Question

Discuss the roles of leader, designer, manager, or coordinator of nursing care- especially in regard to quality control measures. (Must demonstrate strong applicaton of theory to practice when discussing the roles of leader, designer, manager or coordinator of nursing care.

Answer 1

Each year the Australian media covers the test cricket match played at the Sydney Cricket Ground where since 2008 the third day, or traditionally Ladies Day, has transformed the game into the Pink Test in support of the McGrath Foundation. After ten years of Pink Tests, the public are becoming familiar with the role of breast care nurses thanks to the McGrath Foundation which raises money specifically to fund the placement of breast care nurses in the community.

Acting as the patient’s clinical navigator to the world of healthcare, there are nurses working in many fields of care providing education about disease and self-management; behaviour change or health coaching principles to promote the uptake of recommended health maintenance practices. So-called nurse care coordinators can also conduct physician collaboration providing education to patients about how to communicate with healthcare team or communicating with members of the healthcare team on the patient’s behalf if it is required.

While definitions of role responsibilities can differ between fields and facilities, there has been many studies done on measuring the effectiveness of specialist-trained nurses in transition care at levels of both patient satisfaction and service provider outcomes. A systematic review of this literature was carried out by the QUT School of Nursing in collaboration with the Queensland Government Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer to develop key recommendations for these ‘nurse navigator’ roles.

The review, authored by Aaron Conway (QUT), Chris O’Donnell (Queensland Government) and Patsy Yates (QUT), covered 45 articles published after 2009, including participants receiving care in hospital and/or community settings in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Conditions included in the review covered multiple comorbid conditions and were all commonly identified as ‘high risk’ conditions such as diabetes, dementia, terminal illness, children requiring special care, stroke recovery, COPD, bipolar disorder, disabled with functional impairments, requiring care in an aged care facility. when we speek about the need pf a leader in nursing

Strong leadership is essential in all types of work environments, and particularly in those that involve high pressure situations and quick decision making. Employment as a nurse in a healthcare setting undoubtedly fits into that category. Quality leadership is key for ensuring successful nursing teams.

Nurturing Teamwork

Strong nursing leadership helps encourage other nurses to function as team units. Nurses -- leaders or otherwise -- must have strong interpersonal skills to be successful. They must be adept at communicating with each other, with doctors and other staff, with patients and with patients' families. Strong teamwork and communication are both key to providing quality patient care. To achieve this, head nurses and others in positions of leadership must encourage their team members to communicate clearly, collaborate with each other on any issues that come up, and be willing to help each other out when things are especially busy.

Encouraging Success

Effective nurse leaders promote an environment that makes their staffs more passionate and enthusiastic about their work. Leaders must show their staff members -- through actions and words -- that it's never OK to be satisfied with anything that's less than 100 percent. They drive nurses to conduct themselves in a professional manner, and they provide the tools and guidance that can help nurses meet or exceed their performance goals. Nurse leaders should be clear in their instructions and honest about their team's performance. They should also offer encouragement to team members who might be having a hard time and praise to those who do outstanding work.

Proper Organization

Proper organization is vital to the success of a nursing team. Without proper organization, chaos is likely to ensue -- definitely not a good thing in the demanding, fast-paced healthcare world. A strong nurse leader must be methodical, detail oriented and skilled at quickly identifying and fixing problems. She should be able to juggle many diverse tasks simultaneously, whether they involve assigning specific duties to the rest of the nurse team, writing out shift schedules for the rest of the month or overseeing patient care.

Positive Growth

Strong nurse leaders possess the confidence to analyze their work processes honestly and think of ways to improve on them. When their team's performance falls below standard, they should be willing to make changes that will take the performance to the next level. Nurse leaders need to be able to influence others on their teams to routinely evaluate themselves -- and the things around them -- to determine what works, what doesn't, and what should be done to improve the work environment and team performance.