Reflection on Leadership in Healthcare: Autocratic vs Transformational Leadership

Running head: REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP
REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP
Description:
During the time of placement in the medical-surgical ward, my clinical preceptor was a
senior nurse who had ten years of working experience in the healthcare industry. The new
student nurses were working under her as a team. The senior nurse was introvert and was not
approachable at all. She did not communicate openly with all of the embers and only interacted
when she had to instruct something. She did not accept any suggestions from the members and
appeared too strict. She cleanly denied accepting a suggestion from one of the student nurse
stating that she should be within her limits and should not think of talking over her. The member
was quite shocked as she had only provided her with an innovative suggestion and had not tried
to demean her. Moreover, on one occasion, I was feeling low, as I was not able to keep up with
the work burden. Instead of discussing my issues, she shouted at me stating that I was sitting
idle. She also had a habit of cutting people midway that offended the speakers. She also did not
exchange in feedback sharing. Many of the members were not able to fill the patient admission
documents, electronic health records and in handling the different healthcare equipment
properly. They wanted her to help her. However, she stated that they should have done these
practices in the universities and that she would not help them. She asked them to learn from the
manuals, as they must have been inattentive in classes. These made the student nurses upset.
Many of the members approached the higher authority and reported these incidents. Accordingly,
she was summoned by the higher power to show cause for her behaviors and attitudes.
Feelings:

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REFLECTION ON LEADERSHIP
From all the incidents, I was quite upset, as I was not able to learn essential things in the
healthcare sector that are necessary for nurses to work in the medical-surgical wards. The senior
nurse was judgmental and this behavior of her prevented me from asking any queries to hear.
Therefore, I was not able to develop skills and knowledge, which was the primary motive of the
clinical placement. Moreover, such behavior of the senior nurse made me feel uncomfortable to
work with her. I felt claustrophobic under her leadership, as I was not able to provide my
feedback to her about what I was thinking and about the various problems that I was facing while
caring for the patients. I was highly de-motivated and was not feeling like working in the
stressful situation. This factor was affecting my enthusiasm as well.
Evaluation:
The poor leadership of the senior nurse was affecting the morale of the student nurses
who were working as a team. They were not encouraged and were severely criticized about their
work by the senior nurse. The nursing professionals were not about to develop their skills and
motivated. The main bad part of the incident was that it was affecting the care of the patient.
Firstly, they de-motivated and stressed student nurses were not able to develop their skills and
knowledge. This aspect increased the risk of poor service towards patients. Secondly, they were
not being able to treat the patients on the wards properly as the senior nurse was not supportive
and were not resolving their queries. Therefore, there were high chances of errors in the
department and the patient safety was compromised (Arunima et al. 2014). Third, they were
feeling very stressed and were burned out. This aspect affected their physical and mental health,
which increased the chances of the poor quality of life.
Analysis: