Exploring Leadership Theories in Healthcare & Social Media in Nursing

This assignment delves into two prominent leadership theories in nursing: transformational and contingency leadership. Transformational leadership, which focuses on inspiring and motivating followers, is examined for its strengths, such as fostering a supportive work environment, and weaknesses, like potentially feeling overwhelming for some nurses. Contingency leadership, which emphasizes adapting leadership styles to different situations, is also explored, highlighting its adaptability in complex healthcare scenarios, while acknowledging that not all nurses may possess the necessary expertise. The assignment further investigates the role of social media in professional networking, emphasizing its benefits for knowledge exchange and access to expert insights, while also stressing the importance of adhering to ethical guidelines to avoid risks associated with unprofessional content. References are provided to support the discussed theories and concepts.

Running head: HEALTH CARE
Health care
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

1HEALTH CARE
Task1:
Two leadership theories most commonly used in nursing practice includes the
transformational leadership theory and the contingency leadership theory. Transformational
leadership theory is based on the concept that leaders and followers relationship is developed
by way of motivating each other to higher levels. Such leaders inspire their followers to work
by appealing to their ideas and inner values. They put the interest of followers first instead of
imposing their own interest (Xu, 2017). The strength of application of this theory in nursing
practice is that it helps to create a supportive working environment for nurses and nurses
never experience workload burden as all responsibilities are shared in such leader. This
eventually leads to positive patient outcomes too. In addition, such styles of leadership
facilitate making change in terms of nursing practice or work culture (Boamah et al., 2017).
However, the weakness of this theory is that not all nurses may feel inspired by a
transformational leader. Some may regard continuous attention by the leader as a form of
pressure.
The situational leadership theory is a very different concept from that of
transformational theory. It suggests that no single leadership style can work and the style of
leadership depends on the situation. Leaders adapt styles according to the development needs
of members and the situations of the organization. The strength of this leadership theory is
that in nursing practice, many complex situations are encountered where leaders need to be
prompt in their action and facilitate the team towards common goal (Xu, 2017). Thus,
working as per situation can support nursing leaders to align task as per situation. Some
characteristics of this leadership style include having the skills to change according to
situation and being aware of the needs of followed. However, some criticism of this theory is
that every nurse leader may not have the expertise to portray this style successfully (Andrigue

2HEALTH CARE
et al., 2016). Hence, experience and additional training may be required by nurse to apply this
theory in their practice.
Task 2
Social media and networking is an important means of being connected with people
and engaging in knowledge exchange with people with diverse knowledge. I feel that apart
from personal use, social media is very useful in professional networking as it can allow me
to connect to those people who already into the nursing field and have vast knowledge about
the discipline. For example, by connected with a graduating nurse from a reputed institute or
by connecting to a member of the nursing association, I can get access to updated knowledge
on health issues. I can clarify my doubts related to care delivery. Other benefits of using
social media for professional purpose is that it gives me access to expert, resolve my queries,
share my professional accomplishment and be aware of latest nursing contribution nationally
and globally (Jackson, Fraser & Ash, 2014). Although the nursing code of ethics mandates
safe use of social media by considering privacy issues, I still favour use of social media for
professional purpose because adapting best practice in relation to social media use can help to
overcome these barriers. To avoid risk associated with social media usage, it is necessary to
avoid giving unprofessional content that damages professional image. Being aware of
guidelines for use of social media in any organization can help to enjoy all professional
benefits of social media and yet be safe from any ethical actions because of inappropriate
way of networking (Ventola, 2014).

3HEALTH CARE
References:
Andrigue, K. C. K., Trindade, L. L., Amestoy, S. C., & Beck, C. L. C. (2016). Situational
leadership style adopted by nurses in the hospital field. Rev Eletr Enferm., 18, e1191.
Boamah, S. A., Laschinger, H. K. S., Wong, C., & Clarke, S. (2018). Effect of
transformational leadership on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. Nursing
outlook, 66(2), 180-189.
Jackson, J., Fraser, R., & Ash, P. (2014). Social media and nurses: Insights for promoting
health for individual and professional use. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in
Nursing, 19(3).
Ventola, C. L. (2014). Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks, and best
practices. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 39(7), 491.
Xu, J. H. (2017). Leadership theory in clinical practice. Chinese Nursing Research, 4(4), 155-
157.