Introduction
Contemporary healthcare systems the world over are increasingly being presented with challenging and tumultuous times such that, these outcomes are most likely to be embraced by workers in the nursing profession as the new normal. In today’s hectic healthcare industry environment, nursing leaders play a critical role in enabling nursing teams professionally and ethically dispense assigned responsibilities as much as these responsibilities seem to increase exponentially. Nurses and more so, nursing leaders have to exhibit high degrees of professional as well as personal accountability even in situations abound with growing stressors that can potentially diminish their leadership capabilities. Such stressors result in situations where a nursing leader’s capabilities for survival and ultimately, success, are overshadowed by professional, environmental as well as institutional challenges. In an effort to circumvent or plough through such challenges, nursing leaders are called upon to display resilience towards professional and personal development and ultimately succeed in their roles as leaders within an ever evolving profession. The primary focus of this paper is to identify an iconic nursing leader and to subsequently discuss leadership in nursing.
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie
Social and political developments in the US have enabled for inclusivity and diversity in the nursing profession to a great extent. This has not always been the case. Looking into the early life of an iconic nursing leader Mary Elizabeth Carnegie and thereafter, her professional input into the American healthcare system, one will come to appreciate the positive influence she accorded the American nursing profession (Houser & Player, 2007).
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie was an accredited DPA, RN and FAAN and her story shows that she defied many odds to successfully accomplish these and a host of other unrivalled accolades. She was born daughter to John and Adeline Oliver in 1916 at Baltimore, Maryland (Houser & Player, 2007). She was the last born in a family of four, with two elder sisters and a brother who became deceased shortly after his birth. Her parents divorced when she was aged 2 years and her mother found too challenging to raise three daughters all by herself. Mary’s extended family chipped in and went on to adopt her while she was only aged 3 years. Aunt Rosa, her maternal aunt and her husband, Uncle Thomas Robinson took her into their home in Washington, DC (Houser & Player, 2007).
Give that Aunt Rosa’s only daughter was mature and lived independent from her parents enabled Mary Carnegie to be raised as an only child in a home with firm rules to abide by and strict upbringing in an affectionate environment (Houser & Player, 2007). Life prior to the 1920’s and even beyond was not as accommodating for African Americans as it was for other races. As such, Mary Carnegie grew up in a society which presented African American with significant social challenges where segregation of social services was normal. Neighborhoods, the school system, department stores and literally everything else, other than public transport, was segregated.
Elizabeth Carnegie attributed her dedication and passions towards her endeavors as a career nurse to the era in which she grew up (Houser & Player, 2007). As such, throughout her professional and personal life Mary Carnegie always made every effort towards championing for minority groups in the US to be accorded equal treatment and furthermore, pushed towards ensuring nurses with an African American heritage were professionally recognized.
While growing up, she did not even remotely imagine that she could study through to college mainly due to the fact that her family had no means to finance this. In fact, when she became professionally accredited as a nurse, Mary Elizabeth Carnegie initiated the very first baccalaureate nursing in a historically and predominantly African American university in Virginia (Houser & Player, 2007). Hampton University thus became one of the most significant institutions for the African American race and enabled numerous people from this minority group to forge impressive career paths for the country’s nursing minorities.
It was after joining Nursing School that Elizabeth Carnegie came to comprehend just how much discrimination against minority groups in the US, more specifically the African America populace affected them (Houser & Player, 2007). After shifting to the state of New York to live with her cousins and hopeful of pursuing further studies, she came to be introduced to the nursing profession by one of her cousins. There were only two nursing education institutions in New York City meant for African Americans. As much as she was much younger than she looked, Elizabeth Carnegie successfully applied for enrollment with the Lincoln School for Nurses and so her path into being a career nurse began (Houser & Player, 2007). The directors of nursing education programs at the institution as well as all its instructors were European Americans. It was here that she came to intricately understand just how much discrimination worked against African Americans not only in her small world but in the rest of the nation too. The executive secretary to the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), Mabel K, Staupers highlighted the plight of African Americans during a class attended by Mary Elizabeth Carnegie at the institution (Houser & Player, 2007). Elizabeth Carnegie came to understand that discrimination against the black populace was far reaching as it affected their opportunities with regard to employment, education and organized nursing fraternities.
Another issue that came to light to Elizabeth while at Lincoln was the fact that having an exclusively white teaching staff resulted in a situation where African American nursing students lacked role models. The lack of role models in classroom settings and this’ as well as the fact that discrimination and segregation were rife in the profession, compelled her to vow to fight against such and similar social vices (Houser & Player, 2007). Another interesting situation at Lincoln was that the African American trainees were in essence being molded to cater for nonblack patients. For instance, Lincoln served a Jewish community and offered healthcare services to this particular community. However, she enjoyed her time at the institution which played a significant role in enabling her to be professionally and ethically inclined towards offering the best possible healthcare services to her patients regardless of ethnicity.
After completing nursing school and successfully sitting for the state board exams, Elizabeth Carnegie was employed by the Lincoln Hospital as a qualified medical-surgical nursing practitioner. She later sat for the mandatory civil service exam which allowed her to seek government employment in public hospitals (Houser & Player, 2007). At the time, that is in the 30’s, the public hospitals which offered employment to African American nurses were Freedman’s in Washington DC and the Alabama based Tuskegee Veterans Hospital. As much as she wanted to join the Freedman’s hospital, the nursing professional regulatory bodies required that African American nurses attend a mandatory one year probation period at Tuskegee. She was thus compelled to envision long term goals early in her career which worked in her favor as her career blossomed.
Tuskegee’s VA Hospital accorded her the opportunity to collaborate with other African American nurses towards ensuring African American patients received qualified healthcare services (Houser & Player, 2007). Such regulations may appear odd today but were the norm in those early times. As such, during her year at the VA Hospital and residing in Tuskegee, she never at any one time came across the issue of racial discrimination. A year later, she earned a position to work at Freedman’s as a fulltime night shift nurse. She saw this as an opportunity to pursue two day time course at another African American institution, the Howard University. Her goal was to attain a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She was later offered a nursing position at the West Virginia State College (Houser & Player, 2007). Here, she was offered the opportunity to be a part time school nurse while studying fulltime. She was able to acquire he bachelor’s degree certificate in sociology and a psychology minor. Later on, she was presented with a faculty position at another African American nursing school. The St. Phillip School of Nursing, an affiliate of the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, was meant for African American students though the parent institution operated on a dual system. It is in this institution where she first came to encounter racial prejudice and discrimination in the nursing career.
Leadership Domain
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie’s career path shifted after she joined the nursing school faculty at St. Phillip Hospital (Houser & Player, 2007). Her leadership domain thus encompassed nursing education, a career path that enabled her to positively impact on racial discrimination and prejudice against minority groups in the US. More specifically her leadership skills, qualities and characteristics were felt in the nursing profession. It was at this institution when she first came face to face with the issue of racial discrimination and prejudice among her peers. This social vice was institutionalized here as the student fraternity especially among the European American staff and students. It was a form of professional courtesy for nurses to address each other as Miss or Mrs. (Houser & Player, 2007). As such, the African American nurses were not referred to in this form as such formalities were deemed to be only fit for the European American faculty staff. The European American students simply referred to their black instructors as Nurse Carnegie or Nurse Estelle. On the same note, it was not mandatory for European American faculty staff to possess graduate degree certificates as academic credentials. For the African American faculty members, it was mandatory for one to possess such academic qualifications so as to be considered for positions at the faculty (Houser & Player, 2007). It was here that Mary Carnegie took the imitative and by extension, began exhibiting her leadership skills, qualities and characteristics in this domain. She had a personal philosophy which entailed according other African American faculty staff the recommended degree of professional courtesy. This was in spite of the fact that she could not influence the European American staff to do the same.
Admirable Leadership Qualities and Characteristics
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie exhibited some very unique leadership qualities and characteristics even while in nursing school. For instance, she opted to employ her high degree of social intelligence to circumvent the social challenges that could have otherwise limited her ability to pursue a nursing career at a young age (Houser & Player, 2007). At the same institution, after coming to understand the full extent of racial discrimination and prejudice in the American society, she set her sights to a personal vision. Her personal vision entailed eradicating all forms of racial discrimination against minority groups in the US pursuing the nursing profession. She also exhibited the ability to set forth long term goals and more so, conclusively achieve them. She was able to withstand the retrogressive requirement that her first year as a career nurse required her to work in an African American hospital. This attribute also portrays her steadfastness towards meeting her personal goals (Houser & Player, 2007). She also exhibited great dedication towards attaining the highest educational credential possible in the nursing profession despite the odds set against her. Mary Elizabeth Carnegie accepted to work full time night shifts and more so, dedicated her time during the day to study for two courses in which she excelled. She also understood that as a leader, she had to have a mentor. After the first African American nurse to acquire a master’s degree was announced, she made a point to approach her for mentorship. She also had superb networking skills that allowed her to make professional contact with her mentor, Estelle Osborne, the first African American nurse to graduate with a master’s degree in nursing (Houser & Player, 2007). This enabled her to earn the position of Assistant dean at the Hampton University, a first step towards attaining her vision to eradicate all forms of racial discrimination in the nursing profession and more specifically, in nursing education. Other leadership qualities and characteristics that make Mary Elizabeth Carnegie exceedingly admirable include her mentorship skills which she used to aide other nursing profession make a difference in the profession (Houser & Player, 2007). She was also deeply courageous, committed and served towards the attainment of her vision with a high degree of integrity.
Leadership Definition
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie’s was a leader who can be best described through the leadership definition that describes a leader as incorporating three aspects. This is the ability to listen, inspire and more so empower others to achieve the best they possibly can. As such, Mary Carnegie has served as mentor for numerous nurses among America’s minority groups (Houser & Player, 2007). It is important to note that she has mentored them in the past and even though presently departed, her legacy continues to inspire the current crop of nurses and will continue doing so in future. She set the bar high and as such, positively compelled others to invest time as well as resources to achieve great and desirable outcomes.
Leadership Model
After a careful look into the professional accolades of Mary Elizabeth Carnegie as well as her commitment to the betterment of the nursing profession after retirement, one can only consider her as a transformational leader. Mary Elizabeth Carnegie can be best described as a transformational leader. Going back to her time as a nursing student in New York, one can see that she had the ability to set forth clear and attainable goals (Houser & Player, 2007). As a faculty member at the St. Phillip Hospital school of Nursing, she encouraged the black populace in the institution to embrace professional courtesy among each other. As such, her life long career goal was founded on her quest to ensure racial prejudice and discrimination was eradicated in the nursing profession. Mary Carnegie endeavored to ensure it was a profession that reflected fairness among all and high standards professional integrity. Other traits that make Elizabeth Carnegie an exceptional transformational leader was her ability to stir up positive emotions from her peers and more so, encourage them to attain career goals. She also ensured that the American Nursing Associations positively supported and recognized nurses from America’s minority groups (Houser & Player, 2007). She compelled her supporters to perceive beyond self interests towards the attainment of a common vision and as such, inspired them to achieve what was previously considered as improbable.
Cultural Diversity
Elizabeth Carnegie had great respect for efforts towards ensuring the nursing profession was viewed as one where cultural diversity was openly embraced. As such, she can be considered as one of the pioneering leaders towards a more inclusive, equity oriented and positively inclined initiatives towards greater equality among all nurses in the nursing profession. This was evident in her early professional years where she was a faculty member at the St Phillip Hospital School of Nursing (Houser & Player, 2007). As such, she was able to champion for greater cultural diversity in the nursing profession in America.
Handling Controversy
Again, looking back at her first job position as a faculty member at the nursing school at the St. Phillip Hospital, one can point out that Mary Elizabeth Carnegie handled controversy in an intelligent and mature manner. For instance, when she was faced with the racial discrimination and prejudice challenge from her peers, she sought to employ her on philosophy (Houser & Player, 2007). This philosophy entailed avoiding going against the grain. She understood that for a fact she could not compel the European American faculty staff to do what was professionally and ethically right. She, however, approached the African American faculty staff and student fraternity in a professional, intelligent and mature way to ensure that their students accorded African American faculty members the professional courtesy they rightly deserved. She was indeed no stranger to controversy and as such took a hands-on approach with dealing with such situations head on with a great degree of confidence in an effort to appraise the integrity of her profession.
Increasing Collaboration
During the time she was Dean at the Florida A&M College, she came across the opportunity to assist African American nurses to receive respect from the public domain (Houser & Player, 2007). More so, she sought to ensure that nurses from America’s minority groups got the desired degree of respect from other nursing professionals regardless of race. As such, she worked to increase the degree of collaboration amongst all American nurses in an effort to better the present as well as future prospects of the noble profession. This was all in an effort towards ensuring that collaboration between all nurses regardless of ethnicity fostered greater collaboration with other health workers towards ensuring the American society acquired world class health care service delivery outcomes.
Personal Reflection
I believe that Mary Elizabeth Carnegie played a unique role in fighting discrimination in the nursing profession and set the ball rolling for other nurses, both present and future to emulate her legacy and pursue their individual visions. She was indeed a transformational leader who can be considered as having achieved her goals.
Similarly, I seek to achieve personal career goals with the great determination, commitment, attitude, integrity and intelligence she exuded. I personally seek to inherently nurture the leading by walking around leadership style. The leadership style appeals to me as it involves understanding situational outcomes through focused listening, teaching instruction and values by setting examples and more so, facilitating peers to attain positive outcomes. I would say that the leadership definition which entails the ability to listen, inspire and more so empower others to achieve the best they possibly can fits my definition of leadership.
I positively embrace cultural diversity as it allows for greater innovative outcomes to be employed towards bettering healthcare service delivery outcomes. On the same note, I positively relate with situations which are controversial in my current work situation. I am a head strong individual and as such, I am not shy of controversy. I however, always invoke ethical and professional standards when relating with controversial situations. Collaborations with other healthcare givers is critical towards the optimum performance of any healthcare institutions,. As such, I always endeavor to have a great degree of professional coexistence with all members of the healthcare system. I believe collaboration is the only way with which professionals in the healthcare sector can optimize on patient care delivery outcomes.
References
Houser, B. & Player, K. (2007). Pivotal Moments in Nursing: Leaders who changed the Path of a Profession. Volume II. Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau.
