Essay on Interview With Director of Medical Surgical Nursing

On November 1st, 2016 I had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Katherine M. Sawyer RN, BSN of Owosso, Michigan. Katherine, a female nurse who has worked in the nursing field for thirty-six years began her nursing career at Ingham Medical where she was a full-time staff-nurse for three years; then worked as a per-diem staff-nurse for eleven years. After working at Ingham for a total of fourteen years, Katherine obtained a position at Memorial Healthcare in Owosso where she worked as a nurse educator for fifteen years. Shortly after this she became a Basic Life Saving (BLS) instructor as her main role as a nurse educator was to provide nursing orientation and this additional role fit in perfectly. After some time she became involved in Quality Improvement for four years, and she has now switched back to the nurse educator role where she once again has the role of nursing orientation for Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Patient Care Techs (PCTs). The number of staff she teaches and orientates each month varies between one and ten individuals. She also teaches BLS and First Aid at Baker College of Owosso. Her contact information is as follows: Phone number (989) 413-1974 and e-mail address kmsawyer521@gmail.com. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of Sawyer’s role in the nursing profession as a nurse leader. Individuals will learn of Sawyer’s many different roles, responsibilities, and the organizational structure of Memorial

Much has been written about the difference between management and leadership. In the past, competent management staffs ran effective companies. In light of our ever-changing world, however, most companies have come to realize that it is much more important to lead than to manage. In today's world the old ways of management no longer work. One reason is that the degree of environmental and competitive change we are experiencing is extreme. Although exciting, the world is also very unstable and confused. In an article entitled What’s the Difference between Your Hospital and the Other? Gary Campbell states that the difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager “finds himself quite willing to

"Leadership is more about change, inspiration, setting the purpose and direction, and building the enthusiasm, unity and 'staying-power' for the journey ahead. Management

Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.

To begin with, the authors are crystal clear when it comes down to laying out the blueprint the requirements needed for a successful leader. Stepping into any profession requires patience and clear thinking. The authors mention “taking a minute out each day of your leadership can really make a difference between a good and a bad leader”. Throughout the book, the authors step into depth explaining why it is necessary for the leaders to take just one minute out of their day to notice any noteworthy changes in relationship within the firm. By being packaged in the box the entire day and not thinking and stepping out the box, it can cause delays in work and/or possibly an unsuccessful firm. The authors move on to speaking about the different levels of management and the flexibility that occurs at those various levels.

When was the last time you were in the hospital or a loved one was in the hospital, and ever wondered where the nurse is, and they haven 't returned for hours. You finally push the assistance button several times, and they open the door and hurriedly say, “I will be right back”, then you don 't see them for a while again. When they come back to check up on you, you explain to them what you need, and then they send in a less qualified staff member to assist you. At this point, you become very annoyed and frustrated not to mention scared to be admitted in the hospital to begin with. Little do you know, your nurse has ten other patients and other non-nursing tasks that they are responsible taking care of. They have been working a double shift and are extremely exhausted, and a large stack of charts that they will have to do before their shift is over. As a patient, you now become frustrated and are not happy about this; as a nurse, they are just as frustrated as you are, not only because the amount of work they have but more importantly they can 't deliver the appropriate care they long to give. For most hospitals they do not hire enough registered nurses for reasons that are good and bad. This is an issue that needs to be addressed not only locally but nationally and on a constant basis. When there are too many patients for one registered nurse to attend to, nurses become exhausted, mistakes are made, and patients are unsatisfied. A minimum nurse to patient ratio needs to be

J.W. first began her nursing career after she graduated from Truman State University with a BSN. She then went back to school at Webster University and graduated with a master’s degree in both health services management and nursing. After working in clinical positions for many years, she decided to return to school one last time to obtain her EED in higher education leadership from Lindenwood University. After her graduation from Truman and Webster, she began working on a medical surgical floor and mostly conducted surgeries on hips and shoulders. She did that for about nine months, but decided to switch since her work was very physically demanding. She stated, “Then I went to a different town and I worked in ICU where I was a head nurse in the step down unit and dialysis unit for a while” (Personal communication, 10/19/2017). She then

In the interview the question about any advice she wanted to offer was asked, with a big smile on her face, I am sure, she responded that the field is “wide open” ("Nursing Informatics as a Career," 2011) she continued on to say, if you are a self-starter it

An interview was conducted with the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at an acute care facility. This discussion revolved around the following: her style of management, style of communication, decision-making skills, technical skills and delegating skills. Before sharing specific responses to each of these, the CNO wanted to clarify that because she was new to the organization and following someone who had been in this position for over 20 years, during the first year and transition phase, there were certain situations in which she was consciously adjusting her leadership style to fit the culture of the organization. She strongly felt over time the staff would adjust and become more familiar with her natural style of leadership and

Leadership is a facet of management. It is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. The main aim of a manager is to maximize the output of the organization through administrative implementation. To achieve this managers must undertake the four functions of management: planning, organization, leading and controlling. In some cases leadership is just one important component of the leading function. Predpall (1994) said, "Leaders must let vision, strategies, goals, and values be the guide-post for action and behavior rather than attempting to control others". In some circumstances, leadership is not required. For example, self-motivated groups may not require a single leader and may find leaders dominating. The fact that a leader is not always required proves that leadership is just an asset and is not essential.

A nursing director in a hospital organization is the chief of all nurses employed in the healthcare institution. He or she is appointed by the administrative body or a group of stock holders of the agency in accordance to the criteria stated by the policies of the organization as well as in congruence to the Nursing Law being applied in the state or location. By education and management experience, a registered nurse is given an administrative position wherein he or she can facilitate the implementation of the organization’s mission and vision statement to its personnel.

Before taking the leadership class I viewed leaders and managers the same and I was thinking that only a few people at the top of an organization can lead. However I was wrong and today I view leadership as the challenge and responsibility of every individual with potential to make a difference. Today, I view leadership as a social influence. It is initiating and guiding and the result is change. Leadership is more art than science and more skill than knowledge (Manning, p.61).

I received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia. I spent four years as a student-athlete at the institution where I quickly learned self-discipline, time management and leadership skills. After completing my BSN degree, I began my career as a nurse in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) at

What I can take away from Esther is that leadership is more than giving orders for others to follow. It is an individual who can look past themselves and help others become and do more than they think they can. To be a good leader it means more than knowing your field and reading reports but it is also very personal because what you do is share what you know and guide others to success.

In corporate America the term used to describe a person in a position of power is “Manager”. A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. Leaders motivate, challenge, and influence others to achieve goals. Great leaders have the necessary skills and attributes which allow them to connect with the team and organization. Being a leader is not the same as managing an organization. Leader’s posses the interpersonal skills needed to influence others to achieve a goal willingly. Leading is a major part of a manager’s job. Leaders do not need to be a manager to lead people, but managers must know how to lead as well as manage.