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Running head: ANALYZING A NURSE LEADER Analyzing a Nurse Leader Role Anna Rudd & Rebecca McMurphy Ferris State University 1 ANALYZING A NURSE LEADER 2 Analyzing a Nurse Leader Role The purpose of this work is to become more informed regarding the leadership requirements, strategies, and ethical issues that nurse leaders encounter. This work is also directed towards analyzing the role of a nurse leader and their effect on all staff and patient outcomes. One specific nurse leader, Susan Owens PhD, FNP-BC, MSN, BSN, RN, demonstrates admirable leadership qualities in multiple roles. Owens stated she attended Hope College for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Northern Michigan University for her Master of Science in Nursing, Grand Valley State University for her Family Nurse Practitioner Certification and Indiana University for her PhD in Nursing Science (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens did not obtain these degrees consecutively; she took breaks between pursing each degree (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens was employed as a Registered Nurse for around 17 years (personal communication, March 18, 2014). She continued her education and began working as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the health department in Crawford County in 2002 (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens currently works at Ferris State University as the Chair of the School of Nursing, Ferris State University faculty member teaching one course, and as a Nurse Practitioner at the health department in Big Rapids, Michigan (personal communication, March 18, 2014). As of now, Owens acts as the MSN coordinator at Ferris State University, but she will be giving this duty to her colleague starting in the fall of 2014 (personal communication, March 18, 2014).Owens claimed that ¾ of her current role consists of administrative duties (personal communication, March 18, 2014). In order to maintain her role as chair and faculty member at Ferris State University, she is required to have at least a Masters Degree (personal communication, March 18, 2014). In terms of her position as The Chair of the School of ANALYZING A NURSE LEADER 3 Nursing, it is a temporary appointment of three years and it is an elected position (personal communication, March 18, 2014). The remainder of this work will focus on Owens’ role as The Chair of the School of Nursing and a nurse leader. Job Duties As The Chair of the School of Nursing at Ferris State University, Owens is faced with large amounts of responsibility. She described her job duties by semester in order to outline her main responsibilities. During the fall, Owens must oversee that all reports for accreditation are sent to various accreditation boards, assure that scheduling is complete and functional, attend all Ferris State University School of Nursing meetings, and communicate all pertinent information to her peers (personal communication, March 18, 2014). During the spring, Owens works on completing peer reviews by sitting in on courses and observing their instruction (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Year round, Owens is responsible for fielding student complaints, as well as, ensuring her peers are working together and getting along (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens stated that all nursing faculty, just like students, are encouraged to follow their chain of command when addressing an issue (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens reports to Matthew Adeyanju, Dean of Ferris’ College of Health Professions, as well as, Julie Coon, Associate Dean of Ferris’ College of Health Professions (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens stated that nursing faculty, as well as, students report to her for any issues that arise (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Collaboration As The Chair of the School of Nursing, Owens collaborates with fellow nursing instructors, as well as clinical and program coordinators, and other faculty members (personal ANALYZING A NURSE LEADER 4 communication, March 18, 2014). She also works closely with the Associate Dean of Nursing, Julie Coon (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens is also the nursing coordinator at the Interdisciplinary Wellness Clinic at Ferris State University (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Here, she collaborates with faculty from The College of Pharmacy and The Michigan College of Optometry (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Legal or Ethical Issues An ethical issue mentioned by Owens was the problem of students cheating or being academically dishonest (personal communication, March 18, 2014). One study showed that “Despite the risk of being caught, as well as the penalty for cheating, nearly 65% of participants… reported engaging in some form of academic dishonesty [or cheating]” (Krueger, 2014, p.83). Owens also has to consider the legal issues involving the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (personal communication, March 18, 2014). FERPA is a “… Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records…” (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 2014). Furthermore, it involves the sharing of students’ academic information (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 2014). Maintaining confidentiality, in regards to what information can and cannot be shared, is an aspect in which Owens has discovered some gray areas (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Power and Influence Owens describes her leadership style as “flat” (personal communication, March 18, 2014). A flat leadership style involves everyone working together and contributing their thoughts to obtain the best outcome possible in all situations (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens admitted to having very little administrative experience and that she relies heavily on the help of Julie Coon, Associate Dean of Ferris’ College of Health Professions (personal ANALYZING A NURSE LEADER 5 communication, March 18, 2014). Because of Owens’ lack of experience with her role as chair, as well as, her laid back and collaborative attitude, she does not feel uncomfortable working on the same level with her peers in order to make decisions (personal communication, March 18, 2014). One study found that shared leadership, which is another name for flat leadership, “…can balance the demands on managers by providing a satisfying work environment and it is hypothesised [sic] that shared leadership may create better outcomes in the long term” (Rosengren & Bondas ,2010, p.294). Benefits of this leadership style are found within this study, but Owens also talked about benefits of its implementation here at Ferris State University. Owens stated that she felt as though her peers felt more comfortable speaking their opinions and ideas with this leadership style (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Decision and Problem-Solving Process Owens stated that her decision-making strategy is one that involves a lot of mulling (personal communication, March 18, 2014). She discussed her strategy of considering the problem at hand over and over again until it finally makes sense (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Owens does not like to address a problem until she fully understands the issue (personal communication, March 18, 2014). She encourages problem-solving to occur between the parties involved and she also asks for assistance in making decisions or addressing problems that she is not confident in solving alone (personal communication, March 18, 2014). Her problem-solving and decision-making processes are similar to her concept of flat leadership. Yoder-Wise (2014) states “Effective problem solving and decision making are predicated on an individual’s ability to think critically” (p. 101). The technique Owens uses of thinking over the situation or problem until she fully understands the circumstances is one that could be considered critically thinking. ANALYZING A NURSE LEADER 6 Management and Resolution of Conflict When conflict arises between two parties, for example, between a professor and a student, Owens prefers that they first try to work it out amongst themselves (personal communication, March 18, 2014). If this is not possible, she likes to take all information in, think on it for a time, and then make decisions that lead to a resolution that is best for everyone (personal communication, March 18, 2014). This is the conflict resolution strategy of collaboration. “Collaboration is an assertive and cooperative means of conflict resolution and results in a win/win solution” (Littlefiled, 1995, p.10). Furthermore, “…collaboration, is considered the best alternative for complex problem-solving involving others” (Littlefield, 1995, p. 10). Conclusion The purpose of this work was to interview a nurse manager or leader, and analyze certain aspects of their leadership. Areas such as problem-solving, conflict resolution, collaboration, as well as others were reviewed. These competencies are especially important for nurse managers, like Owens (Yoder-Wise, 2014). Through the interview, insights were gained regarding Owens’ level of competency in these areas. Furthermore, research supported her leadership methods and choices. Owens sets an excellent example regarding leadership skills. ANALYZING A NURSE LEADER 7 References Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). (2014). U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html Kruegar, L. (2014). Academic dishonesty among nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 53(2), 77-87. Retrieved from CINAHL database. Littlefield, V. (1995). Conflict resolution: Critical to productive schools of nursing. Journal of Professional Nursing, 11(1), 7-15. Retrieved from CINAHL database. Rosengren, K., & Bondas, T. (2010). Supporting “two-getherness”: Assumption for nurse managers working in a shared leadership model. Intensive & Critical Care Nursing, 26(5), 288-295. Retrieved from CINAHL database. Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2014). Leading and managing in nursing. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.