Transformational leadership is a leadership approach that brings value and positive change to the followers with the ultimate goal of transforming those same followers into great leaders.

Accordingly, this style of leadership’s main goal is to convert the followers into great leaders, in addition to providing guidelines for success. The leader in this style, on all occasions, has words of motivation for the followers that heightens moral for the reason of producing a higher level of performance.

There are many advantageous ways of inspiring the group. To begin with, the leader is to associate with the identity of the follower. By asking to questions: Who are they? What are their goals in life? What kind of background do you have? A transformational leader finds out all the pertinent information about their potential leaders and uses those specifics to generate the transformations.

For this purpose, the leader is always perceived as a good role model to the group. The leader inspires them to be the best they can be and on all occasions, challenges them when needed. All things considered, the leader understands and is aware of all their weaknesses so the future leaders can be up for the challenge and optimize their performance.

In conclusion, the followers of this style must possess charisma, idealized influence and stimulation, so the end result can be the finished task. This style promotes new direction that allows the followers to successfully execute the assignments on their own. Being a transformational leader is somewhat challenging but the rewards are endless.

Laissez-Faire leadership is best defined as a non-authoritative style of leadership. Laissez-Faire, is French which means allow to pass, or let go.

Accordingly, this leadership explains why the leaders possess no control, as they try to have the least amount of involvement as possible. The leaders maintain the belief that if people are left alone they will excel in their own time. Consequently, these leaders allow their team to be responsible for the own outcomes, with no intervention or assistance from management.

The Laissez-Faire style is only effective if the members are skilled, prideful, experienced and highly educated. In addition, this style is not for employees who need constant supervision, and always need a pat on the back for a job well done.

All things considered, in the interest of nurses, the majority of the time, nurses will have no leadership or direction from upper management. In the event of an emergency, there is no time for calling for assistance or direction. The implementation of the nursing process has got to be immediate with no intervention from management until problem has been alleviated. For this reason, this style is not effective for nurses that lack experience, are unable to function on their own and need constant interaction with their preceptor.

The manager, as I stated earlier, is nowhere to be found, so you must be a self started and motivated by your own means to work with this style of leadership.

The first quality of a good leader is that he has passion for the craft and challenges you to be the best that you can be at whatever you do. If things are made easy or handed to you, you will not work as hard to accomplish it. You are already aware of the outcome and it is always in your favor. A good leader challenges the highest level of ability and expects the best from you. He expects you to put your best foot forward, consequently rewarding you when you have done your best. A good leader always sets a good example because he leads by example. If your leader is unprepared, unmotivated, has no confidence and has lost his passion then you will be the same way. Your leader strives to be number one, because he expects the same determination from you. A good leader finds ways to keep his team motivated and you will benefit from his experience.

In addition, a good leader offers a complete explanation of the job to be done, as well as clear and concise directions so that you will successfully do a great job the first time. A good leader wants his team to be successful with every task because that reflects back on him. A good leader praises a team’s good work and offers ways to improve on the jobs that were not as successful.

In any case, one of the traits of a good leader is he is always visible. In order to provide strong leadership he needs to have a strong visual presence with the workers. They need to see him in the middle of a task working alongside them getting the job done. He needs to be available for questions, comments and general discussions. He needs to be in the forefront so that the followers can have him at their disposal when needed.

Furthermore, another trait of a successful leader is consistency. Keeping a working, supervisory relationship is the key. People will come to you for leadership and guidance and must receive direction consistency on a daily basis. Also, it is important not to let your personal feelings cloud your decisions. Stay focused on the situation or issue, not on any one particular person. Many times leaders are connected with some workers more than others. Leaders must never let the working relationships change their response. All employees musts be treated equally with the same amount of fairness and respect. Showing favoritism hampers the fluidity of the working process.

Above all, leaders must include employees in the problems solving process. When leaders include their followers in the troubleshooting process, it makes them feel like an important part of the team. By keeping all lines of communication open, encouraging input for improvement and change, will set the team apart. The leader improves the team by listening to them, discussing and challenging their skills while complementing on jobs well done.

Simultaneously, setting the tone for the work environment, coming from an optimistic leader, can excite and motivate the team to perform the best job possible. Confidence, exhibited by leadership, can be contagious, as employees feed off the tone set by leadership. A good leader is encouraged to show gratitude for a job well done, and encouraged to thank all whom were involved.

Incidentally, many times leaders make mistakes they are human beings just like everyone else. They, like all people, are not perfect and will make mistakes, while the good leader admits to those errors. Every team member will have more respect for the leader if they are open and honest about all events. Honesty is always and forever the best policy.

By the same token, sometimes leaders make the mistake of putting business before people. A good leader always make sure his followers feel like they are a active part of the team and that all the information they present is just as important as any other member.

On the contrary, my preceptor Mrs. McKenzie is a wonderful leader. She is always ready to teach you something new and has the confidence that you will do a good job. She is a good leader because she does not have the “I’m the teacher, you’re the student” attitude. She is always open to suggestions and answers the many questions that I have for her each and every time I am in clinic. When there is a code or another stressful situation she never loses control. Mrs. McKenzie is full of useful information for both me and the doctor. Ms Angela, the charge nurse over the emergency room, seems cold and stuffy but when in action she wants the students to be involved in all aspects of patient care. She goes as far as informing the medical doctor on duty that they have a student and makes sure you are in the middle of everything that comes thru the emergency room.

Correspondingly, on my clinical rotations, the most positive trait brought to my attention, is one of teamwork. When a new patient is admitted, no matter who is assigned to that patient, all the nurses converge on the room and make sure the core nurse has everything she needs.

For this purpose, one nurse starts the IV, one nurse disrobes the patient, one nurse applies the ECG leads and the other starts the initial assessment along with the vital signs. Nevertheless, as the student, if you don’t confidently move fast and be quick on your feet, you will miss out on all important experiences. Students need positive role models and feedback to make certain that what they see and experience in their nursing rotations, make them a competent nurse throughout their entire career.

The nurses on my rotation worked like a well oiled machine and made sure that the patient as well as the family had all they needed and were comfortable with the care we were providing. Many things make you a reliable nurse but I believe proper training and education play a large role in being able to perform effectively, thus increasing reliability.

The negative traits that I have observed is some nurses do not want to have a student or a nurse in orientation for that matter. They forget that at one time they were a student or a new nurse on the job. They just want to have less interference as possible to make their day go by. You are not allowed to ask them any questions or be in their patients’ room. I have observed nurses not always using the proper techniques for different duties around the hospital. They are not washing their hands between patients, not using sterile technique when necessary and sometimes just over looking hospital protocol all together.

The one negative trait that I will never possess is that I will never be a nurse because of the pay. I will always be the kind of nurse that loves nursing and that is why I do it every day. I will never forget where I came from and treat someone like they are less than me because they work in a different area than me. I will never be the type of nurse that speaks negatively about a medical doctor or a nurse in front of the patient or anyone else for that matter. I will always have respect for my leaders in nursing even when they don’t have it for me. However, I will be the nurse that pulls then to the side to try to get the problem worked out instead of working with hostility daily.

All things considered, I am a transformational leader. I work well with others, am trained and highly motivated with everything I do. I love to see people do well under the title they work. I always try to be a good example and promote nothing but positive attitudes in the work place. I provide the guidelines and would allow the employees to do what they do. I like this style because it utilizes the skills that you know your employees already possess, that makes them into their own leaders.

My peers come to me for advice on a daily basis because they know that I really have a no-nonsense attitude when I am working towards something. I offer strong but friendly words of advice and never sugar coat anything to them. When a plan needs to be made normally I am the one who implements the stages. To my friends I am a strong leader because I get it done and take no excuses. Now will that make me a good RN? I hope so, but time will only tell. An RN has to be a strong selfless leader who never turns down a challenge unless it is unsafe for the patients. Always ready to give the right information when needed and always learning new things every day.

I was never given the opportunity to be the team leader, but had it happened I am confident I would have handled it in a very professional manner. I would have made sure that I referenced back to the BON website when I was unsure about delegation and my scope of practice as a nurse.

My personal philosophy is I believe that nursing is a profession that uses the criteria Pavalko used to define the eight dimensions of a profession. It shows that nursing has relevance to social values, education, self-motivation, a code of ethics, commitment to lifelong work, a theoretical framework, and there is a common identity. Additionally, how the ADN prepared professional nurse has many roles, such as a caregiver, teacher, advocate, manager, colleague, and expert.

It is my opinion nursing is a remarkably rewarding profession that consists of various obstacles that are triumphed over in order to pave the way for a rewarding and honorable future. There are many significant achievements accomplished by nurses in today’s society including the values instilled in our social lives, as well as the education attained by individuals in order to seize the ability to give great care to the community. I believe it takes a unique type of person with a great deal of motivation and ambition to be capable of performing as a caretaker for others. It is crucial to believe in what you are doing by always using superior judgment, and by following the “Code of Ethics” in each decision you make in your working institution or at home with friends and family. Using the term “Career” in regards to nursing seems to be an understatement of my outlook on this astounding health care position, I have always considered this opportunity as a permanent gratifying commitment not only to myself, but to all of those whom rely on my specialized training and care for their well being. Although maybe not suitable for each person, nursing is a profession of choice for general public to apply themselves to if they so desire. There are numerous different regulations and system policies the nurses adhere to in order to maintain safety and quality care for all people. I believe nursing colleagues may be able to unite as one group with the same values in their trade in order to work harder on leading by example, and following each others strategies as well; furthermore, overcoming the obstacles of modern day traditional standards and excelling beyond the current generations outlook of the nursing profession.

Nursing leadership and management is crucial in the foundation of nursing care. There is a direct correlation between leadership and quality of care.   Poor nursing leadership leads to poor patient outcome and, inversely, good nursing leadership leads to excellent patient outcomes.

I believe that a profession has a commitment to a lifelong work because you get involved in your establishment. It is very hard for me to think of leaving the nursing field, or the hospital I work in now, because there are so many people relying on me for my knowledge of this hospital. I have grown attached to those I work for and with. The rules of this hospital differ from others and after familiarizing myself in such depth here I could not just leave in hopes of finding another place to be so comfortable or appreciated. However, in today’s generation many nurses do not feel the same way. There are many nurses that choose to work short term in one hospital and then leave to work in another facility. Due to this constant battle for hospitals and other health care provider facilities to keep continuous adequate nursing staff, the United States has had to find other means of populating our health care systems. For instance, “According to the American Hospital Association, 17% of hospitals recruit from abroad to fill nursing vacancies.” New Trends in foreign Nurse Recruitment,” Texas Nursing Voice”, April, May, June 2008. That says to me we really need to start more nursing schools and helping the people who are already working in the medical field to move up to nursing and make a solid career move.

The most important thing I learned from this paper and from my clinical experience is that every member of the team really holds the same amount of importance. There is no one person that is more important than the other. If there is no team work involved there is no team. Being a good nurse not only takes excellent training but it takes compassion for the job. There is always something you can improve and many new things to learn. This new role is going to be somewhat of a challenge but with continued hard work I know I can get it done. I have learned to never be afraid of the unknown, just do your best to figure it out and make it work in your favor.

In addition I learned that being a part of a team although very important, being an individual is even more important. Do not allow other people’s negative views cloud your judgment. As a new nurse everyone is trying to recruit you to their team or to their way of thinking. My preceptor has always told me to stand on my own two feet and whatever decision I make in my career I need to make sure that I am comfortable with it and that it satisfies the job. I have learned to always keep patient safety first and treat the patient as I would want a member of my family treated. Nursing is a rewarding profession physically, mentally and in spirit. Throughout my years in the nursing profession I have observed many challenging circumstances with a wide variety of remarkable people. All individuals, at some stage in their lives, will seek medical attention. During these times of need each person desires to find comfort in the ones looking over them. People need a doctor that is aware of their situation and that has a plan of overcoming the quandary the patient is in. These same individuals interact with nurses recurrently and find relief in their understanding and ability to console the patients during the period of their predicament. The major social value of the contributing nurses is, at times, overpowering. With so many people all over the world constantly struggling to endure their circumstances it is evident of how valuable the medical skills are and the people who provide them.