A critical element of the preparation of nurses in the curriculum is the development of core competencies. These competencies are the foundation on which nurses are prepared to afford patients holistic care either directly or by referring them to other healthcare providers who can afford them the desired care. These competencies are all destined to ensure that nurse practitioners demonstrate their expertise in their specific area of practice while possessing personal qualities that are in line with the responsibility bestowed on them (Daly & Carnwell, 2003). Each of these competencies focuses on horning the skills, knowledge and experience of the nurse practitioner so that at any time in their duty within clinical practice, they can demonstrate an aspect of decision making and informed judgment that works positively to influence clinical and patient outcomes (NONPF, 2015).
Leadership is regarded as one of the key competencies within the nursing curriculum. Leadership as a competency revolves around the ability to take a lead role and to assume greater responsibility and accountability in the management of the patient as a client of the care facility. At any time, patients seek medical care in response to a health or illness status (Huber, 2013). The patients presume that the Nurse practitioner will not only help in their recovery and restoration but also help them in the maintenance of the desired health status (Partin, 2009). A health status in this case is not just the absence of illness but more so the ability to function optimally across all aspects; mental, behavioral, psychological, physical and cognitive. As a nurse practitioner and within the roles of management of patient health and illness status, the competency of leadership has to be demonstrated in various aspects (Daly & Carnwell, 2003).
In one way the NP has to act as a role model, a resource person and a teacher to the patient. As a teacher, the NP has to demonstrate authority and help the patient realize that they need to play an active role in the management of their health (Partin, 2009). As a role model, the NP has to demonstrate an ability to influence the behaviors and mentality of the patient by working directly with them within at individual level, family level and community level; a task that has to be supported by the NP’s ability to select relevant health resources and materials and relate them to the patient’s global health issues (Daly & Carnwell, 2003).
On the other hand, the NP has to expand their role beyond to an extent where they influence policy. This implies that the NP versed with the knowledge and experience gained from their constant contact and association with the patient population have to survey and determine the political arena of healthcare and determine its effectiveness in developing policies that affect the health status of the population (NONPF, 2015). With this knowledge, the NP have to act as advocates so that they air the perceived and known demands of the patient population to the legislative and political machinations as well as lobby for the appropriate development of policies that positively influence the health status of the individuals and population at large (Huber, 2013).
Further, the NP has a role to influence and empower colleagues NPs so that they can function optimally in their designed roles within the healthcare system and within the management of patient health and illness status. Within this scope of leadership, the NP has to facilitate and guide the development as well as implementation of practice guidelines, standards of practice and quality initiatives so that ultimately the role of the NP is regarded as a necessity within the management of patient population and their health statuses (Partin, 2009). With such an empowered NP workforce and with the standards and guidelines of practice articulated, then NPs are therefore enabled to explore the indirect but vital roles such as research to enable explore the management of health and illness status in a more detailed and tailored manner. All these roles are however expected to work concurrently and simultaneously without a specific numeric order in which they should be accomplished. The idea is to develop a unitary approach to developing and empowering the NP across their roles, their scope of practice and their work conditions as they seek to work towards redesigning the approaches for management of health and illness status within the populations they serve (NONPF, 2015).
References
Daly, W. M., & Carnwell, R. (2003). Nursing roles and levels of practice: a framework for differentiating between elementary, specialist and advancing nursing practice. Journal of clinical nursing, 12(2), 158-167.
Huber, D. (2013). Leadership and nursing care management. Elsevier Health Sciences.
NONPF. (2015). NP Competencies - National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). Retrieved from http://www.nonpf.org/general/custom.asp?page=14
Partin, B. (2009). Consensus model for APRN regulation. The Nurse Practitioner, 34(6), 8.
