1. Visit the American Nurses Association site on healthcare policy at http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/HealthcareandPolicyIssues.aspx. What are the current policy issues addressed? How would you apply them to nursing leadership?

 

2. Explain how accountability, authority, and responsibility relate to delegation.

 

3. Review the Five “Rs” (reengineering the health care organization, redesigning the workforce, re-regulating professional practice, rightsizing the workforce, and restructuring nursing education.) related to Change and Decision Making in Action  Select one of the “Rs” and describe how you have been involved in change or will be involved in change either in your prelicensure program or after obtaining your license. Was this change a comfortable or uncomfortable time in your life? Explain.

 

4. Keep in mind that completing this TD is the key to assisting you with the Week 4 Assignment, My Leadership Development SMART Goal. Use the format below to develop a leadership SMART goal for YOURSELF, not your organization or department. The goal needs to be related to ONE of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) quality initiative, which includes the five core healthcare profession competencies. One of these competencies will serve as a framework for identification of your leadership goal.

The five core healthcare profession competencies outlined by the IOM are listed in Finkelman (2012) in Section II. You should review the appropriate chapter prior to posting.

These core competencies include the following.

1. Managing Patient-Centered Care
2. Working in interdisciplinary/interprofessional teams
3. Employing evidence-based practice
4. Applying quality improvement techniques
5. Utilizing informatics

SMART Goal Format: 

 

S—Specific (Who, besides YOU is involved in your goal, what is YOUR goal, and where will it take place?)

M—Measurable (How are YOU going to achieve the goal?)

A—Attainable (What resources and/or experts are available to assist YOU with attaining your goal?)

R—Realistic (Is YOUR goal something that is realistically obtainable by YOU in YOUR professional practice? Explain.)

T—Time bound (What specific dates or weeks will YOU accomplish each task related to YOUR leadership goal?)

 

5. Review the Article:

Kramer, M., Schmalenberg, C., Maguire, P., Brewer, B., Burke, R., Chmielewski, L., … Meeks-Sjostrom, D. (2009). Walk the talk: Promoting control of nursing practice and a patient-centered culture. Critical Care Nurse, 29(3), 77–93. http://proxy.devry.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2010305271&site=ehost-live

How do you OR your current (or previous) leader walk the talk as it relates to fostering an environment of patient-centered care?

 

6. Culture can influence how we perceive a situation. Alicia is a nurse leader for a unit where Masaya is working as an RN who recently graduated with a BSN from a university in The Philippines. After watching the scenario, describe how cultural differences have impacted the scenario. How could the leader intervene in this situation to assist Masaya to be successful in his new role? How could the leader intervene with the staff to be more accepting of diversity in co-workers?

 

Second Life Video

 

7. Becoming a part of a new team can be difficult at times. As a leader, how can you facilitate acceptance by team members for an employee who is new to your team?

 

8. Preventing and resolving conflict is the responsibility of every nurse leader. Review the scenario where a leader and a staff nurse have a disagreement over an assignment. What conflict management strategies may be employed to bring this to a “win-win” resolution? Please describe.

 

Second Life Video

 

9. Assume you are employed as a nurse leader at a small healthcare organization/agency that does not have a nurse on staff who is an expert in evidence-based practice. How would you lead the charge to overcome this barrier and integrate EBP into the daily practice of your staff?

 

10. Review Appendix A, Sections I–V in Finkelman (2012, pp. 510–515). Select one of the sections and share how your chief nurse executive demonstrates expertise in these competencies.

 

11. Describe one core measure OR National Patient Safety Goal that your work place is monitoring. Describe if you are meeting the standards.

If you are NOT working, describe a monitoring requirement imposed by a federal or state agency in which you are actively involved. 

 

12. An important role for a BSN-prepared nurse is educating staff, either formally or informally. Visit the QSEN website to review teaching strategies at http://qsen.org/teaching-strategies. Select ONE of the current strategies and share how you could adapt this to educate staff at your work place. To make our discussion more robust, please try to select a strategy that has not already been discussed by your classmates. This is your opportunity to be creative and suggest innovative approaches.

 

 

13. Our College of Nursing states, “We are committed to graduating compassionate, ethical, and knowledgeable nurse leaders who are empowered to transform healthcare.” This is a powerful statement. As a student who will soon graduate from Chamberlain, how do you foresee yourself fulfilling this mission in the role of nurse leader? Provide a specific example of how you will “Walk the Talk.”