NR351 Week 6 Discussion, Best Leaders

NR351 Week 6 Discussion, Best Leaders The best leader I have ever known was initially one of my preceptors during my orientation period directly after graduation as an RN. She was a fabulous educator. Not once in that orientation period was I made to feel inferior as a new graduate. The skills that she demonstrated to me, allowed me to develop my nursing skills with her guidance. By definition in our text, “people who influence others”, she was most definitely a leader (Hood, 2018, p. 443) Without knowing it at the time, she utilized Transformational Leadership, a way of inspiring followers to enhance and develop their own leadership skills (Shaughnessy, Quinn Griffin, Bhattacharya, & Fitzpatrick, 2018). Learning from her example, I was able to develop better critical thinking skills and take on small leadership roles in the ICU. She was instrumental in me developing my “nursing backbone” when dealing with physicians. As we worked alongside one another for 5+ years, she became one of my best friends and confidants. Now, I try to utilize some of those leadership skills I learned from her when dealing with the RN and LPN nursing students I have contact with. I have but a brief interaction with most of them, but I try to impart that need for critical thinking in that short time. I also try to pass on the need for that “nursing backbone” and that they are to be a patient advocate, and that sometimes that means discussing with a physician why an order may not be appropriate for a particular patient. Hopefully, I am providing a lasting legacy of leadership skills to those students. References Hood, L. J. (2018). Leddy & Pepper's professional nursing (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Shaughnessy, M. K., Quinn Griffin, M. T., Bhattacharya, A., & Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2018, November). Transformational Leadership Practices and Work Engagement Among Nurse Leaders. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 48(11), 574-579.