Date of Learning Log: 27/09/2024
Time: 09:30-16:00
Learning Activity 1: The Nursing Associate and Leadership Part 1
In this learning activity, I delved into various leadership theories and styles that play a crucial role in effective management and team dynamics. I explored the concept of compassionate leadership, which emphasizes empathy, support, and understanding in guiding others. Additionally, I examined the specific responsibilities of nursing associates in the context of leadership, highlighting how they can foster collaboration and advocate for patients while embodying the principles of compassionate care. This comprehensive insight into leadership has enriched my understanding of how different approaches can impact both team performance and patient outcomes in a healthcare setting. The novice to expert by (Benner, 1982) were discussed and an activity was done using the PADLET in which I identified my leadership attributes as an HCA to SNA.
Leadership is the ability to guide and influence people to work toward a common goal. It is a social process that involves a combination of mindsets, behaviors, and interpersonal skills. Leaders can be found in various settings, including the workplace, family, and community.
Some key characteristics of leadership include:
Understanding people – Leaders can understand what motivates people and use that to achieve a common goal.
Working together – Leaders help people work together to accomplish shared goals.
Adapting to change – Leaders help people adjust to changing environments.
Problem-solving – Leaders view problems as opportunities for growth and work with their team to develop solutions.
Recognition of roles – Leaders recognize the roles and functions of each member of their group.
Perception refers to the ability to perceive and comprehend objects, qualities, and experiences through the senses, leading to awareness and understanding. It includes insight and intuition and the capacity for these faculties. Therefore, it is important to have a good understanding of the five themes of clinical governance: patient focus, information focus, quality improvement, staff focus, and leadership.
Attribute of a Leader
- Interpersonal Competency
- Contemporary Clinical Knowledge
- Acting as a role model
Interpersonal competency refers to the ability to effectively interact with others and engage with the community. This includes building and maintaining healthy, mutually beneficial relationships as well as fostering interdependence and collaboration.
Contemporary clinical knowledge refers to developing analytical ability, responding critically to various events, recognising meaningful patterns, working towards expertise, prioritising and escalating care, and making clinical decisions.
Being a role model entails embodying the values and principles of the profession by consistently adhering to the established code of conduct. It involves demonstrating effective communication skills, which means not only conveying information clearly and respectfully but also actively listening to others and fostering an open dialogue. Additionally, it is important to supervise students diligently, providing guidance and support as they navigate their learning experiences. Mentoring junior colleagues is also a key aspect of this role; this includes sharing knowledge, offering constructive feedback, and helping them develop their skills and confidence in their professional journeys. Ultimately, acting as a role model is about inspiring others through exemplary behaviour and a commitment to their growth and success.
Different leadership styles:
- Autocratic: The leader makes decisions alone, with little input from the team. This style is good for quick decisions but can lead to low morale.
- Democratic Leaders involve the team in decision-making, fostering collaboration and creativity. This approach can slow decision-making but boost engagement.
- Transformational: This approach focuses on inspiring and motivating teams to achieve higher goals. It is good for growth and innovation, but it can be unrealistic without proper planning.
- Transactional: Emphasizes rewards and penalties based on performance. Clear expectations, but can limit creativity and motivation.
- Laissez-Faire: Leaders provide minimal direction, giving teams autonomy to make decisions. Works well with skilled teams but can lead to confusion without clear guidance.
- Servant: Leaders prioritize serving and supporting the team’s needs. Builds trust and collaboration but may be seen as lacking authority.
- Charismatic: Relies on the leader’s personality and enthusiasm to inspire followers. Can be very motivating, but teams may become dependent on the leader.
- Coaching focuses on developing team members through guidance and feedback. It promotes growth but is time-consuming and requires team openness.
- Pacesetting: Leaders set high performance standards and lead by example. This approach encourages productivity but can lead to burnout if it is not balanced.
Leadership theory:
- Trait Theory: Suggests that effective leaders possess certain innate qualities, such as confidence, intelligence, and decisiveness. It focuses on identifying these traits in potential leaders.
- Behavioural Theory: Emphasizes that leadership is based on learned behaviours rather than traits. It focuses on how leaders act, including their approach to tasks (task-oriented) or relationships (relationship-oriented).
- Contingency Theory: Proposes that no single leadership style is best. The effectiveness of a leader depends on the situation, including factors like the team, environment, and task complexity.
- Transformational Leadership Theory: Focuses on leaders who inspire and motivate their teams to achieve extraordinary outcomes by creating a vision and fostering a positive organizational culture.
- Transactional Leadership Theory: Based on structured exchanges between leaders and followers, where leaders provide rewards or punishments based on performance. It’s focused on maintaining the status quo.
- Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory: Emphasises the unique relationships between leaders and each team member. It suggests that high-quality leader-member relationships lead to better outcomes for both individuals and the organization.
- Servant Leadership Theory states that leaders prioritise their team’s needs and focus on service, empowerment, and personal growth. The theory also stresses empathy and community-building.
- Situational Leadership Theory: Proposes that leaders adjust their style based on the maturity level of their followers and the specifics of the situation (e.g., directing, coaching, supporting, delegating).
- Authentic Leadership Theory emphasizes the importance of leaders being true to themselves, demonstrating transparency, and leading with integrity. It also emphasises building trust through authenticity.
Characteristics of a compassionate leader:
- Emotional intelligence
- Integrity
- Listening
- Trust
- Authenticity
- Openness
- Caring
- Reflectiveness
- Commitment
- Genuineness
Delivering compassionate leadership:
- Attending – actively listening to people
- Understanding – understand how someone feels, give them your time
- Empathising – being genuine, avoiding sympathy.
- Helping – solution-focused, practical and give your time.
Learning Activity 2: The Nursing Associate and Leadership Part 2
In this learning activity, I sought to deepen my understanding of the various environmental and human factors that influence effective leadership. I explored how organisational culture, team dynamics, and external pressures can shape leadership styles and decisions. Throughout the process, I demonstrated my ability to prioritise tasks, manage my workload efficiently, and delegate responsibilities to my team members when necessary. This enhanced our productivity and empowered my colleagues to take ownership of their roles. Furthermore, I implemented several techniques for personal development as a leader, such as seeking feedback, engaging in self-reflection, and setting specific growth goals. This experience significantly contributed to my leadership evolution and equipped me with valuable skills for future challenges.
Non-technical skills encompass cognitive decision-making, situational awareness, self-care, care for others, resilience, stress management, and fatigue management. Additionally, social skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership are essential.
The Swiss Cheese Model is a safety framework that illustrates how accidents occur in complex systems. It is frequently utilized to manage and analyse risk in industries such as aviation, engineering, and healthcare.
Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ) refers to the ability to recognise, understand, manage, and influence one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. It involves several key components:
- Self-awareness: Recognizing and understanding your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behaviour.
- Self-regulation: Managing your emotions in healthy ways, staying in control, and avoiding impulsive reactions.
- Motivation: Using emotions to stay focused, set goals, and persevere in the face of challenges.
- Empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of others, which helps build relationships and respond to others’ emotional needs.
- Social skills: Managing relationships effectively, including communicating, resolving conflicts, and inspiring or influencing others.
Emotional intelligence is essential in leadership, decision-making, conflict resolution, and creating positive social and work environments. It’s often considered just as important, if not more so, than traditional cognitive intelligence (IQ) for success in both personal and professional life.
Delegation assigns responsibility and authority to others to complete a task or make decisions. It involves a leader or manager entrusting a part of their workload to a team member while maintaining accountability for the overall outcome. Effective delegation helps distribute the workload, empowers team members, and fosters skill development, allowing leaders to focus on higher-priority tasks. It is essential for team productivity and leadership development.
The Johari Window is an insightful psychological tool designed to enhance individuals’ understanding of their self-awareness and their relationships with others. Developed in 1955 by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, this model has become a widely utilised framework in personal development, team building, and effective communication.
The Johari Window is structured around four distinct quadrants, each representing different facets of self-awareness and interpersonal perception. These quadrants are:
- Open Area: This section includes information about the individual that is known both to themselves and to others. It encompasses attributes such as skills, experiences, and feelings that are openly shared and acknowledged, contributing to transparency in communication and relationship building.
- Blind Area: This quadrant contains aspects of the individual that others perceive but the individual is unaware of. Feedback from peers can help to uncover these blind spots, leading to greater self-awareness and personal growth.
- Hidden Area: Also known as the “Facade,” this part includes information that the individual knows but chooses to keep hidden from others. This can involve personal experiences, fears, and vulnerabilities, which may affect how they relate to their environment and others.
- Unknown Area: This quadrant represents information that neither the individual nor others are aware of. It can consist of untapped potential, subconscious drives, or undiscovered talents. Exploration through experiences, therapy, or group dynamics can help bring elements of this area into consciousness.
By engaging with these quadrants, individuals can work towards increasing their Open Area, fostering deeper connections and enhancing collaboration while promoting personal and professional development. The Johari Window encourages a culture of feedback and self-reflection, essential for meaningful growth and improved relationships.
KSB ADDRESSED:
Knowledge:
| K1 | Understand the code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates (NMC 2018), and how to fulfill all registration requirements |
| K3 | Understand the professional responsibility to adopt a healthy lifestyle to maintain the level of personal fitness and well-being required to meet people’s needs for mental and physical care |
| K6 | Understand and apply relevant legal, regulatory and governance requirements, policies, and ethical frameworks, including any mandatory reporting duties, to all areas of practice |
| K7 | Understand the importance of courage and transparency and apply the Duty of Candour |
| K9 | Understand the aims and principles of health promotion, protection and improvement and the prevention of ill health when engaging with people |
| K10 | Understand the principles of epidemiology, demography, and genomics and how these may influence health and well-being outcomes |
| K11 | Understand the factors that may lead to inequalities in health outcomes |
| K12 | Understand the importance of early years and childhood experiences and the possible impact on life choices, mental, physical and behavioural health and well-being |
| K13 | Understand the contribution of social influences, health literacy, individual circumstances, behaviours and lifestyle choices to mental, physical and behavioural health outcomes |
| K14 | Understand the importance of health screening |
| K15 | Understand human development from conception to death, to enable delivery of person-centred safe and effective care |
| K16 | Understand body systems and homeostasis, human anatomy and physiology, biology, genomics, pharmacology, social and behavioural sciences as applied to delivery of care |
| K17 | Understand commonly encountered mental, physical, behavioural and cognitive health conditions as applied to delivery of care |
| K18 | Understand and apply the principles and processes for making reasonable adjustments |
| K19 | Know how and when to escalate to the appropriate professional for expert help and advice |
| K20 | Know how people’s needs for safety, dignity, privacy, comfort and sleep can be met |
| K21 | Understand co-morbidities and the demands of meeting people’s holistic needs when prioritising care |
| K22 | Know how to meet people’s needs related to nutrition, hydration and bladder and bowel health |
| K23 | Know how to meet people’s needs related to mobility, hygiene, oral care, wound care and skin integrity |
| K24 | Know how to support people with commonly encountered symptoms including anxiety, confusion, discomfort and pain |
| K26 | Understand where and how to seek guidance and support from others to ensure that the best interests of those receiving care are upheld |
| K27 | Understand the principles of safe and effective administration and optimisation of medicines in accordance with local and national policies |
| K28 | Understand the effects of medicines, allergies, drug sensitivity, side effects, contraindications and adverse reactions |
| K29 | Understand the different ways by which medicines can be prescribed |
| K30 | Understand the principles of health and safety legislation and regulations and maintain safe work and care environments |
| K37 | Understand the challenges of providing safe nursing care for people with complex co-morbidities and complex care needs |
| K38 | Understand the complexities of providing mental, cognitive, behavioural and physical care needs across a wide range of integrated care settings |
| K39 | Understand the principles and processes involved in supporting people and families with a range of care needs to maintain optimal independence and avoid unnecessary interventions and disruptions to their lives |
| K40 | Understand own role and contribution when involved in the care of a person who is undergoing discharge or a transition of care between professionals, settings or services |
| K41 | Know the roles, responsibilities and scope of practice of different members of the nursing and interdisciplinary team, and own role within it |
| K42 | Understand and apply the principles of human factors and environmental factors when working in teams |
| K43 | Understand the influence of policy and political drivers that impact health and care provision |
Skills:
| S1 | Act in accordance with the Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates (NMC, 2018), and fulfil all registration requirements |
| S2 | Keep complete, clear, accurate and timely records |
| S3 | Recognise and report any factors that may adversely impact safe and effective care provision |
| S4 | Take responsibility for continuous self-reflection, seeking and responding to support and feedback to develop professional knowledge and skills |
| S5 | Safely demonstrate evidence-based practice in all skills and procedures required for entry to the register: Standards of proficiency for nursing associates Annex A & B (NMC 2018) |
| S6 | Act as an ambassador for their profession and promote public confidence in health and care services |
| S7 | Communicate effectively using a range of skills and strategies with colleagues and people at all stages of life and with a range of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health challenges |
| S8 | Recognise signs of vulnerability in self or colleagues and the action required to minimise risks to health |
| S9 | Develop, manage and maintain appropriate relationships with people, their families, carers and colleagues |
| S10 | Provide, promote, and where appropriate advocate for, non-discriminatory, person-centred and sensitive care at all times, reflecting on people’s values and beliefs, diverse backgrounds, cultural characteristics, language requirements, needs and preferences, taking account of any need for adjustments |
| S21 | Monitor the effectiveness of care in partnership with people, families and carers, documenting progress and reporting outcomes |
| S22 | Take personal responsibility to ensure that relevant information is shared according to local policy and appropriate immediate action is taken to provide adequate safeguarding and that concerns are escalated |
| S23 | Work in partnership with people, to encourage shared decision making, in order to support individuals, their families and carers to manage their own care when appropriate |
| S24 | Perform a range of nursing procedures and manage devices, to meet people’s need for safe, effective and person-centred care |
| S25 | Meet people’s needs for safety, dignity, privacy, comfort and sleep |
| S26 | Meet people’s needs related to nutrition, hydration and bladder and bowel health |
| S27 | Meet people’s needs related to mobility, hygiene, oral care, wound care and skin integrity |
| S28 | Support people with commonly encountered symptoms including anxiety, confusion, discomfort and pain |
| S29 | Give information and support to people who are dying, their families and the bereaved and provide care to the deceased |
| S30 | Recognise when a person’s condition has improved or deteriorated by undertaking health monitoring, interpreting, promptly responding, sharing findings and escalating as needed |
| S31 | Act in line with any end of life decisions and orders, organ and tissue donation protocols, infection protocols, advanced planning decisions, living wills and lasting powers of attorney for health |
| S32 | Work collaboratively and in partnership with professionals from different agencies in interdisciplinary teams |
| S33 | Maintain safe work and care environments |
| S34 | Act in line with local and national organisational frameworks, legislation and regulations to report risks, and implement actions as instructed, following up and escalating as required |
| S35 | Accurately undertake risk assessments, using contemporary assessment tools |
| S36 | Respond to and escalate potential hazards that may affect the safety of people |
| S37 | Participate in data collection to support audit activity, and contribute to the implementation of quality improvement strategies |
| S38 | Prioritise and manage own workload, and recognise where elements of care can safely be delegated to other colleagues, carers and family members |
| S39 | Recognise when people need help to facilitate equitable access to care, support and escalate concerns appropriately |
| S40 | Support and motivate other members of the care team and interact confidently with them |
| S41 | Monitor and review the quality of care delivered, providing challenge and constructive feedback when an aspect of care has been delegated to others |
Behaviour:
| B1 | Treat people with dignity, respecting individual’s diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy and preferences |
| B2 | Show respect and empathy for those you work with, have the courage to challenge areas of concern and work to evidence based best practice |
| B3 | Be adaptable, reliable and consistent, show discretion, resilience and self-awareness |