Introduction
The aspect of leadership is noteworthy in the nursing career. Nurses should inculcate practical leadership skills as they engage in diverse daily practices to ensure quality care, which will promote patient safety. Nursing leadership can only be considered successful if the whole team accomplishes their promotion of quality care delivery to patients. Equally crucial in nursing is technology and informatics, which incorporates computer literacy, nursing services, and information science to arrange and share available statistics, information, and understanding in the nursing practice (Collins et al., 2017). Nursing and other healthcare systems are progressively integrating technology in daily routines at a fast pace. Informatics and effective leadership are essential in the nursing profession attributable to the quickly changing technological advancements.
Leadership
Leadership is majorly regarding the development of vision and supporting people to strive towards change for continuous improvement. It entails generating a shared mission while effectively addressing structural, political, and resource barricades through inspiring others. Leadership is characterized by its underlying influence and encompasses interpersonal skills to encourage others to realize a particular objective (Giddens, 2018). In the nursing literature, leadership has been depicted as an intricate and multifaceted practice. It encompasses the provision of support and direction, effective communication, motivation, teamwork, coordination, and advocacy for patients to realize positive outcomes.
Effective nursing leadership entails demonstrating to nurses the need for dedication to assigned tasks and responsibilities, offering guidance, and ensuring the quality of care. It is about upholding a vision, working towards its attainment, and empowering other personnel (Giddens, 2018). Nurse leaders are expected to have proficiencies such as confidence, commitment to patient care, effective communication, and development of teams successfully. They center on patients’ needs and healthcare teams that seek to sustain quality care and effective communication with health professionals, patients, and their family members. Such practices discourage people’s situations by only showing up at the workplace and following the commands of a nurse leader.
Technology and Informatics
Technology and informatics are progressively changing the aspect of healthcare. With technological advancement, medical providers and organizations have improved collection, analysis, and leverage of data (Collins et al., 2017). Technology and health informatics are essential components of care coordination. They enable nurses to track staffing, work plan, and communication to find areas where existing processes could be improved. This can also aid in maintaining proper staffing levels, which is crucial for giving the best possible care to patients. Patients are likely to have negative outcomes if the nurse-to-patient ratio becomes too low.
Maintaining proper levels allows nurses to give the best care possible every day while avoiding burnout. Despite the tasks of nurses remaining unaltered, their daily operations are strongly influenced by informatics with a considerable focus on precision and articulation of patient information and care preference.
The nursing profession has been quickly varying to correspond to advancements and arising challenges in the health sector. In the nursing profession, similar to other healthcare fields, technology and informatics are being utilized to tackle entrenched challenges while considerably influencing how nurses operate in patient care. A different approach in which informatics has modified the practices of nurses is in the documentation (Collins et al., 2017). Informatics has eliminated paperwork and charts that were methodically updated. Instead, nurses have a high likelihood of keeping notes and patient data in electronic health records and other technological means that retain medical accounts and are easily available.
Impact on Clinical Judgment
Nurse leaders face challenges that need to be effectively addressed using critical judgment. They make clinical decisions that have far-reaching effects, which highly influence the lives of patients. A critical appraisal may entail nurse leaders acquiring and analyzing cues to identify clients who require attention. Such signals prompt the nurse to initiate an appropriate course of action to support patients in the proper moment. Competency in technology and nursing informatics reinforces nurses’ clinical judgment skills (Collins et al., 2017). Despite the arising challenges, informatics has a strong influence on the improvement of nursing practice since it allows quick access to patient data, improvement of overall proficiency, and decrease of possible errors. Analyzing massive amounts of data obtained on patient care and outcomes aids in determining the best treatment options for these ailments and scenarios in the future.
Emerging Health Initiatives
Nursing leadership is an essential skill that enables health professionals to circumnavigate the intricate and changing medical systems effectively while tackling problems and making judgments associated with concerns such as quality of care, cost, affordability, equity, and access. Therefore, there is a need for nurse leaders to be thoroughly trained and equipped to make suitable decisions always. For example, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)-Wharton Executive Leadership Program addresses difficulties such as managing and leading change, persuading and motivating a wide collection of stakeholders, producing value innovation, and forging strategic connections in highly dynamic situations.
The Australian College of Nursing’s Emerging Nurse Leader (ENL) program helps student nurses improve their leadership abilities and confidence by providing them with unmatched access to high-ranking nurse leaders, career guidance, mentoring, and skills development opportunities. Nurse management at the patients’ bedside is an emerging area of study. The Institute of Medicine report affirms that nurses are fundamental in providing effective communication involving different medical disciplines and guaranteeing the stability of patient care (Giddens, 2018). Effective nursing leadership centers on healthcare teams, patients, and families instead of recognized leadership positions.
Computerized provider order entry (CPOE), a system that enables medical practitioners to utilize a computer to submit health orders electronically, has evolved because of technology and nursing informatics. In nursing, technology and informatics play a vital role in care coordination. Technology and informatics ensure that patient privacy and safety are sustained while changing information into valuable knowledge. The incorporation of informatics in evidence-based strategies helps improve the quality of care delivered to patients (Collins et al., 2017). For instance, with the application of technology and informatics, the realization of variations in the patient’s condition may occur fast if essential information is readily accessible. Information on patients’ vital signs is available, and the data may be easily construed, structured, and organized.
Advancing Workplace Communication
Instant, direct, and effective communication in the healthcare field is paramount for successful leadership. The wellness and safety of patients rely on clear and precise information from the leaders. One of the practices of advancing communication within the healthcare metaparadigm is evaluating the existing mode of information sharing. Gap assessment helps to establish areas where communication in the healthcare system may be improved.
Another way of advancing communication in the medical field is restructuring communication channels, which enhances collaboratives for the improvement of technology and informatics. Unnecessary steps should be eliminated to eradicate confusion and time wastage (Giddens, 2018). The third approach of advancing communication is by providing all healthcare personnel and stakeholders a voice. If leaders give all health professionals a voice and cherish their contribution, communication in the healthcare environment will improve.
Conclusion
The facet of leadership is remarkable in the nursing career. Nursing and other medical systems are increasingly incorporating technology in daily practices at a quick pace. Informatics and effective leadership are vital in the nursing profession because of the quickly changing technological progressions. Leadership is typified by its underlying influence and incorporates interpersonal skills to inspire others to realize a certain objective. With technological improvement, medical providers and organizations have enhanced the collection, examination, and leverage of data. If leaders ensure all health professionals have a voice and appreciate their contribution, communication in the healthcare setting will improve.
References
Collins, S., Yen, P. Y., Phillips, A., & Kennedy, M. K. (2017). Nursing informatics competency assessment for the nurse leader: The Delphi study. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 47(4), 212-218. Web.
Giddens, J. (2018). Transformational leadership: What every nursing dean should know. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(2), 117-121. Web.
