5^th World Holistic Nursing Conference

Leaders do more than delegate, dictate and direct, the American Nurses Association (ANA) writes. Leaders help others achieve their highest potential. Nurse managers are crucial to a medical establishment. Their presence is one of the reasons why most hospitals are functioning as smoothly as they should. A biennial survey of hospitals and health systems conducted in 2007 by the Governance Institute found that only 0.8 percent of voting board members were Chief Nursing Offi cers compared with 5.1 percent who were vice presidents for medical aff airs. New qualifi ed nurses and new nurse managers are oft en expected to hit the ground running with no management training. A management framework is required to provide a consistent approach to management development for all staff in healthcare, irrespective of discipline, role, function or seniority. Simply giving someone the title of leader or manager does not make them profi cient in that role and the titles themselves may be misleading. Given the importance of good management in creating a

healthy work environment, it is crucial that the diff erences and challenges of these roles are acknowledged to create more realistic expectations of those who hold them. Internationally, there is strong evidence that role ambiguity can discourage junior nurses from taking up leadership roles. As a result, career pathways and training opportunities need to be actively championed. A 2009 survey of primary nurses in New Zealand for example found that 82 per cent of respondents were keen to advance their careers by training for a leadership

role. Despite these positive fi gures however, the same report found that only 30 per cent of respondents felt satisfi ed with the current level of career progression on off er to them

Conclusion: Being visionary and proactive when faced with a healthcare system defi ned by rapid change and chaos is perhaps the most important of all the qualities listed. Today’s healthcare organizations face continual change in the form of organizational restructuring, quality improvement and employee retention. Such change brings with it feelings of pride and stress in equal measures. Nurse leaders need to embrace change, adapt to it and in doing so re-energize and empower the workforce with their management skills.