the dilemma in ethics in is essential to recognize the Ethics of Care and the Ethics of Justice. Besides, the decisions made during a crisis or dilemma should consider the purpose of justice in settling conflicts within a working environment.
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