The minute nurses step into their nursing roles, they must provide compassionate and unwavering skilled care for their patients. Nursing is one of the most demanding jobs, from checking vital signs and greeting patients with a smile to assisting with complex procedures and delivering heart-wrenching news to patients’ families.
Today, nurses nationwide are beginning to express concerns about the impact of nursing shortages on their well-being. According to Healthcare Innovation, the nurse burnout cycle fuels itself. Nurse burnout leads to a cyclical pattern of emotionally exhausted nurses, inadequate staffing, and low job dissatisfaction.
This ceaseless cycle perpetuates nursing shortages at an alarming rate. As a result, it is now more critical than ever for healthcare organizations to support nurses by prioritizing the emotional well-being of industry leaders.
In what ways can healthcare systems help their nursing teams? While there is no single answer, there are some strategies that healthcare organizations are already using to better support their nursing leaders.
Why Is Leadership in Nursing Important?
“Today, about 1 million Registered Nurses are older than 50, meaning one-third of the workforce could reach retirement age in the next 10 to 15 years. Meanwhile, job satisfaction and safety remain behemoth challenges.” - Curtis Anderson, CEO of Nursa
Leadership in nursing is essential because it can help motivate other nurses to stay authentic and hard-working. For example, nurse leaders are often responsible for managing teams, making critical decisions, and advocating for patients. Nurse leaders also assume the role of providing a positive work environment. Therefore, nurse leaders must show up for work with a positive outlook, a strong work ethic, and a prepared pep talk in case someone on the team needs encouragement.
Furthermore, nurses who assume leadership roles are critical because they motivate other team members to succeed. Maintaining good morale and motivating other nurses to work hard can, in turn, result in better patient care. Effective leadership in nursing can also lead to fewer shortages of nurses and a general decrease in nurse burnout.
Common Leadership Styles in Nursing
Nurses who hold leadership roles in hospitals should be familiar with different approaches that can help them guide their nursing team. For example, transformational leadership in nursing aims to inspire nurses to achieve their full potential.
According to a 2020 study, transformational leadership applied in nursing practice “focuses on the attributes and behaviors of the leader required to empower and motivate team members.” Leading by example or approaching routine tasks with enthusiasm and optimism instead of assigning a boring to-do list to a nursing team are two examples of transformational leadership.
Some other common nursing leadership styles include the following:
- Transactional leadership: Transactional leaders set clear goals and expectations. This nursing leadership style also focuses on rewards and punishments to motivate nursing team members. Concurrently, feedback and criticism are based directly on how a nursing team member performs their job.
- Democratic leadership: Democratic leaders always consider their nursing team members before making decisions; they value the opinions of their colleagues and consider their criticism and input.
- Autocratic leadership: Autocratic leaders will make decisions independently without considering the input of their team members. Furthermore, these authoritarian leaders expect strict adherence to rules, instructions, and goals. Some consider this style of nursing leadership the least effective.
- Laissez-faire leadership: Laissez-faire leadership is the most hands-off leadership style in nursing. As such, nurses following this leadership style may provide minimal guidance to other team members and allow them to make their own decisions. Nurse leaders with a laissez-faire leadership style believe their team will make the best decisions possible.
Effective nurse leaders can use various leadership styles depending on the situation and the needs of their team. At the same time, nurse leaders must feel supported behind the scenes to lead confidently.
What Are the Different Types of Leadership Roles in Nursing?
“[A nurse case manager role] requires strong self-leadership skills as they must handle professional duties while maintaining personal resilience.” - Dr. Claire C. Muselman
Nursing leadership includes nurse managers, nurse case managers, scheduling managers, head nurses, etc. For example, a nurse manager collaborates with their nursing team and oversees all facets of daily patient care within their unit. Nurse managers must ensure that a nursing team provides patients with the highest degree of care.
Nurse case managers are other prominent leaders crucial in keeping operations running smoothly. Nurse case managers are registered nurses (RNs) in charge of arranging patients’ care from admission until discharge. Nurse case managers work behind the scenes to ensure patients receive appropriate and quality care from their nursing team. In many cases, a case manager must advocate for their patient’s needs, demanding that their patient receive unwavering and unbiased care at all times.
Ultimately, anyone striving to create a more robust and positive work environment can be considered a nurse leader. You can think of a nurse leader as a ship captain; without them, the boat would sink. In other words, nurse leaders and managers tirelessly work directly and behind the scenes to keep nursing operations running smoothly. Some may even refer to a nurse leader as the “wizard behind the curtain” who continuously seeks opportunities to improve the well-being of their staff and patients.
Effective Strategies for Supporting Nursing Leadership
Nurse leaders invest in their team’s growth and success by effectively and positively leading their teams. At the same time, nurse leaders must also feel supported by healthcare systems to do their jobs efficiently. A recent article published in Medriva explains how nurse managers are “intricately linked to the overall effectiveness of nursing staff and the quality of patient care.” The article accentuates how prioritizing a nurse leader’s well-being is critical to a more “balanced and supportive environment for all healthcare workers.”
So, in what ways can—or do—healthcare systems create more encouraging environments for nurse leaders and other healthcare professionals? According to our research, effective leadership in nursing can occur by implementing the following strategies:
1. Offering Shorter Shifts and Flexible Hours
One way healthcare organizations can prioritize the needs of nurse leaders is by offering flexibility in the workplace. Considering that compassion fatigue from working long shifts without breaks is one of the leading causes of nurse burnout, a flexible nursing schedule can provide an overworked nurse with long enough breaks to collect themselves and find freedom and happiness outside of work. Healthcare systems can also contract per diem nurses to lessen the burden of their full-time staff and, at the same time, make up for inadequate staffing levels.
2. Providing a Helping Hand
Nurse leaders often carry the emotional load of a nursing team. As a result, there will be days when nurse leaders need extra support. Healthcare organizations can be proactive and support nurse leaders by offering support through staffing assistance, administrative help, and budget allocations. This help may alleviate operational challenges and empower nurse leaders to focus more on strategic initiatives to enhance productivity in their nursing teams.
3. Staying ahead of New Technologies
Healthcare organizations can support nursing leadership by staying informed and aware of new technologies to improve patient care and enhance workflow efficiency. For example, nurse leaders can introduce their nursing team to technologies like AI-powered chatbots, wearable devices, or any other technology that can improve the efficiency and delivery of the highest quality patient care. Moreover, technology can help mitigate nurse burnout by lessening the burden of tedious tasks in the workplace.
4. Recognizing a Nurse Leader’s Contributions
Every human being, on an innate level, wants to feel appreciated. Hence, healthcare organizations can help nurse leaders feel supported by recognizing their unique strengths and contributions. Facilities can provide this recognition by promoting an open-door policy and hearing a nurse leader’s opinions and concerns. Rewarding nurse leaders for their efforts through merit-based salary increases, bonuses, or promotions is another proven way to show appreciation for their professional dedication.
Nurse Leaders: The Core of Nursing
Nurse leaders are the core of a nursing team. They help keep the wheel spinning by empowering nursing teams to work together effectively. While the American Hospital Association recently reported that nursing staff’s emotional health and well-being have been at their highest since July 2020, much work remains to be done.
Strategies, including implementing healthcare technology, offering a better work-life balance, and encouraging nurse leaders to share their opinions, can all lead to nurse leaders feeling supported in their roles. As healthcare continues to evolve, the role of nurse leaders becomes even more critical in steering the industry in the right direction.
Get the staffing coverage your facility needs by contracting a per diem nurse near you today.
Sources:
- National Library of Medicine: Applying transformational leadership in nursing practice
- American Hospital Association: Nurse leaders identify top challenges, effective solutions
- Medriva: Redefining Nurse Leadership: Prioritizing the Well-being of Those at the Helm of Healthcare
- Healthcare Innovation: What Are Some Solutions to Nursing Burnout, Shortages?
