The healthcare sector is pivotal in a community’s overall health and well-being. Within this sector, the role of nurses is indispensable. From the ER to the C-suite and beyond, the service given by nurses is critical.
The COVID-19 sector made the healthcare sector as a whole a lot more important. Most healthcare organizations need experienced nurse leaders who can drive change, improve community care, and work on healthcare reform.
When a nurse has gained sufficient experience and expertise and is deemed to possess the necessary traits, it is possible to strive for the nurse leader position.
Nurse leadership is a requirement in various healthcare settings, from clinical and bedside work to boardroom administration and research. Regardless of where you work, there are some core skills and key ways to become successful.
The following are helpful tips to help you become better leaders:
- Be prepared for lifelong learning
With each passing day, there is one innovation or another in the healthcare sector; ever-increasing research in the latest medical procedures necessitates continued learning. You have to keep up-to-date with the latest technologies to succeed.
If you intend to enter nurse leadership roles or wish to polish your skills, look for additional education degrees and training courses. For instance, a DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) degree prepares you specifically for nurse leadership roles. You can also go for an MSN to polish your nursing skills and apply for advanced nursing careers. Both are requirements for different kinds of jobs. As for MSN vs DNP salary, both offer competitive rates, but if your goal is nurse leadership, it is better to opt for a DNP.
You can also explore education workshops, conferences, and seminars where you get to expand your knowledge base and connect with other nurse leaders.
- Work on your communication skills
Since leaders are expected to lead their teams in daily tasks, communicate information between the members, and use both their written and spoken skills regularly, the need for this skill cannot be stressed enough.
Before you work on your spoken or written communication, work on the practice of active listening. Communication is always two-way; leaders must allow all team members to speak openly and express their views and concerns.
In addition, you must know how to manage conflict, your communication must reflect openness and honesty, and your words must portray sincere empathy. You would also need good presentation skills and know how to teach visual aids and data to the target audience to deliver information most effectively.
- Foster confidence in yourself
In any leadership role, a key trait is confidence. To be a successful nurse leader, work on your self-confidence by building self-awareness and trusting yourself. A confident leader can communicate positivity and courage in their team and develop healthy relationships.
Confidence is crucial when making important decisions; decisions built on firm self-confidence are strong and likely to yield positive results. One way you can develop confidence is by first building your knowledge so that you come to trust your own decisions.
Also, remember not to make unhealthy comparisons with others; they will only cause you to undermine yourself. Polish your organizational and time-management skills so that you work more efficiently and trust your abilities more.
- Receive and give mentoring
Mentorship is a handy tool for nurses working on their leadership skills, which can go both ways. Be both a mentor to others and a recipient of mentorship from seniors. In your organization, you can find experienced nurse leaders with whom you can associate yourself and learn in their shadow.
When working with your mentor, note how they handle relationships and manage team conflicts. When you feel troubled by having to juggle multiple projects simultaneously, seek advice from your mentor.
At the same time, offering mentorship to your junior colleagues will help you develop your leadership skills and put your knowledge to practical use. You can exercise your newly learned leadership skills and polish your existing abilities here.
- Brush up your critical thinking skills
Nurse leaders will have to make crucial decisions and solve complex problems regularly. To do this successfully, you must possess the necessary critical thinking skills; this includes good analysis, inference, evaluation, deductive reasoning, and problem-solving.
Critical thinking is the mental process involved in perceiving and analyzing information through observation and experience and using it to reach decisions.
Research has shown that good critical thinking in employees can positively impact the organization; nurse managers who use good critical thinking help foster positive work environments.
- Develop empathy
It is widely known that professions like nursing based on social work demand a strong sense of empathy. Nurses cannot deliver top-notch patient care without the right amount of compassion and empathy.
Good leaders are those who engender trust and exhibit genuine concern toward their team members. In addition to needing empathy when dealing with patients, good nurse leaders need this skill to instill it in their colleagues and team members.
On a social level, good nurse leaders should be able to relate well with their associates, understand their workload, empathize, and convey understanding.
- Be patient
Leadership, in any profession, demands patience. It requires patience when you work on educating and training each team member to help them attain their best potential. Team members expect their leaders to teach and train them, not take over and dictate.
When a nurse leader operates with a patient mindset, it helps promote a positive work environment. As a leader, you will inevitably encounter disappointment, distress, and adversity and must stay calm. You must have strong control over your emotions and not let them interfere with your performance.
This patience will help you deal with conflicts, prevent angry outbursts, and make quality decisions in pressing times.
Final words
Nursing is very demanding; when you have your eyes set on nurse leadership, you should expect more challenges. Healthcare organizations require experienced nurse leaders who possess the right leadership skills.
You must buckle up for lifelong learning, polish your communication skills, develop confidence, seek and give mentorship, and increase patience. Nurses striving to become successful nurse leaders must polish their skills and set higher goals.
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