Reply to your classmate’s question below in 200 words and cite 1 source.
Classmates post:
Nursing is certainly a job of caring, wanting to help others and making a difference in their lives. That is what inspired me to enter this field. It was not until graduating and landing my first nursing job that I really learned what nursing is about. The textbook provided so much insight that was not available to me when I entered this field.
Nurses are one of the most essential members of any healthcare team. Nurses are assessing, planning, delivering and evaluating patient care in some very challenging circumstances. Nursing is viewed as a noble, caring profession, yet nursing challenges are customary and make it one of the most arduous professions of our time.
The nursing shortage is of great concern and has been for several decades. There are decades of research and analysis that show there is a direct correlation between registered nurse staffing levels and mortality levels. The omission of care and/or delayed care are pertinent since when there are fewer registered nurses on duty, necessary care is less likely to be completed in its entirety. Nursing shortages also lead to errors of varying degrees.
The nursing profession continues to deal with shortages due to lack of commitment, high turnovers, lack of educators and inequitable distribution of the work force. According to Ball (2017), one in ten positions are vacant. In order to begin to address this shortage there needs to be a corresponding commitment to the education & training of future registered nurses (Ball, 2017).
Providing prudent & efficacious care requires intelligence, critical thinking, coordinating, patience and problem-solving skills. Allowing objective input from staff nurses on safe patient ratios, instead of nurse managers would lead to increased job satisfaction. The nursing shortage could be improved by using evidenced based practices to further apprise administration, community leaders and advocates for safe delivery of care. The worth of nursing and the need for enough nurses needs to be obvious to the nation, especially since there is a national nursing shortage (Ball, 2017)
Nursing managers, supervisors, directors, and executives must aim to be more supportive in the process of leading and simultaneously nurturing nurses. Effective leadership in health care must remain focused on the improvement of quality patient care and outcomes, financial operations and earning, and employee satisfaction (Sammut & Scicluna, 2020). This class has really helped me see that nursing is not just caring for others. Nurses must prioritize their own self-care so that they could better serve others. The clinically complex patients of today, require knowledge, skill, talent, empathy, cultural awareness and competence, strong advocacy skills and a full integration to yield the most favorable outcomes. Organizational support from nurse managers and nurse leaders onsite can provide an immediate support and/or referral to a practitioner to improve the well-being of nurses (“Ways to Help Overcome Burnout,” 2019).
As we shared in the previous module, there are many things that nurses can do to address feeling depleted, exhausted, apathetic and burnt out. Some are deep breathing, limit setting, journaling, practicing mindfulness, and exercise are known to decrease stress. Family vacations is my absolute favorite to relax and recharge. When conducting my own SWOT analysis, I was able to identify my weaknesses as my inability to see health care as a business and my lack of interest pursuing additional education (Weiss & Tappen, 2015, pp. 206–7). My weakness was exacerbated by competing life experiences. Ultimately, I enrolled in three schools after graduating with my associate degree over 20 years ago. My former weakness is now a strength, as I will have advanced education and knowledge to match my lengthy work experience. You DID IT @Patricia Jones!!! Thank you so much to Professor @Dawn Poindexter, diverse, skilled, and experienced classmates, and all the gifted nursing leaders @ Aspen University. I am undecided on pursuing my MSN, however my personal plan for professional development will include finally getting some professional certification credentials. All the best to EVERYONE!!
References
Ball, J. (2017). Don’t knock ‘obvious’ research on staff levels. Nursing Standard, 32(7), 27–27. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.32.7.27.s25
Sammut, R., & Scicluna, A. (2020). Nurses’ and nurse managers’ perceived transformational leadership behavioural practices: A survey. Leadership in Health Services, 33(4), 385–396. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs-01-2020-0002
Ways to help overcome burnout. (2019). Successful Fundraising, 27(5), 6–6. https://doi.org/10.1002/sfr.31183
Weiss & Tappen. (2015). Essentials of nursing leadership & management (whitehead, essentials of nursing leadership and management) (6th ed.). F.A. Davis Company.
In case needed Discussion Question:
It is critical to synthesize all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of nursing into an integrated whole that moves nurses from task completers to an overall demonstration of compassion and caring.
Thinking of nursing first as a job of caring and making a difference, as well as the work of giving medications on time, checking an X-ray to see if the doctor needs to be called, or taking an admission at 2:00 a.m. with a smile on our faces, reminds us of the synthesized whole of nursing work.
Write a reflection about this thought. Incorporate elements from this module’s objectives, as well as what you have learned in this course about leadership. You may include personal experiences and professional opinions if you wish.