• Length: A minimum of 150 words per post, not including references
• Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA 7th edition per post from within the last 5 years

Post #1

Applying Servant Leadership Skills in Exploring the Roles for APRN

Servant
leadership is a leadership model focused on serving others and with a
prioritization on the growth and development of the team. Practitioners
utilizing a servant leadership style of management can help others
achieve personal success through altruistic behaviors of self-awareness
and humility. Empathy, collaboration, empowerment, community building
and stewardship are the principles of servant leadership (Saleem et al.,
2022). Clinical nurse practitioners applying servant leadership in
their roles would accomplish the goals of their organization through
focusing on satisfying the needs of their patients.

As
a clinician, the APN can apply servant leadership theory by approaching
patients with empathy and collaborating with others on the care team to
help patients take ownership of their care. An example of collaboration
and servant leadership from my hematology nursing experience pertains
to a patient who mentioned to his physical therapy aide that he felt
sad. I approached the patient and he felt comfortable opening up to me.
In our discussion, he admitted that he was severely depressed and had
suicidal ideation. I spoke with his hematologist and helped bring in a
psychiatrist and a social worker to see the patient. Together, we were
able to provide social and pharmacological support that improved the
patient’s mood and outlook while helping him feel heard. The patient
repeatedly expressed gratitude for listening to him over the next few
weeks and stated the interventions were working well for him.

Through
advocating for the needs of others, clinicians can be a voice for
patients. I look forward to building relationships and trust with my
patients by advocating for their needs and providing empathetic care.

Post #2

Leadership
is part of the nursing job, we all encounter a scenario wherein we
enact the role of a leader, such as coordinating, delegating, and
facilitating a task to ensure the quality of patient care is being
delivered. This writer has been a part of the leadership team, some of
the responsibilities I assumed were supervising co-workers to ensure
policy and procedures were being adhered to, staff education,
distributing case assignments evenly to staff nurses, participating in
quality assurance and performance improvement meetings, to ensure not
only staff are successful to their work but most importantly to allow a
better health outcome for our patients. Being in a management position
is not as easy as it looks or perceived. As a famous line in the movie
says, “With great powers, comes great responsibility”. As future APRNs
and part of a transformative role, it is important to prepare and grow
into a leadership position.

For
my leadership style, I chose the theory of Clinical Leadership and
congruent leadership. This style would be the most suitable style for
our advanced practice nurses because it encompasses multi-faceted traits
that could set them up for success. “Clinical leaders are practitioners
who have taken their strides clearly and decisively in the direction of
their values and beliefs” (Stanley, et al 2023). They are embossed
with integrity because they know what they are doing, they are
approachable, have good communication skills, and follow through with
what they believe and feel is the best for their patients. I could
utilize this type of leadership role as a framework in my future role as
a nurse practitioner by showing compassionate care because I believe
that despite the advancement and transformation of healthcare, we are
still going back to the basics of what nursing is all about and that is
Caring. The knowledge that I will learn from United States University
will equip me to become a more competent clinician, and help me convey
effective communication, ideas, expectations, and concerns clearly to
both team members and patients. A great example is Florence Nightingale,
the founder of modern nursing best known as the “ Lady with a
Lamp(History.com editors, 2023). Clinical and congruent leaders are not
only straightforward in their values and beliefs, but they also back
them up with skills and knowledge that are high standards. They are good
role models who inspire and empower other healthcare personnel to
become conscientious and practice with full accountability and
responsibility.

Nevertheless,
irrespective of the specific theoretical framework one aligns with, the
core characteristics of a good leader encompass a foundation of
unwavering values, a well-defined sense of purpose, the ability to
elicit the utmost potential from team members, fostering robust
interprofessional relationships, shared power dynamics, and proficiency
in the pertinent domain, often referred to as clinical competence. These
traits collectively form the bedrock of effective leadership, serving
as guiding principles for leaders to navigate their roles and
responsibilities. It is worth noting that leadership is an evolving
concept, necessitating adaptability and continuous refinement of skills
to address the dynamic challenges that arise within a team or
organization (Joel, 2018).