Riverbend City Team Dynamics Mission, Coursework Example

Introduction

Decision-making processes within the Riverbend City simulation offer a number of powerful lessons regarding nursing leadership and management activities. In this capacity, nurses possess an opportunity to promote change, while also determining how to improve the practice environment. Nurse leaders must possess a high degree of skill and competency in their activities and decisions so that they are able to support patients in the best possible manner. Decision-making is a critical component of the nursing profession and often requires quick turnaround time that will have a significant impact on patient outcomes; therefore, knowledge and skills must be sharp and practical to accommodate current needs. Nurse leaders must be able to recognize that their communication and other tools must be appropriate and timely for the needs of the patient population, along with the recognition of emerging trends and challenges that influence short and long-term outcomes. The following discussion will address the primary concerns of the Riverbend City simulation upon reflection of the actions that took place and the nursing-based decisions that were made.

Analysis

Throughout nursing practice, there must be a cohesive and appropriate strategy in place in order to accommodate the needs of different patient populations. With the Riverbend City simulation, nurse leaders faced a number of challenges in enabling their strengths to be recognized and their voices to be heard in the context of the organization and its strategy. Nurses contribute to the overall direction of the organization, but may possess a limited approach if they are unable to overcome other decisions that are made. In some ways, nurse leaders in this example possessed some limitations in their efforts to effectively contribute to the success of the organization and those that require the most support. It is important to recognize that nurses, such as those in this scenario, possess considerable limitations because they are only able to make a limited number of decisions in the context of their surroundings.

Changing the direction of an organization through its nursing leadership requires a high level of support and understanding of the issues that contribute to empowerment and how this might support a change in practice that could ultimately benefit the patient population (Suominen et.al, 2011). Nurse leaders must be supportive of their organizations in order to provide the best possible contribution, and if there is a high level of dissatisfaction and a low level of empowerment, this has a significant impact on nursing-related behaviors and outcomes (Suominen et.al, 2011). As a result, it is necessary to encourage nurses to gain greater empowerment over their activities and to be aware of areas where change and progress are possible (Suominen et.al, 2011).

An organization is only as strong as its key players; therefore, nurse managers must take advantage of opportunities to gain empowerment in an effort to produce effective results (Rao, 2012). With Riverbend City, this was a difficult challenge because there were a number of driving forces that appeared to compete with each other in the decisions that were made. In order to learn from these experiences, nurse leaders must be flexible and gain empowerment through their actions as they gain comfort with making decisions that will have a positive impact on patients over the long term. There are many issues to consider in addressing the importance of nursing leadership in this type of example, and lessons must be learned that will be effective in supporting the growth of the organization and the ability of nurses to maximize their contributions through greater empowerment (Rao, 2012). This strategy enables nurse leaders to gain respect and support from their peers and to be effective in contributing to the improvement of the organization over time (Rao, 2012). In the future, nurses must be able to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in lesser known areas, particularly as their responsibilities continue to increase into different areas, and this requires a high level of empowerment and encouragement from their fellow colleagues (Rao, 2012).

Perhaps most important to the discussion of Riverbend City is how nurses might learn from this experience and bring new ideas to the future, and this is best accomplished by using an approach that supports long-term growth and consistency in achieving effective leadership (Huston, 2008). Furthermore, this process requires a high level of support and acknowledgement of the differences that exist between nurse leaders and their level of knowledge and understanding of the field and its current needs (Hernandez, 2012). These factors will ultimately contribute to the overall direction of an organization’s nursing practice and its decision-making activities at the leadership level (Hernandez, 2012).

Conclusion

The Riverbend City simulation represents an opportunity to recognize problems with the decisions that were made and how they impacted the overall direction of the organization and its nursing practice objectives. There are a number of complex factors to consider that require nurse leaders to develop a greater focus on how their decisions will impact the organization over the long term. This process is ongoing and requires nurse leaders to gain greater empowerment and strength in making decisions and in evaluating their activities and strategic approaches within the organization. It is expected that nurse leaders will work collaboratively to make decisions that will have a positive impact on the organization and its patient population. As a result, this will enable nurse leaders to be empowered and to improve quality of care through their decisions, along with the recognition of any consequences that may arise if there are significant challenges that arise.

References

Hernandez, L.M. (2012). How can health care organizations become more health literate? Workshop Summary. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, retrieved from http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13402

Huston, C. (2008). Preparing nurse leaders for 2020. Journal of Nursing Management, 16(8), 905-911.

Rao, A. (2012).The contemporary construction of nurse empowerment. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 44(4), 396-402.

Suominen, T., Harkonen, E., Rankinen, S., Kuokkanen, L., Kukkurainen, M., & Doran, D. (2011). Perceived organizational change and its connection to the work-related empowerment. Nordic Journal of Nursing Research & Clinical Studies, 31(1), 4-9.