Leadership in Nursing: Developing a New Children's Unit

This report analyzes the importance of leadership in nursing, specifically within a newly established children's unit at Mediheal Hospital in Melbourne. The report details the organizational structure, including the roles of the manager, supervisors, nurses, and carers. It outlines the mission, goals, and values of Mediheal, emphasizing a patient-centered approach. The author, assuming the role of the unit's manager, identifies essential leadership characteristics such as emotional intelligence, integrity, critical thinking, communication skills, flexibility, and problem-solving abilities. Strategies for empowering staff, including fostering trust, encouraging self-improvement, promoting open communication, and rewarding achievements, are discussed. The report also addresses the formation of teams, including a dedicated team of carers to provide enhanced support for children. Finally, the report addresses methods for resolving conflicts between staff members, providing a comprehensive guide to effective leadership in a pediatric nursing environment.

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN NURSING 1
LEADERSHIP IN NURSING
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

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LEADERSHIP IN NURSING
This paper discusses the importance of leadership in nursing. The paper analyzes
ways in which a nurse can contribute to the success of the organization by leading the
other staff towards working to achieve short terms and long-term objectives (Tomey,
2009). Mediheal has decided to create a new nursing unit, which specializes in caring
for children. Mediheal is a massive hospital in Melbourne, and it receives more than
500 patients daily. The board of management of the hospital, therefore, decided to
form a special children`s department which will have eight nurses and one manager.
The report therefore discusses and illustrates the organizational structure of the new
nursing unit. The paper also discusses the characteristics that I will need to develop as
the manager of the children`s group. The methods that I will use to develop the skills
and attributes will also be discussed in this document. The strategies used to empower
staff members are discussed in this report. The teams within the unit are addressed the
rationale for forming the group is also discussed. The final section of the report
presents the methods I will use to solve conflicts between staff members.
Description of the new unit
The Mediheal hospital has been experiencing congestion over the past few years.
The hospital did not have enough capacity to meet the demand for health services.
Additionally, the hospital saw the need to establish a special children`s unit which
would solely focus on offering medical services to children below the age of 12 years.
This was informed by the fact that children require special medical attention and
hence the need to establish a nursing unit which focuses on children`s health needs.
The mission statement of Mediheal
The mission of Mediheal hospital is to offer the population we serve affordable,
high quality healthcare services to improve their health outcomes. The goal of

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Mediheal is to provide services that set international standards, and which exceed
customer expectations. This will be done by focusing on a patient-centered approach
to healthcare.
Our Values
Integrity
We are committed to honesty being trustworthy to our customer
Caring
Mediheal values its customers and recognizes the importance of high quality care in
healthcare
Safety
The safety of the patient and staff is core to Mediheal achieving its mission.
Respect
This is in regards to the way we interact with our patients, communities and with each
other.
Organizational structure
My role at Mediheal Hospital will be to lead a group of children nurses at the
newly established children`s wing. Children`s nurses work as part of a large
Manager (myself)
Supervisor
Nurses
Carers

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multidisciplinary team of professional and medical staff. The team includes doctors,
nurses, carers, psychologists, medical consultants as well as social workers. This,
therefore, means there is close inter-dependency between the children`s departments
and the rest of the hospital. In my new role as the head of the children`s nursing
department, I have a task of coordinating activities within the department to achieve
better health outcomes for children in need of medical care at the hospital. To achieve
this, I am working with a group of eight nurses, and it is critical that we work as a
group to make the set objectives. The nurses will be working in shifts to ensure that
children get adequate care at any time whether during the day or night (Curtis, Vries
& Sheerin, 2011). As the leader of the new children`s unit, I will act as both a leader
and a manager. I will be tasked with assigning roles to the team members and leading
them towards achieving their objectives. I am also responsible for managing other
resources within the unit as well as making plans for the future.
Characteristics I need to develop
As a leader of the team in the new children`s wing at Mediheal hospital, there are
a set of characteristics and skills that I need to build to achieve the objectives of the
unit. These characteristics are meant to help me lead the rest of the team towards a
coordinated effort to offer the highest quality care to the children who visit the unit.
While some leadership skills can be developed naturally, there are those that nurses
can only be develop through training (Stanley, 2010). Other skills can be acquired
through job practice as a person gains experience. The following are some leadership
skills and characteristics that I need to develop in my new role;
Emotional Intelligence
In the clinical setting, as a leader of nurses in the children`s unit, I will need to
work closely with trainees and other practitioners who are new to the organization.

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Emotional intelligence is all about the ability to handle emotional stress that comes
with the job. In the nursing profession, there are many emotional moments since the
work involves situations of life and death (Swearingen, 2009). To deal with the
emotional moments that I will face in the new nursing unit, I need to develop
emotional intelligence. Developing this characteristic will also enable me to support
my peers to cope with the stress that develops during their daily routines. I will be
able to assist trainees and peers in overcoming and managing the challenges that
result in emotional exhaustion and hence improve productivity (Rigolosi, 2012). To
attain the characteristics, I will need to need to manage my negative emotions, which
could put me at loggerheads with colleagues and patients. I also need to practice
empathy and understand my emotional stressors (Cowden, Cummings & Profetto‐
Mcgrath, 2011).
Integrity
Integrity is the virtue of being truthful and honest in every aspect. Integrity is
about doing the right thing even when no one is around to notice you (Malloy &
Penprase, 2010). As a leader of this unit, need to strengthen my characteristic as a
leader of high integrity. Personal integrity helps nurses to make the right choices
during critical situations that involve patients as well as treatment plans (Marshall,
2010). To become an effective leader, I need to develop and teach ethical practices
which will enable new and inexperienced nurses to make safe and effective
decisions.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is critical in decision making. As a leader of this
multifaceted team, I need to develop critical thinking skills to make very tight and
complex decisions (Mannix, Wilkes & Daly, 2013). This skill is very vital in health

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care since nurses regularly meet themselves in situations where they need to make
critical decisions concerning the health of a patient. This characteristic is developed
by understanding how things work and generating the urge to improve things to
achieve better results.
Dedication to excellence
As a nurse, it is very critical that I teach all the other nurses in the
department the importance of being dedicated to the profession and providing
utmost care to the children who visit the facility. To access how nurses are
committed to excellence while offering care to children who attend the hospital.
This is a passion to be the best and to provide patients with the best healthcare, and
hence I will lead by example to make my team members understand and practice
this while carrying out their duties.
Communication skills
Working as the head of the children`s unit at the hospital, I need to develop
and improve my communication skills. The children nursing unit will involve a
multidisciplinary environment where I shall need to work with health professionals
from different backgrounds. I will also be working with people from different ethnic
and cultural backgrounds, and hence it is essential to understand how to communicate
with different people in the organization (Doody & Doody, 2012). Furthermore, I
need to facilitate collaboration between nurses and trainees who join the organization
to achieve optimum results. I will develop this characteristic by attending lessons on
communication skills.
Flexibility
Being flexible is the ability to adapt to changing situations to ensure stability.
Flexibility is critical in every career and especially nurses since it provides room for

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innovation and better decision making. Furthermore, as a nurse leader for the new
children`s unit at Mediheal unit, I need to be flexible both in times of time and
responsibility (Duffield, Roche, Blay & Stasa, 2011). There are situations where I will
be required to sacrifice my time to attend to emergencies at the hospital. This
characteristic will be developed by practicing on the job and endeavoring to lead the
rest of the team in ensuring flexibility in their schedules.
Problem-solving skills
A great nurse/leader should be able to think and act quickly to solve a problem
or a conflict in the organization (Cherry & Jacob, 2016). Working with sick children
is a risky affair since they are susceptible. Therefore, as the head of the unit, I need to
be capable of handling problems whether they are related to the family of the kids or
managing staff issues. I will develop these characteristics by seeking advice from
more experienced nurses who have worked in a leadership role in the past (Marquis &
Huston, 2009). This will give me essential tips that I can apply in my new job. I will
develop this characteristic further by reading many books, which will shape my
thinking and my approach to problems.
Strategies to empower staff
To empower staff at the new children`s unit at Mediheal, I will place trust in
my team. I will assign different staff members various roles that are critical in the
department. I will be a leader who will give space for staff to work with minimal
interference and supervision. This will prove to them that I have trust in them and
hence inspire better performance.
Encouraging self-improvement-I will support staff members to learn new
skills and pursue professional and personal development (Sandström, Borglin, Nilsson

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& Willman,2011). This will enhance the professional growth and hence motivate
employees to achieve set objectives.
To empower staff members in the new unit, I will be open to suggestions and
opinions of team members. This means that I will involve them in major decisions
concerning running the department. This will prove to them that they are highly
valued and their ideas and contributions are appreciated and hence improving their
motivation(Cummings, MacGregor, Davey, Lee, Wong, Lo, & Stafford, 2010).
To inspire my team, I appreciate and reward their efforts. I will give cash
rewards to the best staff member every month (Tsai, 2011). The organization will also
offer fully paid holidays to employees who win the employee of the year award.
To inspire employees, I will support their vacation time and ensure that they
don’t burn out as a result of overworking (Blegen & Severinsson, 2011). Many nurses
globally overwork and they find themselves reaching the point of emotional
breakdown. I will support my staff to take days off work to relax and come back
stronger and highly motivated.
One of the teams that will function in the new children`s unit is the team of carers. I
will form a group of six carers who will be dedicated to offering support and care to
children admitted at the facility. The nurses will be operating in three shifts where two
carers will be on duty for each shift. This will ensure that the children will get
optimum care at all times while at the same time ensuring that the carers do not
overwork (Brady Germain & Cummings, 2010). I decided to form this team because I
realized that there are very many children admitted at the hospital who need a lot of
care which cannot be offered by nurses and other medical staff at the facility. Most of
these children are very vulnerable, others are terminally ill, and hence it is essential
that they have persons to look after them when they are at the hospital. To ensure that

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the team is effective, I will ensure that team members including the patients
communicate with one another perfectly and participate in decision making (Casida &
Parker, 2011).
After finding the nurses debating on supplies, the following is the procedure I would
follow to handle the situation.
1. The first thing I would do is invite them in my office at a convenient time
especially after the end of their shift.
2.Focus on the specific event and not the personalities of the nurses
3. Listen to the viewpoint of each of the parties without anyone interrupting or
interjecting.
4. Identify common points of agreement and disagreement. At this stage, I would
identify the ideas that the nurses have in common pertaining the specific issue of
supplies. I would also determine the points which bring about the differences.
5. After the discussion, I would come up with a supplies plan and explain to them how
it works. The supplies of the children`s unit will be done by myself with consultation
from all the members of the nursing unit (Huber, 2013). I would, therefore, explain to
them that there is no need for the conflict since everyone will be allowed to
participate in supplies decisions.
6. Follow up on the plan to ensure that the battle is resolved and it does not recur.
Conclusion
This paper aims to apply management and leadership skills in nursing. The
article discusses my role as the head of the newly created children`s unit at Mediheal
hospital. The document begins by outlining the mission and core values of the
Mediheal hospital. The organizational structure of the new children`s department is
demonstrated in this report. Furthermore, the report discusses the characteristics that I

LEADERSHIP IN NURSING 10
need to develop to lead the unit successfully as well as the methods I will use to
develop the characteristics. This paper also discusses the strategies that I will use to
empower the staff who will be working under me in the newly formed unit. The final
section of the paper discusses the processes that I would use to resolve a conflict
between two nurses working in the group.
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