Nursing Leaders with Effective Leadership Skills (Health, Medicine, Nursing Research Paper)

Effective Leadership
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Nursing Leaders with Effective Leadership Skills
Effective leadership is a fundamental component and attribute that plays a vital role in the efficient running of operations in different sectors of the economy including health care and nursing. Effective leaders are individuals with visions that assist the areas they manage not only achieve but surpass their goals and objectives. Similarly, effective leaders are in position to unite individuals with different personalities and from diverse backgrounds to work together for the common good. They also transform and inspire their employees to take charge of their career growth and development. Considering nursing and health care in general is a sensitive docket since lives of individuals are at stake, it is imperative that there are effective leaders to oversee and steer their medical facilities on the right path. Effective leaders in nursing ensure that patients receive quality care that improves their conditions significantly. They also build the subordinates staff members by creating conducive work environments and motivating them through monetary and non-monetary ways regularly. Over the years there have notable persons in the nursing sector who have won hearts far and wide because of their outstanding leadership skills. As such, their biographies are filled with massive achievements that have also revolutionized the nursing industry. These include Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Mary Breckinridge, Dorothea Dix and Margaret Sanger. The research paper will extensively highlight on the distinct leadership traits of the aforementioned nursing leaders and which will be guide for my future aspirations in the nursing practice.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale who was also known as ‘The Lady of The Lamp’ was the forerunner of the nursing profession. She was born in 12th March 1820. Her nursing experiences during the Crimean war revolutionized healthcare and are the foundation upon which modern healthcare is built. Nightingale was born to a wealthy merchant family but she chose to follow a calling in taking care of sick people. She trained to be a nurse and when the Crimean war broke out, she was put in charge of nurses who cared for wounded soldiers. She received a cold welcome when she first arrived at the hospital because of her gender but when she and her team reduced the death rate from 40% to 2%, the attitudes of the male doctors changed. After the war, she presented her experiences to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and a royal Commission was formed to help improve the health of the British Army. A fund was set up in England in order for Nightingale to continue teaching nurses as a result of her war efforts. She died on 13th August 1990 leaving a legacy behind. Based on the above facts, Nightingale was clearly not only a phenomenal woman but also a a model healthcare practitioner. She is known for her exemplary leadership qualities.
Nightingale shows us that a good leader needs to have a positive attitude. While hospital wards usually have an air of despair, Nightingale refused to tolerate gossip, complaints and other forms of negativity in wards. Promoting positivity guaranteed a productive workplace. Recent statistics have shown that 60% of new nurses quit their jobs in the first year. Nurses should look up to ‘The Lady of The Lamp’ for inspiration for she kept a positive attitude while working under horrendous circumstances and even treated people with dignity (Connectionculture.com, 2020). Secondly, Nightingale portrayed commitment. She took nursing as a calling and not a job. Although she came from a wealthy family, she chose to look after sick people for minimal pay. Nightingale found satisfaction in caring for others a fact that is proven as she keeps enduring intolerable conditions and her dedication touched many lives. From this extraordinary lady we learn that the salary should not affect the dedication one channels into one’s work. A leader ought to inspire this level of dedication in others. Thirdly, Nightingale was loyal to all those who worked under her. She portrays loyalty by making sure every nurse who served with her in Scutari found employment when they returned home. Her legendary loyalty inspired the octogenarian veterans to escort her coffin when she died. A good leader should be loyal to subordinates for loyalty is usually reciprocated.
Clara Barton
Clara Barton (The Angel of The Battlefield) was a battlefield nurse. She was born on 25th December in Massachusetts. During the Civil War, she helped soldiers in many ways. Barton served independently as a nurse and first saw battle in Virginia. She was nicknamed ‘angel of the battlefield’ because of her work. After the war, she helped reunite soldiers with their families while working at the war department. Her leadership qualities eventually enabled her to form the US Red Cross branch in 1881 with her as it’s first president. In the Red Cross, she was known as a leader who never took a salary for her efforts. She published a book entitled ‘The Story of My Childhood’ and died on 12th April 1912 in Maryland. Throughout her life, Barton portrayed exemplary leadership skills.
First and foremost, Clara Barton was clearly compassionate. A compassionate person is sympathetic towards the needs of others. During the civil war, she provided care to all soldiers irrespective of rank. She wrote down the dying wishes of soldiers on their deathbeds and provided self-taught care to all who were injured. It was here that she earned ‘The Angel of The Battlefield’ name. A good nursing leader should look after the affairs of those less fortunate (Clarabartonbirthplace.org, 2020). Nursing isn’t just about caring for physical ailments; one should take care of the emotional wounds of those under one’s care. Compassion is vital towards the process of healing both physical and emotional wounds. Clara Barton also portrayed influence (a rare leadership quality). An effective leader should be able to rally others to work together in the pursuit of better health care. Clara Burton rallied volunteers after the civil war and formed the Red Cross branch in America. This organization provides aid internationally to people during hardships. Her leadership skills not only aided the wounded but still continue to ease the brutality of disasters all around the world today.
Mary Breckinridge
Mary Breckinridge (Angel on Horseback) contributed towards quality healthcare in her lifetime. She was an American midwife who founded the Frontier Nursing Services. She was born on 14th February in Memphis. When her first husband died, she enrolled in St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in New York and graduated in 1912. After losing two children, left her second husband and decided to dedicate her life to improving children’s conditions to ho...