Article Review
The title of the article being reviewed is: Growing Future Nurse Leaders to Build and Sustain Healthy Work environments at the Unit Level. I chose to review this article because there is a positive relationship between the effectiveness of nursing leadership and the productivity of the nurses in the workplace. I believe that if the leadership is able to take the lead, there would be a transmitted effect of good productivity on all the nursing staff. It will not only lead to satisfaction at work but also the patients would be able to get good care as at when due.
The article talks about the abundance of evidence in literature that there is a positive correlation between having a healthy working environment and nursing staff satisfaction, improved patient outcomes, organizational performance and nurse retention. The article elaborated on criteria outlined by the Nursing Organizations Alliance in 2004 in establishing a healthy working environment. They include collaboration, good communication, sufficient number of nursing staff, competence, good leadership, continued professional enrichment and development and recognizing nurses for their meaningful contributions to practice. This was corroborated by (Aiken et al 2009) and (Shamian & El-Jardali 2007)
The article stressed the fact that all these good attributes have proven difficult to achieve simply because of the nursing leadership to actually take the lead role in actualizing this utopia. It stressed the need for continuous professional development and mentoring on the part of nursing leaders to support a healthy working environment.
The article conceded that the development of the appropriate leadership skill is not an easy job. Nurse Manager Leadership is a requisite for the development of healthy work environments. It is not enough for the nurse leader to be efficient, excellent and respected in her work. There also needs to be a dedication to the service of others, including the ability to be able to tolerate other people, respect their views and ultimately have an excellent working relationship with them. These are the attributes of a good nurse leadership that would facilitate a good working relationship among all the members of staff.
The core leadership skills described in the article includes the ability to assume the role itself, the ability to see leadership as both an art and a science and the process of managing the job as if it were a business. In assuming the role itself, the nurse leadership must display the ability to demonstrate considerable self-confidence and the ability to trust and empower others . these are all attributes that a good leader must exude in order to be successful in this role. Moreover, in being able to see leadership as both an art and a science, the Nurse leadership must be able to manage relationships with others effectively and also demonstrate immense authority in influencing the behavior of its subordinates. Furthermore, in managing the job as if it were a business, the nursing leadership must not only concentrate on managing people, but also develop their financial management skills. It was suggested in the article that as time goes on, the nursing leadership would be more involved in the development, monitoring and implementation of a unit budget. this would put their financial management skills to the test and only those with impeccable financial management skills would be able to survive in this regard.
References
Aiken, L., Clarke, S., Sloane, D., Lake, E., & Cheney, T. (2009). Effects of Hospital Care Environment On Patient Mortality And Nurse Outcomes. Journal of Nursing Administration, 39(7/8), 45-51
Rose, Sherman & Elizabeth, Pross (2010). Growing Future Nurse Leaders to Build and Sustain Healthy Work environments at the Unit Level. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 2010;15(1). Medscape Reference. Accessed on 23rd February 2012 from
Shamian, J., & El-Jardali, F. (2007). Healthy Workplaces for Health Workers in Canada: Knowledge Transfer and Uptake in Policy and Practice. HealthcarePapers. Vol 7 (Sp).
