Effective Leadership and Teamwork in Nursing

Effective Leadership and Teamwork in Nursing Effective leadership and teamwork in nursing, with particular reference to psychiatric (mental health) nursing, within the context of professional practice and client (patient) perspectives As part of the campaign to deliver effective health and social care, the Government’s modernisation agenda focuses on strengthening nursing leadership and developing inter-professional teamwork. It is proposed that having good quality clinical leadership skills among all health professionals is perceived as vital to the provision of high-quality, effective patient-centred care, as well as for the development and future of the National Health Service (NHS) (Department of Health (DOH), 2000, pp59-71). Nurse leadership has developed significantly over the past decade and now nurses can become nurse consultants, nurse practitioners, and modern matrons or run nurse-led units. It is debated that high calibre nurse leadership can produce more motivated and effectual staff, reduce the risk of errors in drug management, decrease staff turnover and rates of sickness, result in fewer patient complaints and most importantly improve patient care (Williams et al, 2001, pp1-3). This essay wi ll critically analyse effective leadership and teamwork in nursing, especially within a mental health nursing context, with respect to professional practice and patient perspectives. As mentioned leadership skills have for a long time been acknowledged as a solution to the provision of good health care. In order to achieve first-rate health care, healthcare personnel especially senior nurses must be able to effectively lead teams, particularly across professional, clinical and organisational boundaries (Taylor, 2007, p30). Two of the key roles of a lead nurse or senior nurse manager are that of supporting staff and overseeing nursing in the provision of patient care (Castledine, 2004, p119). It is proposed that meeting staff needs improves satisfaction, productivity and efficiency and it is debated that productivity is now an important concept within health and social care sectors. It is suggested that productivity within the healthcare industry is defined by the quality of patient care. Arguably, productivity is not exclusively dependent upon how hard and well individuals work, but about meeting staff needs and support from leaders and colleagues (Moiden, 2003, p19). Debatably, where team leaders or managers are concerned about the needs and objectives of their staff, and are aware of the social and physical conditions that affect their working environments, productivity and efficiency will improve. It is possibly that a lack of working environments that support staff affects the quality of care for patients. It is suggested that it is vital that the nurse manager has leadership skills that allow a team to work together effectively (Moiden, 2003, p19). Nurse leaders sho uld be seen frequently by those they lead as high visibility could ensure that support is obtainable when most needed. Similarly, nurse leaders must ensure that staff skills are used in such a way that patients’ obtain the greatest benefit from their abilities. This can be achieved by the nurse leaders enabling others to act and giving positive responses to work-related performance. This will facilitate motivation, increasing job satisfaction and promoting better patient care (Clegg, 2000), p44). Within a psychiatric nursing environment whether it is in the community or in a mental health unit teamwork is imperative for both the staff and the service users. In the field of psychiatric nursing, nurses work as a team with other professionals such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers. Therefore, responsibility for the service users is shared across the whole multi-disciplinary team and each service user relates to several team members (Williams, 2005, p39). Arguably, the team approach to patient care within mental health nursing has advantages in terms of reducing dependency on team members, and reducing levels of burnout. It is debated that teamwork is vital in order to provide a safe and therapeutic environment that respects the service user’s dignity while promoting independence and preparation for life in society. The team approach can be supportive and creative but it is not without its problems (Machin, 1998, p17). Onyett et al (1997) studied a sample of four hundred and forty-five team members across various disciplines working in fifty-seven Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs). Emotional exhaustion, low personal accomplishment, depersonalisation, job satisfaction and sick leave was examined in relation to the perceived clarity of the role of the team, personal role clarity, identification with ones profession and the team, caseload size, composition and the frequency with which users were seen. Excessive emotional exhaustion was reported, predominantly among consultant psychiatrists, social workers, nurses and psychologists. High job satisfaction, high individual achievement and â€Å"low depersonalisation† were also found. Job satisfaction was associated with â€Å"team role clarity† and identification with the team. Caseload size, assemblage and the frequency with which service users were seen were not associated with job satisfaction or burnout. Important disparities were f ound between disciplines on all variables except sick leave. Therefore, on the evidence presented it could be argued that team membership has different implications for different disciplines. Debatably, greater attention is needed to the composition, training and leadership of CMHTs rather than hope that the disciplines will spontaneously work effectively together. It is important to note that the research used here of evidence of effectiveness of teamwork has various limitations. Firstly, the small sample size makes it not viable to relate the findings to all CMHTs in the United Kingdom. Secondly, the questions asked in the study might be seen to be leading questions and this makes the study unreliable. Thirdly, this study does not take into account the personal views of the members of the team. The individual views on the effectiveness of multi-disciplinary teamwork from the nurses, occupational therapists and social workers could make this research more valid as relationships and issues of skill mix between the disciplines could have been explored within the context of patient care. Teamwork appears to be more effective in enabling first-class patient care within hospital based mental health units. Flockhart and Moore (2002, p96) assessed the effectiveness of teamwork on patient care at the psychiatric intensive care unit that is part of the Maudsley NHS Trust in South London. The unit admits some of the most challenging patients who cannot be safely managed on general wards. Many patients suffer from paranoid schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder and can be violent or aggressive, suicidal, harming themselves or be abusing various substances. Patients are only admitted on the unit for clinical reasons, not for safety. The main ethos of the unit is to help the service users achieve their maximum level of functioning so that they can be cared for with the fewest possible restrictions. It is important therefore that in this unit and in others like it in the United Kingdom the nurses need to be good team workers and be able to deal with issues calmly. Patient involvement and collaborative working has been addressed by joint care planning with the family and other key disciplines such as social workers, probation officers and various psychiatric and psychology therapists and this had led to rapid improvements in patients’ mental state and behaviour. The collaborative teamwork that focuses on the patients’ safety has improved team communication and effectiveness. Arguably, this particular unit has an efficient team that has empowered and enabled the staff to provide the best and most effective care for the service users. This is because the team is organised, supported and valued by each of the other members and the skill mix is ideal for improving patients’ mental health. It is also important to note that this unit has one dedicated team leader or co-ordinator that provides a consistent approach that meets all the needs of the service users and staff. Routine physical proximity appears to contribute to constructive working relationships and this has been illustrated by the effective interprofessional working relationships observed in this unit. Debatably, in contrast, within a community setting each discipline will have its own team leader or manager and this might lead to inconsistencies, differences and confusion in policy and decision making. In reviewing the literature for this essay the author would like to propose the following recommendations. Debatably, more evidence based research is needed on how effective leadership leads to enhanced practice and improved patient care, especially within mental health nursing. There appears to be some literature on the effectiveness of teamwork within the mental nursing profession. Arguably, this is because the provisions needed by mental health service users are wide and varied and historically multi-disciplinary teams have always been the solution to providing care and support for service users whether that care was deemed to be of good quality or of inferior quality. However, there is room for more evidence-based literature on the effectiveness of teamwork within mental health nursing. Similarly, it is suggested that there is a need for more evidence-based literature on the effectiveness of teamwork in nursing in general. Correspondingly, there is little or no evidence-based lit erature that expounds service user’s perspectives about how efficient teamwork improves their care. From the evidence presented it can be said that many factors lead to better team performance and arguably, one of the most significant is that of team leadership. Good quality leadership skills are the solution to enabling teams to provide high quality effective patient care. Effective team leadership improves satisfaction among team members and patients and improves productivity. In order to be effective as a leader the team leader must be visible and approachable. Team working within a hospital setting is generally more effective in delivering good quality patient care than that often achieved within a community setting where multi-disciplinary teams are involved. The stress on team members in CMHTs is related to the standard of leadership as well as the composition and training of the team. Experience in the Maudsley NHS Trust illustrates the importance of good team working and leadership in determining the quality of outcomes for patients. Evidence in the literature studied is pr esented from the perspective of staff in healthcare teams while there is little or no evidence of the views of service users on the subjects of leadership and teamwork. References Castledine, G (2004) Nursing leadership must keep its roots in nursing, British Journal of Nursing, 12, 2, 119. Clegg, A (2000) Leadership: improving the quality of patient care, Nursing Standard, 14, 30, 43-45. Department of Health (2000) The NHS Plan. A Plan for Investment. A Plan for Reform. London, HMSO. Flockhart, G and Moore, S (2002) Teamwork is the key, Nursing Standard, 17, 3, 96. Machin, T (1998) Teamwork in community mental health, British Journal of Community Nursing, 3, 1, 17-24. Moiden, N (2003) A framework for leadership, Nursing Management, 9, 10, 19-23. Onyett, S, Pillinger, T and Muijen, M (1997) Job satisfaction and burnout among members of community mental health teams, Journal of Mental Health, 6, 1, 56-66. Taylor, V (2007) Leadership for service improvement, Nursing Management, 13, 9, 30-35. Williams, T, Taylor, S and Petts, S (2001) Assessing leadership development training, Nursing Times, 97, 42, 1-3, www.nursingtimes.net, date accessed 11/02/2007. Williams, C (2005) Assertive outreach: the team approach, Mental Health Practice, 9, 2, 38-40.

Philosophy of Education- Written from a Teachers Perspective :: Philosophy Education

A person’s philosophy of education shapes what one thinks about education, how one delivers what he thinks and why one thinks the way he does about education. My experience as a teacher and guidance officer has led one to think about education and develop a philosophy that centers on the learner. I believe that education is preparing the learner for life and not just life – but a well-balanced, well-adjusted life. I also believe that students should be able to cope with and deal with life’s challenges, they must have a purpose to life, a code for right and wrong, a passion to fight against injustices and at the same time appreciate beauty, the aesthetics and traditions. In my view, a philosophy that is known or unknown to the to the teacher influences teaching styles and method. I have never really given serious thought about philosophy at education during my career until this moment. In retrospect, I would have taught my students to be disciplined in all aspects of life. I have used as a theme, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ because I believe in fairness and justice. My students have also learned too to discover, to experiment to be a team player and to realise they can think for themselves and make informed choices. As a guidance officer, I have helped students to understand that life is beautiful, but there are also so many challenges to which they have the inner resources to handle. I constantly explain to my students that their life must be balanced – it should include a little of everything. My philosophy assessment results in some ways reflect my beliefs about education. I had very close scores in three of the educational philosophies (Perennialism - 17; Progressivism – 17; Reconstructionism – 18). This is rather interesting because I like the traditional way of doing some things, for example, telling stories to children. Added to this, some things like good manners never change and yet I welcome the modern constructivist way of teaching and learning. Students should be exposed to diversity and reconstruct what ideas they would have had on certain issues. A very simplified example is that all over the world, rice is consumed; it would be preposterous to think that the only way to eat rice is with a fork or spoon. The students that interact with others and experience other cultures would have a balanced life.

Technology and Culture

There is no denying to the fact that changes occur in life as the world develops in its technology. Traditions and customs, culture of each and every race in Malaysia get a setback in this case. An attempt to keep them alive is a controversial matter and become debatable as we are somehow ‘modernized’ by the West. It is somehow painful and sad to see traditions and customs dying as we all humans have intense emotional bond with cultures and traditions but the stark reality have to be accepted that the world is a stage of flux and change.There are several reasons to why our traditions and customs are abandoned. Firstly, the advancement in telecommunication has influenced our minds to choose between cultures to which one that are convenient. We tend to look for and turn to the way as well as the one that is more convenient and are accessible. It is human nature for youths especially to adapt to changes faster. For instance, the existence of the social network called Facebo ok that enables us to connect with people from all walks of life by just typing a person’s name without actually knowing the person well.On festive seasons, we, young people need not going around visiting relatives and friends as well as going back to our respective hometowns anymore, we just wish them and greet them through the social network and phone them. Somehow, the tradition of visiting relatives and friends during festive seasons soon will be a history of life. Furthermore, the technology has moved people’s interest to play traditional games to modern and virtual games. Many youths nowadays are often categorize as the visual people.They often spend their time going to cybercafà © or at home playing computer games to the wee hours. If you ask them about traditional games they would just stare blankly at you because they as well as children nowadays only know how to swipe on the gadgets that theirs parents have. Probably, they are somehow called ‘heliophob ia’ which means a person who is fear of sunlight as most of our traditional games are played outdoors. Traditional games have now been ruled over by virtual games and have now been an ‘old-fashioned’ in youngsters mind.Moreover, the technology has equipped us with more knowledge and we become more open-minded and more rational in thinking. If we would like to know more about more information on a certain thing or events, we could just click on the mouse and search information from the internet as search engines provides us with much information. Referring to books and newspaper have been sort of ‘out-dated’ thing. On the other hand, we can now learn cultural dance through the advance video technology, YouTube.We no longer take the first step to actually ask our mentor or the cultural dance performer or instructor to train us to dance correctly. Even now, the cultural dance is called cultural cum modern dance in the video website. The younger generati on eventually become more open-minded as they think what they are doing is ‘cool’ and fashion has overpowered traditional wears in certain ethnics. All in all, advancements in technology surely have caused traditions and culture to get a setback.The government as well as the responsible authorities should organize campaigns and take action so that the young will know the legacy that our ancestors have practiced and passed on to us. Perhaps, a cultural dance such as lion dance, fan dance, ‘bharatanatyam’ being performed on occasions will get younger generation to know their culture better. They will then pass on to the next generation. It is never too late to teach them on culture and traditions, which is a legacy to leave behind when we are gone leaving a great impact on the next generation.

NAFTAs Deceit essays

NAFTAs Deceit essays On January 1, 1994, Canada, Mexico and the United States passed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Promoted to Congress by the Clinton administration, with the assurance that it would give rise to more jobs - exactly how many though, is not precisely known. Yet, according to the Journal of Commerce, the U.S. went from having a $5.5 billion trade surplus with Mexico before NAFTA, to having a massive $16 billion trade deficit today. At the same time, it is estimated that 400,000 Americans have lost manufacturing jobs because of NAFTA within the treaty's first three years, that's about the same number of jobs which have been created in the Mexican maquiladoras. Instead of sharing of the wealth and profit, one might think that there has been a big transfer of wealth from north to south of the border and that Mexican laborers have profited at the expense and torment of their American counterparts. The reality is that working conditions, wage, health and safety standards in Mexico have deteriorated. One American employee for a steering-wheel plan made approximately $10.46 per hour, compared to his Mexican counterpart, who makes about $0.75 per hour. Within the agreement, it stated "...the government of Canada, the government of the United Mexican States and the government of the United States of America resolved to establish a free trade area." In addition, NAFTA also determined to: Strengthen the special bonds of friendship and cooperation among the nations; Contribute to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade and provide a catalyst to broader international cooperation; Create an expanded and secure market for the goods and services produced in their territories; Establish clear and mutually beneficial rules governing their trade; Create new employment opportunities, improve working conditions and living standards in their respective territories; &...

Palazzo Ruccelai essays

Palazzo Ruccelai essays The Palazzo Ruccelai was one of the first works by Leon Battista Alberti. He was an Italian architect, architectural theorist, and universal genius. Albert was the most important early Renaissance architect after Filippo Brunelleschi (Gympel, 44). The "Palazzo" originated in Florence. The monumental private building is derived from "palatium." This Latin word comes from the Roman hill which Emperor Augustus and his successors lived. During the 13th and 14th centuries, many of Italian towns were destroyed during the power struggles. This explains why the exterior of the Early Renaissance palaces were dark, defensive, raw and uninvited (Gympel, 44). Construction on the Palazzo Ruccelai began somewhere between 1455 and 1460. Leon Batista Alberti designed the original Palace to have five bays, the center being where the door was located. Later on, two more bays were added by someone else (class notes 1/19/00). There are three stories on this building. Each story is equal in height and rustication is uniform. This "evenness" is what gives the Renaissance its name. Most buildings made at this time have similar attributes. Each story has its own column capital to it. The ground floor has the Tucson order, the middle floor has Alberti's own design, and the top floor has the Corinthian order. I thought in Leon Battista Alberti's treaty, The Ten Books of Architecture, I would find out what each of the column capitals meant to him, but all I could find is dimension requirements for each order. The Colosseum has similarities with the Palazzo Ruccelai also. I believe some of Alberti's ideas came from at least the columns. It has a similar placement of the columns. They both have the Tucson order on the ground story, and the Corinthian on the top story. Where the Palazzo Ruccelai has the composite though, the Colosseum has the Ionic (Kostof 207). I wish I could find what was on the inside of this building. This could ...

Palliative Care in Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Palliative Care in Cancer - Essay Example Palliative health care services for children in the UK are both organized and delivered differently than adult palliative care in oncology (Price, McNeilly, & McFarlane, 2005). Palliative care will usually begin initially at the diagnosis of an incurable disease and continue throughout one’s life (Shaw, 2011). Palliative care will usually involve a multidisciplinary team approach and coordinators will manage and assist with symptoms and pain management along with the other aspects of medical care along with other basic needs such as financing, transportation, medical equipment, respite services for caregivers, counseling and of course easy transition to hospice services should this become necessary. Frequently palliative care is understood or thought to limit opinions available to families and patients rather than helping them to utilize the optimum clinical knowledge and tools available. Rationale 'Oncology Nurses' Personal Understandings about Palliative Care' The rationale for a literature review in palliative care in oncology is heavily supported by the number of new cases expected to be reported yearly; in 2009 alone 1,479,350 cases were expected in the United States (Mahon, and McAuley, 2010, p142). The ultimate goals of cancer treatment fall directly in line for those in palliative care; minimizing effects and alleviating the burdens of this disease. Advances in oncology treatment now means people are living longer with the disease and longer life spans with the disease previously often meant a reduced quality of life; living with the burden of pain, mental anguish and disabilities. Palliative care is now understood to be very distinct from that of hospice care and should be available to patients independent of the prognosis and diagnosis. Cancer patients live with significant burdens and because complex decisions are usual for cancer patients palliative care should be available commonly and routinely to cancer patients. It has become the standard of care for patients with cancer and serious illnesses. Though deficits remain with oncology there are two trends that heavily influence the oncologist’s nurse’s perceptions about palliative care. Many oncology nurses find it difficult to distinguish between palliative care and hospice care and oncology nurses have the unusual opportunity for being trendsetters in oncology palliative care because of the fact that each cancer patient is a good candidate for palliative care. Analysis of Available Literature on Palliative Care in Oncology 'Oncology Nurses' Perceptions of Nursing Roles and Professional Attributes in Palliative Care' Few research studies have explored the perspectives of nursing roles in palliative care (Pavlish & Ceronsky, 2009). Most research is focused on gaining insights about end of life care. Nursing support in palliative care was found to have six dimensions; connecting, valuing, empowering, doing for, assisting in finding meaning, and ensuring the preservation of the patient’s integrity. Nursing responsibilities in the same study were described as providing comfort, responding during the death scene, enhancing personal growth, reacting to anger, enhancing the quality of life during dying, responding to colleagues and responding and interacting with the family in a supportive and professional manner. It was discovered that many nurses felt the most important aspect in palliative ca

Consumer decision making process on muller rice Essay

Consumer decision making process on muller rice - Essay Example The source of the competitive advantage is in the name of the company and the ability to price its products in a competitive manner. The main challenge that it faces is the increased competition from the other producers. Its opportunity is in the increased awareness in people about the food that they take. The marketing objectives of the company are to penetrate the market and attain the most market share possible. The company also aims at cementing its position in the global arena. The growth strategies that the company can use include the introduction of new products such as new flavours. The company may also expand its cream division since this will be able to utilize the excesses in the capacity (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). The understanding of the customer decision making is important for the company since this is the approach that the company will use to come up with new products. The targeting can be made in such a way that it focuses on the individual needs of the different classes of people (Pride and Ferrell,