Throughout the BSN program, my views on nursing leadership have changed significantly. I had previously thought of the terms “leadership” and “management” as being interchangeable and ultimately viewed “nurse leaders” as those who made the rules and decisions. The knowledge I have gained from my BSN level courses, like this one, is that the above statements are false. Nursing leadership involves far more than management alone. You can absolutely be a good leader who is in management, however, a management position alone doesn’t necessarily make someone a solid leader. I feel that successful nurse leaders are those who strive for excellence every day. Nurse leaders are the ones who notice problems, ask questions and begin implementing change. They don’t settle for the “this is how we have always done it” type of answers.

Nurse leaders have a major impact on their peers. I think many of us would agree that coworkers and management can either make or break a job. My very first position as an RN was on a step-down unit with an extremely high turnover rate. After my first few days of orientation, I quickly knew why. I dreaded going to work. The unit lacked teamwork, positive attitudes, and any nurse leaders. The overall atmosphere was negative and pessimistic. Even my preceptor spoke poorly of the unit and the hospital. My time on the unit was short lived and I think the lack of any type of leadership was to blame. I have been in my current position for almost 4 years now. I can honestly say that I love my job. I no longer dread going to work. While some individuals are still pessimistic and resistant to change at times, the overall atmosphere is extremely positive and we all work incredibly well together.

I think that one of the most important tasks nurse leaders have is creating and shaping new leaders. It’s important to remember that one person can’t do everything by themselves. A unit or department should be able to run like a well-oiled machine, even when certain staff members are gone. I feel that one of the other major things leaders should do is make sure their staff feels recognized and appreciated, even if it’s through small gestures. From a personal standpoint, even the smallest gestures of appreciation in my workplace mean the world to me. I feel like they are ongoing reminders, especially on the difficult days, to be the best nurse I possibly can for my patients and my team.

I like to think of myself as a nurse leader. I have served on our staffing committee and am currently the safety coach, preceptor, and Epic super user for our clinic. I love training new nurses. I never forget how stressful and terrifying the first few weeks of starting a new position can be and I work hard to make our new nurses feel welcome. As a preceptor, the behavior I have struggled most with is conflict avoidance. Conflict makes me anxious and stresses me out. There have been occasions when I have needed to confront preceptees about certain things, but I am always hesitant and worry I am going to make them feel terrible. We have ongoing preceptor classes and training, and this has helped me significantly to modify this behavior. Other nurse leaders have given me ideas and tools to help deal with addressing conflict. Though it is a behavior I need to continue working on, it has definitely helped me to deal with conflict in more effective ways.