Practicing a health care profession does not only mean focusing on the anatomic and physiologic or any other aspect of treating a patient. At some point, an individual and his team, if he belongs to one will have to face other elements entailed in a medical profession and leadership is one of those elements (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). Because of this, professional nurses and student nurses who will graduate from nursing schools should also invest time; effort and blood in studying the matters which may help them know and realize how to be a good leader. Some of the instances that they could use such skills may include tasks in hospital management, managing a hospital workforce, or even briefing workers about the interventions he wants them to do in the easiest and most efficient way.
Personal Overview
Personally, leadership is not only concentrates in one specific field but in many fields. We, at some point should also consider learning this leadership skill because when the time comes that we are already spent years of doing treatment practices over again, we will normally have a strong urge to start and manage our own clinics.
If we are fortunate enough, we may even convert it into a medical center with a wide area of coverage. To be successful in doing such action, we are required to have an average and ideally, an excellent leadership skill. Leadership is concerned about many aspects. Examples of such may include: budgeting and finance, team development and management, and the most important, communications. Ideally, good performance in these aspects would probably be equals a good leader.
Difference of Leadership from Management
Some often interchange the roles and capabilities of a leader with that of a manager. To go deeply, we can say that a manager can be a leader, but a leader cannot be a manager and here are some reasons. Any individual is basically able to become a leader because all he technically has to obtain to be one are superior leadership skills.
Being a manager however differs from a leader because not everyone could be a manager. It is a formal role entitled to someone that has proven his abilities to gain control over something (in our case could be a hospital or any other health firm) because of several factors. Some or even most of these factors may even pertain to simple and practical leadership skills that may be found in a commoner leader (Anderson, 2011).
Characteristics of a good leader
Being a good leader could either be subjective or objective. Nevertheless, before an individual may be termed as a good leader, he likely has to have effective leadership skills first. Effective leaders are known for their superb ability to empower people and make them follow orders willingly.
Integrity, magnanimity, dedication humility, openness, creativity, assertiveness, sense of humor, fairness, and superior interpersonal skills are the usual characteristics of a good leader (Hakala, 2009).
References
Anderson, L. (2011). Nurse Leadership vs. Management. Nurse Together. Accessed October 2011. Available at http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemid/1138/Nurse-Leadership-vs-Management.aspx.
Sullivan, E. J., & Decker, P. J. (2009). Effective leadership and management in nursing (7th ed.). Upper Saddle river, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hakala, D. (2009). The Top 10 Leadership Qualities. Focus. Accesseed October 2011. Available at http://www.focus.com/briefs/top-10-leadership-qualities/.
