Practicum journal: Purpose

 

 

 

 

Leadership Practicum Journal: Purpose

 

 

 

Student’s Name

Institution

Course

Lecturer’s Name

Date

 

 

 

 

Leadership Practicum Journal: Purpose

Over the past 2 weeks, I have been spending 10 hours, 4 days each week working on my practicum activities. During this time, my preceptor decided that we focus on the importance of work-life balance and the role of leaders in promoting job satisfaction and retention. According to my preceptor, healthcare professionals like nurses can easily be overwhelmed in their daily practice. Without a better work-life balance, they thus end up becoming susceptible to job burnout or illness. It was also quite evident that when clinicians become distracted and exhausted, they tend to make medical errors that undermine the quality of care provided putting the patient at high risk of harm (Charoensukmongkol & Puyod, 2021). Consequently, a poor work-life balance has been associated with a higher turnover rate, which can also result in a shortage of staff and increase the cost of care provided. As a nurse leader, it is important to evaluate the priorities of the organization and encourage staff members to also develop their personalized plans based on their individual priorities. Other ways of achieving a work-life balance include encouraging staff members to manage their time appropriately and optimize their work schedules. My preceptor also reiterated the importance of a support system such as lifestyle coaches in achieving a work-life balance among nurses.

Application of Leadership

My preceptor utilized the transformational leadership style. This leadership style requires leaders to create positive and valuable change in their followers aiming at making them better future leaders. Most of the staff members were satisfied with this leadership style as it allowed them to exhibit their full potential in the provision of safe and quality care services. With this leadership style, my preceptor ensured that team members were involved in decision-making as he strived towards involving them in every aspect of his role as a leader (Robbins & Davidhizar, 2020). No incident was ever reported when my preceptor seemed like a dictator. Nevertheless, my preceptor leads by example as a way of motivating team members on how to use critical thinking and innovation in improving the workplace environment. Staff members ended up being committed to their work with a high level of trust and loyalty. This led to a positive working environment with great collaboration among team members.

Practicum Project Preparation

The use of effective communication strategies by nurses in both professional and personal settings can significantly reduce stress and burnout and improves work-life balance hence promoting wellbeing. In the professional setting, nurse-patient communication is as significant as nurse-coworker communication as well as communicating to organization board members (Jankelová & Joniaková, 2021). I will utilize the following skills to promote effective communication with my patients in promoting preventive care and patient education, such as being a good listener, use of appropriate non-verbal cues, clarity, friendliness, confidence, and empathy. However, for this practicum experience, my main focus will be on helping my co-workers create a balance between their personal and work life. When I am in balance, I tend to be more focused and I can achieve a lot comfortably working for 10 hours 4 days a week. To keep a sense of balance, I will educate my colleague on how to keep a sense of balance by focusing on their priorities, saying no when needed, and working to be efficient and tie up loose ends when performing their daily duties. Nurse leaders should also serve as good models to their staff and educate them on the importance of taking time for themselves during breaks such as lunch breaks. They should also educate nurses on the importance of focusing on their mental health and well-being through getting enough sleep, a balanced diet, and adequate exercise to promote their efficiency hence reducing burnout and promoting work-life balance.

Leadership Video Reflection

In the video, “Servant Leadership – Issue of Rule”, the speaker defines leadership as influence. In this video, six issues of servant leadership have been mentioned such as the issue of power, authority, rule, headship, servant, example, and humility (Servant Leadership – the Issue of Rule [Cc], n.d.). This particular video however focuses on the “issue of rule”. The first lesson that can be drawn from this video is that leaders should not behave like rulers who want to be respected and benefit from others. They should rather serve others and attain respect from their followers, based on their role and not their position. The other lesson is that with the issue of rule, most leaders want everything to be done their, way, and if not, they react differently with hostility. As such, leaders need to promote teamwork and ensure that every team member agrees to what they have been assigned to accomplish. This way, team members will feel motivated and exhibit their full potential in doing their duties.

 

 

References

Charoensukmongkol, P., & Puyod, J. V. (2021). Influence of transformational leadership on role ambiguity and work-life balance of Filipino University employees during COVID-19: does employee involvement matter?. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1-20.

Jankelová, N., & Joniaková, Z. (2021, March). Communication skills and transformational leadership style of first-line nurse managers about job satisfaction of nurses and moderators of this relationship. In Healthcare (Vol. 9, No. 3, p. 346). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.

Robbins, B., & Davidhizar, R. (2020). Transformational leadership in health care today. The Health Care Manager, 39(3), 117-121. DOI: 10.1097/HCM.0000000000000296

Servant Leadership – The Issue Of Rule [cc]. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MIFljnQ1bM&list=PLqKj_eriTOI9Js2i_C2mitH1P96Zf6Q__&index=3

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