Global Health Nursing & Midwifery

Dear Maggie, thanks for this information.
I am looking forward to watching these videos, though downloading them is still a challenge from here.
Lately I am defnitely interested in really understanding how leadership in nursing can be used at its full potential at the bedside (of an individual or the community). I mean in my view here in Malawi I do see nurses who are in leadership positions, either as health coordinators, as project managers and such, but I think when nurses move into those positions they quickly move into a distant place and sometimes maybe more comfortable (or just full of administrative and logistical work) where they loose that aspect of patient care one had when they worked at the bedside. On the other hand I also see that those nurses who are working at the bedside, don't see themselves as leaders capable to change health systems from that stance; frustrations take over and people burn out.
I do think its really important to train nurses to be able to lead through the voices of their clients and communities, specifically here in Malawi where community engagment in health relies heavily on having a Village Chief or other important ...

Dear Maggie, thanks for this information.
I am looking forward to watching these videos, though downloading them is still a challenge from here.
Lately I am defnitely interested in really understanding how leadership in nursing can be used at its full potential at the bedside (of an individual or the community). I mean in my view here in Malawi I do see nurses who are in leadership positions, either as health coordinators, as project managers and such, but I think when nurses move into those positions they quickly move into a distant place and sometimes maybe more comfortable (or just full of administrative and logistical work) where they loose that aspect of patient care one had when they worked at the bedside. On the other hand I also see that those nurses who are working at the bedside, don't see themselves as leaders capable to change health systems from that stance; frustrations take over and people burn out.
I do think its really important to train nurses to be able to lead through the voices of their clients and communities, specifically here in Malawi where community engagment in health relies heavily on having a Village Chief or other important member of the community who buys into what a health facility or an NGO has to bring to his/her community.
How can we transform that frustration that a bedside nurse encounters in her day to day work into an energy that can change health systems and be a source of recharge before he/she burns out?

Emma, you make good points. I do think there is often a leadership divide between bedside/direct patient care nursing and nurse administrators. As a nurse myself, who only provides direct patient care, I am at a distance from the formal "leadership team" which consists of managers. But I think providing direct patient care is what gives nurses the experience and expertise to be good leaders. It is the foundation of our field, but easy to lose when we're around it less and less. Direct patient care can be difficult, frustrating, time consuming and energy draining. It is no wonder that many of us climb away from it into more administrative roles.

And how to transform the frustrations encountered by bedside nurses into an energy for constructive change in the health system, that's a million-dollar question. My suggestion would start at including bedside/direct patient care nurses in the larger conversations of health systems management, without having to be a manager. I think it would also behoove nursing schools to more aggressively "teach toward leadership." Rather than have one educational track for direct patient care and another for management/health systems, I think there should be more overlap ...

Emma, you make good points. I do think there is often a leadership divide between bedside/direct patient care nursing and nurse administrators. As a nurse myself, who only provides direct patient care, I am at a distance from the formal "leadership team" which consists of managers. But I think providing direct patient care is what gives nurses the experience and expertise to be good leaders. It is the foundation of our field, but easy to lose when we're around it less and less. Direct patient care can be difficult, frustrating, time consuming and energy draining. It is no wonder that many of us climb away from it into more administrative roles.

And how to transform the frustrations encountered by bedside nurses into an energy for constructive change in the health system, that's a million-dollar question. My suggestion would start at including bedside/direct patient care nurses in the larger conversations of health systems management, without having to be a manager. I think it would also behoove nursing schools to more aggressively "teach toward leadership." Rather than have one educational track for direct patient care and another for management/health systems, I think there should be more overlap.

I'd love to hear other suggestions to Emma's question...

I will be starting nursing school this fall and I am looking for a Health Leadership Scholar Program to become involved in. I am very determined to sharpen my leadership skills and I was wondering if you had any suggestions of programs to apply for? Thank you very much.

This is a great topic, and thanks Maggie.

While leadership and management is an old and often discussed topic, we
always still find ourselves lost in its translation - in application. Some
notable challenges are:
- application in a constrained and non supportive organizational culture
- Cultural practices that does not allow growth for leadership and
management skills
- fear of making bad decisions for fear of retribution
- unable to translate didactic to practice (big chunks of knowledge input
versus simple applicable training and learning materials)

Am always challenged to understand culture - work and family dynamics, and
weave my leadership and management discussion so its essence can be more
realistic. As I have learned through years that its always important to
start within.

Tess

Hi Catherine,
ONS (Oncology Nursing Society) has just developed a very comprehensive leadership webcourse. It is 8 weeks long and covers a variety of topics including leadership theories, self assessments, leading teams and groups, and healthcare-related topics like ethics, advocacy, fiscal responsibility, and healthcare trends. You can check it out on our website here: http://www.ons.org/CourseDetail.aspx?course_id=104. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Best,
Kate
_____________________________________________

Kate Shaughnessy Hankle, MBA, CVA
Manager of International & Leadership Development
Oncology Nursing Society
125 Enterprise Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1214
+1-412-859-6238 (phone)
+1-412-859-6160 (fax)



Oncology Nursing Society
Where Oncology Nurses Connect
Learn more about membership today at www.ons.org.

Kate,
Thank you very much for the link to that program, it has much of what I am looking for. Also if there are any health leadership mentorship programs that anyone knows about I would love to hear about them.
~Catherine Solaun

Hi Catherine,
Another suggestion is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at http://www.executivenursefellows.org/. However, it is for those who are already nurses.
There are also other interesting-sounding programs I found, though I can't personally vouch for any of them:
* Nursing Leadership Institute at Florida Atlantic University's college of nursing (http://nursing.fau.edu/index.php?main=6&nav=158).
* LSU Center for Nursing Leadership at http://nursing.lsuhsc.edu/Administration/CenterNL.cfm. * Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy at
http://www.nursingsociety.org/Media/Pages/New_NurseFacultyLeadershipAcademy.aspx

It seems many of these have to do with nursing administration. I'd be curious to hear from others about clinical nurse leadership opportunities.

-Maggie