University Nursing Leadership: Reflective Report on Team Development

This report is a reflective analysis of a group project undertaken by nursing students, focusing on the topic of falls in the elderly. The student, playing the role of a summarizer, details the teamwork dynamics, including the roles of informer, team leader, and orienter. The reflection covers the student's initial anxieties, feelings of inadequacy, and the evolution of their confidence and contributions. The report evaluates the strengths of the team, particularly the use of evidence-based research, and addresses challenges such as communication gaps, time management, and conflict resolution. The analysis highlights the importance of effective leadership, proactive communication, and emotional intelligence in nursing. The student reflects on the impact of these experiences on their professional development and outlines an action plan for future practice. The report references key literature on leadership, teamwork, and reflective practice, providing a comprehensive overview of the student's learning journey and insights into effective team collaboration in a nursing context. The student also mentions the role of the leader and how it could be improved, as well as the conflict of interest and how they managed the situation.

Running head: NURSING LEADERSHIP
NURSING LEADERSHIP
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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Introduction
The word team work can be defined as “the process of working together with a group for
achieving the goal. It is about making a collaboration with the group of individuals from various
backgrounds with the hope that their talents, experiences will provide a more efficient as well as
successful outcomes. A successful teamwork benefits the groups as a whole but it can also
improve the personal development of an individual as a whole (Yi 2016). Team work plays an
important role in the success of a project. Some of the essential attributes of team work is
commitment, communication, provision of support, and sharing of responsibilities and the ideas,
while working on the team work projects (Riley 2015). Once the project has been completed.
The team members can then walk away with the skills that has improved over time, which can be
used in their work or even in their personal life. This assignment will demonstrate a theoretical
understanding of the team development, group roles and the processes. This critical reflection
will give an account of my roles in the group project along with other roles. This reflection
would also be useful to explore my own strengths and the weaknesses that can be improved over
time and how these might be applied in future professional practice. The assignment will be
followed by an action plan.
Description
This reflection is about a group project where a group of four nursing students has been
allocated in each of the groups for doing the project. Our project is on “fall in elderly – the
current scenarios and the possible approaches for the reducing falls among the elderly people.
We were working collaboratively in the group project. Our group is made up of varied strengths

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and weaknesses. Having correct people in the team is an important factor to measure success in
the team. Our team mainly consisted of an informer, a summarizer, a team leader and an orienter.
I was assigned to play the role of a summarizer. The strength of this team is that each of the team
members had to contribute equally to the success of the team. All the members of the team is s
leader in its own way. Part of being an efficient leader is to know that it is important to receive
the best ideas from each of the members of team. This group has been created online, as it was
not possible for us to meet in person, and hence online meetings were being conducted, which
was attended by all the group members. At these meetings new and innovative ideas were
exchange, and the possible challenges were discussed. We used to come up with creative team
solutions to the critical problems that was raised in each of the meetings. Being a summarizer, I
had to proofread all the data generated by informer validate them and then add them to the
original presentation. We developed an agenda for the team and by the end of each of the group
meetings, we made sure that each of the members are clear with their responsibilities as we had
very less time to finish the project. Each of members were provided with a justified timeline as
per the convenience of the team members after which each time a group meeting is being held
for monitoring the progress. The job of the informer was strenuous as he have to find out the
possible resources, which required both patience and knowledge. The role of the summarizer was
exclusive, which required academic skills as well as knowledge about this particular field. Our
team leader assisted the summarizer as well as an orienter. He was a keeper of time, who took
initiatives in conducting the meetings and who could keep a record of time.

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Feelings
I was nervous to work in the project as I was not very sure as of how we would pull
everything together, just by communicating via email and social networks. I was unsure as
whether I have enough educational background and capabilities to work with the other members
as I have not worked with them before and do not know anything about their experiences. I
feared whether I will be able to establish a rapport with the other members. There were several
times, when I found few information shared by the team members to be relevant, but I feared to
share the same to them, as I thought that my opinion will not be counted. But as days and time
went by, I realized that each of the members should contribute to this project and any disputes
found in this project can be rightfully discussed at the time of the meeting for the resolution. I
was the one to suggest the topic about “fall prevention”, which made me more perturbed by the
fact, whether my topic will be selected or sufficient papers will be found for supporting our
presentation. Speaking of the topic, I have chosen this topic, as I have always felt that health care
settings should put more emphasis in fall prevention strategies in order to prevent the increasing
rate of falls among the elderly. Furthermore, I also feel falls in hospital setting is one of the
important indicator of nursing performance in a hospital. However, the topic was approved by
the team members at a single go. I have some previous knowledge about database search using
appropriate keywords. I made it sure that, I inform the same to the others, so that the other
members can do the same.
Evaluation
The main strength of this group project is that, all the members had to work extensively
on evidence based researches which made us exposed certain rich resources and information for

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deciding on the appropriate strategies for the prevention of the falls. I believe that these evidence
based information will be helpful in improving the outcomes of the patient assisting a high
quality of care, reduce the costs and eliminate practices that have become obsolete and are not
that much effective. Brainstorming through the databases have helped us to stay updated about
the recent guidelines and strategies for developing our own conclusions. Multiple challenges
encountered while doing the project was useful in understanding the role of each of the members
of the team. Initially, at the beginning of the project, I was nervous and anxious, since I had
never worked with them and being an introvert, it was difficult for me to put forward my ideas to
the entire team. I was well aware of the fact the trust and fear cannot exist together. Hence, to
rule out any hesitation, I gave the first call and approached them. It was no as hard to work with
a team. Since, it was my first time working in these types of group projects, I used to get irritated
and anxious in case of any conflicts or if I used to find that the work has been delayed
unnecessarily. Being one of the important member, I should have been more empathetic in some
of the situations, but it was difficult to main my resilience as we were running out of time.
Another, issue that I felt was the communication gap between the team members, initially at the
starting of the project, as we did not manage to have a one-on one interaction and we mainly
tried to communicate via email and social networks like Watsapp. We also faced difficulties
regarding the timeline of the project as one of the members of our team could not be present
initially in the meetings that has been conducted online and it was challenging for us to run this
project smoothly due the geographic distance between each of the members of the team (Brock
et al. 2018). I have also faced with conflict in this team due to the fact that our leaders failed to
collect ad update my documents and did not inform the other team members, till he was asked. I
was well aware of such conflicts that takes place at workplace, which is mainly caused due to

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unfair treatment, unclear knowledge about the delegated tasks. Different team members had
different agendas and all the team members wanted their ideas to be included in the project. Lack
of the equal opportunities. In our cased it is the distance that was the prime reason for any kinds
of conflicts (Brock et al. 2018). However, I strongly feel that my team leader lacked proper
communication and team management skills. The leader of our project should be aware of the
fact that conflict occurs, or get some of the rules grounded while discussing about both the sides
of a common perspective. Literary sources have referred that transformational leaders promotes
the development of emotionally- competent nurse leaders who will in turn and inspire the other
members to actively accomplish the tasks (HORTON‐DEUTSCH and Sherwood 2008). Another
challenge that I had faced whether we have been able to find out the correct resources in-terms of
the clear context and the topic. Choosing articles and completion of bibliography in appropriate
has been quite challenging for us, due to the fact, that most of us a still novice except of our
leaders. However, this had been a great experience in terms of knowledge as well as working in a
as team. The project was successful and it was well understood by the assessors. One of the
most important part is that no new changes were asked to make, as assessors often ask for
changes, if they find any aspects missing. Hence, the project went well and I would like to get
involved in similar complex projects.
Analysis
During the team work, I noticed that our leader was not pro-active in communicating the
latest update of work to all the members of the team unless asked to do so by the team members.
According to the MacPhee et al. (2012), effective nurse leaders are necessary in order to address
complex health issues and to bring change in the overall therapy planning and the formation of

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the evidence-based practice guidelines. It is important for the nursing leaders to promote
effective communication with the team-mates for proper channelization of the information. This
can be done by taking self-based structural and empowerment strategies. This self-empowerment
strategies help in promoting safer work environment further and thereby helping to increase the
level of team bonding. Our leader was less connected with the team members during the initial
stages of team building and this is the reason why I used to feel nervous and anxious to contact
and communicated with the other members of the team. In relation of this, Horton‐Deutsch and
Sherwood (2008) stated that at present, nurses are moving rapidly under carefully-controlled
educational experiences towards a fast-paced clinical world where there is increased level of
health-related complexity among the patients and a constant need for improved quality of care.
Thus for promoting a proper transition to the clinical competence and nursing leadership, there
requires a strong sense of emotional intelligence. An emotionally intelligence nurse leader will
inspire the team members and thereby promoting a positive change towards the generation of the
evidence-based practice guidelines.
In the domain of lack of communication in distance learning, Lawton (2020) stated that
Learning and educational needs of the nurses are alike just like any other students. However,
exchange of the medical information and research findings among the nursing professionals
requires rigorous communication through mails. However, Broussard and Wilson (2018) stated
that in case of distance learning, the nursing professionals are required to communicate virtually.
However, in case of virtual communication there is a gap in accessing the student and tutor
characteristics along with gap in creating student to student contact. Due to gap in student to
student contact hindrance occurs in initiating communication among the team members. In this
situation, it is duty of the nursing leader to facilitate the initiation stage of the introductory

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communication. This can be done by promoting group-based conversation and thereby helping to
increase the level of team-bonding and thereby helping promote effective exchange of
information. This is why after the formation of the whatsapp group and the team chat, the
hindrance of initiating communication got resolved and our team started to function effectively.
During the initial stages of team formation, I used for feel nervous and to approach others
for help. Moreover, I received no concrete support from my team leads. Dabney et al. (2019)
stated that the nursing students during their transition from the students level to the registered
nurse level (final year of nursing), experiences gap in responsiveness and taking pro-active
approach in the domain of communication. The initial stages of the academic career do not
demand any strong verbal communication skill, it only demand written communication. Thus
during their final year or during their clinical practice sessions, that demand effective use of the
intra-personal communication skills, the nursing students experience significant problem in
communicating their needs. Vanderspank-Wright et al. (2018) stated that during the transitioning
in the nursing practice, it is the duty of the nursing leaders to help the student nurse to initiate the
communication with the other team members by overcoming the fear. The initiation of the
process of communication helps the student to increase their level of confidence and thereby
helping to work on their poor self-esteem. Beccaria, Kek and Huijser (2018) systematic review
highlights that there are significant level of opportunities for a nurse leader to incorporate the
broader theoretical, pedagogical, philosophical perspectives while executing team-work. This
helps to increase the degree of team participation and thus helping to ensure proper development
of the inter-professional communication skills and this in turn help to facilitate collaborative
working. According to the Maslaw’s hierarchy of Needs, second level of need in the life of an
individual is safety needs like financial safety and mental safety in personal life (Soni & Soni,

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2016). Unsatisfied safety needs, leads to the generation irritability syndromes among the nurses
leading to decrease in the overall quality of care and poor academic performance. In my case,
there is a lack of mental safety as I was nervous starting for the initiation of the teamwork. Soni
and Soni (2016) stated that working on the mental health needs through meditation and resilience
practice will help to increase the level of confidence and thus helping to decrease the level of
tension and irritability.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be stated that this project had been successful and our hard work had
been paid for this achievements. Reflecting on this entire experience, it can be said that this team
work has promoted an ambience of friendship and loyalty among the team members. I believe
that these relationships that are close knit would motivate me in engaging in same type of
collaborative relation with any team, which I might encounter in my professional career. It has
motivated me to work harder and explore my diverse talents, weaknesses, strengths and the
communications skills. I believe, that my self-confidence and communication skills have
increased a lot, which would be extremely beneficial to my future professional practice. I would
make sure that I use appropriate methods of communication while working with the patients as it
greatly contributes to the capability to offer patients with an individualized care. Patients who
feel that they are receiving the nurse’s attention at the time of an interaction are more likely to
expose the actual extent of their feelings and the symptoms much faster. Furthermore, I am well
aware of the fact that nurses often have to work in collaboration with multidisplinary teams,
where the members are of various expertise. An effective multidisciplinary team can only
function effectively under effective communication strategies and structures, personal rewards,

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development and training, appropriate resources, supportive team climate (Babiker et al. 2014). I
have also learnt to respect each other‘s talents and the beliefs. I have learnt how effective teams
encourage diversity of opinions among the team members. I have learnt how contingency plans
side by side with the main presentation can be a savior for the last minute changes. I believe, that
it is the culture, partnership and shared decision making is an important aspect for keeping a
team functioning. I intend to work in such multidisciplinary teams in future, where I will have
enough scopes for exploring my talents as well as gain experience from the senior members of
the team.
Action Plan
Goal 1: I will work on my inter-professional communication skills by conducting training under
by nursing supervisor in my clinical placement or will enroll under soft-skill training vocational
course. Taking training under professional supervision will help to improve by inter-
professionals communication skills like verbal, non-verbal and thus helping me to participate in
effective communication with my teammates, patients and other colleagues. I will enroll under 3
or 6 months of vocational course and will track my progress based on my supervisor’s feecback
Goal 2: My second goal will be to improve by level of resilience. In order to increase my level of
resilience, I will practice meditation each day in morning. Kwak et al. (2019) stated that regular
practice of meditation help in channelizing positive energy in brain. This in turn helps to reduce
the level of stress and anxiety and thereby helping to increase the level of resilience. I will track
my level of improvement post 3 months of practicing meditation and will seek feedback from my
supervisor in order to denote any change in my behavior

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Goal 3: I will improve by written English skills in order to draft professional emails in a well-
structured manner. This I will done by attending online English classes for a tenure of 1 months.
Progress will be tracked based on my improvement in the English vocabulary skills.

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