Expository Essay on Leadership Theory and Health Care

A leader in any organization is someone with the ability to use interpersonal skills to influence other workers to achieve the objectives of the firm. Healthcare managers are faced with daily challenges such as providing needs for patients, the doctors, and other workers within the medical facility. These leaders must direct the work of staff and non-staff members to achieve the necessary results in patient wellbeing. Leadership has been researched over the last century with the focus constantly changing from personal characteristics and behavior to the leadership situation at large. Various theories have been developed to explain the issues surrounding leadership.

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The shared leadership approach is a contemporary theory that may bear the best results if implied in the health care sector. The healthcare industry is faced with regular reorganizations and decentralization which results in complexity in solving problems. The theory of shared leadership is based on the principles of empowerment of transformational and participative leadership. The theory has various concepts that would make it useful in the healthcare industry. These ideas include discussions, relationships, comprehending and respecting boundaries, and partnership in the medical facility (Sullivan 2013). Further, the theory insists on the need for having many leaders within an organization instead of bestowing many responsibilities on a single individual. It is important to share duties within a medical facility to avoid burdening some of the workers while others are in laxity.

There are many issues and activities in the healthcare industry which require different leaders to solve. Having a single leader to handle all these problems may not bring out the best results. With many leaders, more skills can be applied to resolve the problems in the healthcare industry. Co-leadership is a perfect example of shared leadership in a health facility. Under co-leadership, two individuals are tasked with the duty of executing a single role. However, the efficiency of co-leadership is dependent on the maturity and flexibility of the involved people. Also, it is important to have a third party to act as a guide for the two workers (Sullivan 2013).

The American Nurses Association (ANA) has developed standards that should be followed by all practicing nurses in the country. The scope of nursing practices defines the responsibility given to each nurse within a medical facility. Nurses have one scope that entails a wide-range of nursing practice that encompasses the general and specific duties of the nurse. On the other hand, the nursing standards are the authoritative statements that define the responsibilities of the nurses irrespective of their specialty or role (ANA 2010). However, these rules may change as a result of the changing roles given to the nurses which change over time.

The ANA scope and standards act as guidelines to the nurses especially those in leadership positions. These rules must be applied to achieve effective leadership within a medical facility. The standards serve as the guidelines and basis which the nurses must act from at all times. To achieve competent leadership in a hospital necessitates that the nurses as well as other staff work in cohesion for the benefit of the patient. To strengthen these standards, ANA has also provided core competencies for the nurses (ANA 2010). The determination of whether the competence or standard applies to the circumstance at hand. In conclusion, it is evident that the ANA's scope of standards and practice are influential in nursing leadership and form the basis from which the nurses act.

References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2010).Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice. Silver Spring,MD: American Nurses Association.

Sullivan, E. J. (2013). Effective leadership and management in nursing. (8th Ed.). Upper SaddleRiver: Pearson Prentice Hall.