Running head: NURSE LEADER INTERVIEW 1

Nurse Leader Interview

Teresia Isiaho

Old Dominion University

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Nurse Leader Interview

Nursing leaders play a significant role in health care. Nurses spend most of their time with

patients, and they play vital roles in promoting and improving quality care. Since nurses spend

the most amount of time with their patients, this allows them to recognize and determine nursing

interventions and rationales to improve patient care. An organization that involves nursing

leaders and managers can see positive patient outcome and satisfaction. Nursing leaders are

providing quality care and improving patient safety in day to day nursing.

The Nurse Leader

I chose to interview a nurse manager of a more than ten bed medical/surgical unit in a large

hospital. I was able to learn how the nurse managed and prioritized patients needs and her

excellent relationship with her staffs. The nurse leader seemed to relate well with the unit

nurses. This floor has won several awards due to its positive relations and increased client

satisfaction. I chose this nurse manager because I admired her dynamic character during nursing

school clinical rotation. The nurse leader was also helpful when I was doing my internship. Out

of all the nurse leaders, I have met as a novice nurse; her knowledge and leadership styles have

inspired me in many ways.

Leadership Behaviors

The leadership style that this nurse leader have is a transformational leader. According to

Sullivan (2013, pg 43), transformational leaders focuses on merging motives, desires, values,

and goals of leaders and followers into a common goal. This nurse leader allows the team to

discuss openly their opinions facing the unit, the manager generates staffs commitment and

involves their views and suggestions. This nurse also encourages the team in the unit to exercise

leadership by working with each other on creating a working schedule. She expects the
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employees to solve their issues before stepping in to help. Transformational leaders can identify

burnout issues among employees (Sullivan, 2013). This leader allows nurses to plan their

schedule to prevent nurse burnout and stress that may cause health problems toward nurses if

ignored.

Another style I noticed from this manager was shared leadership. Per Sullivan

(2013, pg 44-45) shared leadership elements are relationships, dialogues, partnership, and

understanding boundaries. This manager empowers other nurses on the floor by listening to

them and including them in the decision-making process. The leader allows nurses to carry on

with management, planning, and organizing their work schedules which are part of shared

leadership in nursing. The shared governance is vital in this unit, the decisions about clinical

standards, quality care improvement, and staff development of this group improves positive

relations and outcomes. The manager also works together with other specialists on the unit to

execute leadership role. The manager is flexible, mature, and she gives an ear to all parties.

The nurse manager based her style to be that of situational leadership. Chatalalsingh and

Reeves (2014) define situational leadership to categorize the performance of team leaders

behaviors into task and relationship behavior. The nurse manager felt that this style allowed her

to improve teamwork and collaboration within the staffs. Through this leadership style, she put

less emphasize on workers on carrying up their duties. This command enables employees to

learn without the leader being in control. Also, relationship behavior among employees through

directing, coaching, supporting, delegating foster positive outcome and team learning.

Healthcare Model
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The nurse manager works in acute care hospital which serves a diverse population in

Portsmouth Virginia. Per World health organization "acute care includes the most time-sensitive,

individually-oriented diagnostic and curative actions whose primary purpose is to improve

health.. Patients enjoy different services from this hospital such as evolving use of advanced

technology including high-quality imaging services, robotic surgical technology, advanced

cardiac care, neuroscience, orthopedic, and birth center. The floor that the nurse manages is a

medical /surgical unit with three charge nurses. The unit has three experienced nurses, seven

novice nurses, and three nurse aides. This hospital utilizes the use of the service-line structure.

Sullivan (2012) there are different organizational structures that integrate due to goals, size,

technology, and environment. This unique structure increases patient satisfaction because of

specialty knowledge level. The patient receives specialized care according to their precise

ailment. The service line structure was created to focus and emphasize on the service provided to

patients (Sullivan, 2012). This structure was designed to deliver better outcomes for not only an

institution but the staff and its clients.

Challenges

The leader in this unit focus is to provide quality care. Medicare and Medicaid failing to

reimburse errors incurred by medical mistakes (Sullivan, 2013). The nurse manager in this unit

is committed to improving quality care, and address problems and challenges related to

nosocomial infections or health acquired infection (HAIs). She also suggested to the nurses the

importance of utilizing therapeutic listening, critical thinking and judgment. She has also put

more effort in her unit to minimize medication errors, pressure ulcers, preventing patients falls,

and HAIS by using evidence-based practice strategies.

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References

Chatalalsingh, C., & Reeves, S. (2014). Leading team learning: What makes Interprofessional
teams learn to work well? Journal of Interprofessional Care, 28(6), 513-518.
doi:10.3109/13561820.2014.900001

Sullivan, E. J. (2012). Effective leadership and management in nursing. Boston: Pearson

Health systems and services: The role of acute care. (2013, January 31). Retrieved May 31, 2017,

from http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/5/12-112664/en/
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Honor Code Statement

I Teresia Isiaho, pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain

from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware

that as a member of the academic community it is responsibility to turn in all suspected violators

of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.

Revised 12.12.14