Shared Governance What It Can Mean for Nurses (1 Hour)

I decided to take this class because it directly relates to nursing leadership. This class was just a basic overview of what shared governance means for nurses. The definition of shared governance is as follows, "Shared governance is an organizational model that provides a structure for shared decision-making among professionals about practice and clinical outcomes." There are four aspects to shared governance in the health care setting. These include practice, quality, learning and generating new knowledge. Shared governance allows nurses to develop their leadership potential because they become stakeholders under shared governance. Their work environment encourages the nurses to get involved and share ideas to make positive changes in their workplace. This course identified three ways that healthcare facilities could fail at shared governance.

1. Establishing shared governance only in a single department or an isolated “pilot” unit
2. Fostering competition rather than collaboration among units and disciplines
3. Tolerating nurse leadership at executive or middle management levels that fails to support shared governance

It's quite obvious why each of these scenarios could lead to failed shared governance. The course on the flip side identified three ways organizations can succeed at shared governance.

1. Engage frontline staff and leadership in creating a plan for a shared governance model and bylaws regarding nursing practice, quality and competence.
2. Build relationships to support shared governance at the unit level, including leadership and administrative relationships, interprofessional and interdisciplinary team members and collaboration and collegiality
3. Establish unit-level councils and bylaws based on the overall strategic plan for organizational shared governance.

By following these three rules, organizations can use shared governance and benefit from it. This course was a really informative course. I learned a lot about shared governance and it is something I would like to know more about. It seems to me, that shared governance is an excellent way to structure an organization and develop leadership skills in all employees.

Spread Your Wings: RNs Have What It Takes To Be Effective Leaders (1 Hour)

"Spread Your Wings: RNs Have What It Takes To Be Effective Leaders" The title of this course drew my interest. It is the type of course that fits exactly with my nursing leadership class. This course talked a lot about how nurses can be leaders even on the staff nurse level. Five skills that staff nurse leaders need are:
Becoming future-oriented
Seeing the “big picture”
Communicating persuasively
Viewing change as an opportunity
Being proactive rather than reactive
My favorite skill that is listed is seeing the big picture. As nurses we tend to have so much going on we lose sight of the big picture. By understanding the reasons behind change, nurses can effectively lead others to overcome the change or obstacle. I also liked the idea of being proactive rather than reactive. This is so important for nurses to understand. In order to get something done, nurses need to be proactive. I really loved this quote "As new graduates, we all begin our nursing careers in a "followership" position. With time and experience, this should change. However, many nurses depend on their nursing administrators to provide all the leadership that the nursing component needs in an organization. Yet this model does not always provide the most effective leadership. Some of the most powerful leaders have no position of authority in an organization, but are able to point the way to both small and large improvements in patient service delivery." As a new graduate I have often felt I have no part in learning about leadership. But it is important for me to understand that even as a new grad I can become a leader.

Staying Cool Under Fire: How Well Do You Communicate? (1 Hour)

We have talked a lot about communication styles in our leadership class. We have discussed how there are differences even between men and women on how they lead and that may be because of different communication styles. Understanding communication styles is important for a nurse to effectively lead her team. This course discussed barriers to effective communication and tools to better communication. There were little clinical vignettes that gave examples of excellent communication and poor communication. I took away from this class that everyone needs to be continually working on improving their communication skills. Communication is essential for a nurse to be an effective leader.

Surviving and Thriving with Conflict on the Job (1 Hour)

One of the most important skills a leader can have is knowing how to deal with conflict. Nurse leaders are no exception to that rule. Conflict will occur in all healthcare facilities. Nurse leaders need to know how to resolve that conflict and move on. This course stated, "Most organizational conflict in healthcare organizations emerges at the interpersonal and intergroup levels. Major sources include:
Divergent management and staff perspectives
Competition for limited resources, such as staff, space, equipment and funds
Difficulties arising from interdependence of work activities
Differences in values and goals among work groups"
I have seen all four sources of conflict in my clinical experiences. There are different techniques to overcome conflict. Some techniques work positively and other techniques work negatively. It is important for the nurse leader to approach each conflict individually and use the technique that meets the need of that problem best. "Whatever strategy is used, successful conflict resolution starts by identifying the problem and the desired behavior or outcome and then confronting the conflict. " This course gave me some good tips with dealing with conflict in my work place. Even though, I am not in a management position, I have learned some skills that I can apply when I am facing conflict.

The "Golden Rules" for Preceptors and Preceptees (1 Hour)

This CE course really interested me because I am about to embark in a preceptorship experience at my new job. I will be on the preceptee side of the relationship, but this class helped me to prepare for the day that I will be on the preceptor side. A preceptor is a great example of leadership in nursing. Fortune magazine stated "The single best predictor of overall excellence is a company's ability to attract, motivate and retain talented people." This is where preceptors come into play. Having a strong orientation program and preceptors in place can ensure new employees have the training and skill needed to perform the job well. This course talked about the most basic golden rule and how it applies to preceptors. Preceptors and preceptees need to treat each other how they would like to be treated in order to create an environment of learning and growth. An important part of this course talked about how one preceptor may not be the best preceptor for all and just because someone is a good employee does not mean they are a good preceptor. Preceptors require a specific set of leadership skills in order to lead and train the new nurse. I learned a lot from this course and am excited to one day become the preceptor and help in the transition from new nurse to competent nurse.

The Transformational Power of Leading With Head, Heart, Hands, and Habits (1 Hour)

This course really goes along with my nursing leadership class. It discussed a lot about transformational leadership. I hold to the belief that leaders are not born but made. The authors of this course stated "Competence in leadership develops over time and through mentorships that focus on the sociopolitical tasks and aspects of leading and managing." I really like that. I think leadership really does develop over time as the nurse gains more experience. Relationships are also key to successful leadership skills. The authors of this course then went on to describe how leaders can be transformed internally through there head and heart and externally through their hands and habits. Leaders are motivated with their "heart". Their head helps them see different perspectives. The hands represent public leadership behaviors. There were some great quotes used in this webinar. My favorite came from Aristotle. He said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." I love that quote! This course motivated me to always practice good habits and to be continually learning and developing my leadership potential.

Use Your Power! Structural Empowerment and Nursing (1 Hour)

This course was a webinar put on by Kaplan. The course's objective was to "develop an understanding of structural empowerment for nurses specific to descriptions, emerging trends, and examples of supporting activities and outcomes." The course began by talking about the traditional structure in nursing. The traditional structure includes power and authority at the top of the triangle relying on communication and roles. Other structural patterns were then discussed. Technology is changing how nursing is structured. There are some assumptions that the course went over when it comes to nursing power.
" 1. Power rests where the knowledge is; decisions are made by knowledge holders and key stakeholders
2. Nursing is the voice for nursing
3. The patient care delivery model reflects the mission, vision and values of the organization
4. Principles for practice drive the work of caregivers; policies are minimized"
Understanding the assumptions of power and how communication and roles come into play, is important for nurses to understand the power they have. Nurses have different kinds of power. Probably the most valuable power nurses have is expert power. Nurses receive this power through the experience they have at the bedside. Understanding the power nurses have can help nurses develop their leadership potential.