Understanding Leadership in Nursing: A BSN Perspective

As the healthcare landscape continues to change and evolve, there is heightened demand for effective nurse leaders. Nurse leaders can serve as mentors and guides, ushering nurses through organizational changes and helping them meet the dynamic needs of modern patients. Discovering the different types of leadership in nursing and understanding which leadership skills in nursing are in high demand can help you prepare for a long and rewarding nursing career.

What Is Leadership in Nursing?

Nurse leaders are healthcare professionals, often in managerial positions. Nurse leaders must oversee staff, create schedules that prioritize patient well-being, manage budgets, and motivate and inspire their team. Effective nurse leadership can significantly impact an entire healthcare organization, from enhancing workplace morale to reducing burnout and improving patient outcomes.

Role of a BSN in Fostering Leadership Skills

An online RN to BSN degree program will build upon the practical nursing skills learned in the associate degree program, allowing registered nurses to develop an advanced understanding of the best evidence-based care strategies and practices. In addition, the curriculum for the BSN program also emphasizes emotional intelligence, effective communication, patient advocacy, and leadership skill development. This allows nurses to expand their foundation and advance their nursing careers.

Why Is Leadership Important in Nursing?

According to the American Nurses Association, effective and high-quality leadership in nursing is critical to the success of any healthcare facility. Strong nurse leaders can:

• Maximize the use of available resources.
• Improve operational efficiency at the healthcare facility.
• Boost workplace morale and reduce burnout.
• Encourage professional growth among nurses.
• Improve patient outcomes.
• Improve patient satisfaction ratings.

Key Leadership Skills for BSN Nurses

Registered nurses with a BSN degree are uniquely prepared for leadership positions, largely because of the comprehensive degree program that they have completed. These are some of the key leadership skills in nursing:

Communication

Communication skills are vital in nursing, particularly because nurses often serve as the point of contact between the patient and the physician, as well as between the patient and their family members. Nurse leaders must be able to communicate clearly and effectively to identify goals and expectations. They must also provide patients and family members with accurate and understandable information about their diagnosis, treatment plan, and expected outcomes.

Critical Thinking and Decision-Making

Nurses working directly with patients often come to their supervisors or managers to discuss complex cases. Nurse leaders must be able to consider a variety of factors to come to a swift and evidence-based decision regarding patient care. This makes critical thinking and decision-making two of the most essential leadership skills in nursing.

Emotional Intelligence

Empathy and compassion rest at the core of the nursing profession. Not only must a nurse leader be able to empathize with the way their patients are feeling, but they must also show compassion when guiding and mentoring the nurses who work for them. Nursing is an incredibly stressful profession, and nurse leaders should work to ease the burden of those who report to them by being compassionate and understanding in challenging circumstances.

Conflict Resolution

Nurse leaders may sometimes be called upon to settle disputes or disagreements, sometimes between nurses and their patients or even between patients, and their providers. Nurses who know how to advocate for the needs of their patients as well as the needs of their staff will be able to maneuver through conflict with ease, often producing a resolution that is advantageous to all parties involved.

Responsibilities of Nurse Leaders

Depending on their position, a nurse leader may have a wide range of responsibilities. Not only are they responsible for clinical duties, but they also must manage administrative tasks while simultaneously ensuring that all standards of care are met within the facility. Below are some of the most common responsibilities of nurse leaders:

Patient Advocacy

The primary duty of a nurse leader is to ensure that all patients receive safe, high-quality care while receiving treatment at a healthcare facility. Nurse leaders must be able to advocate for the needs of all patients, considering medical, cultural, and personal considerations, requiring nurse leaders to have a high level of emotional intelligence.

Team Coordination

As the voice of authority within a healthcare team, nurse leaders must be able to coordinate with all nurses who report to them and ensure that the team is working together toward common goals. Nurse leaders must often develop and implement a staff schedule that prioritizes patient care, improves operational efficiency, and prevents burnout.

Policy Development

Depending on the facility where they work and their role in the healthcare organization, nurse leaders may play a role in developing policies for the facility. Nurse leaders can offer insight into the patient experience and the staff morale as they work to create patient care and workplace policies that benefit the entire organization.

Quality Improvement

Nurse leaders are responsible for creating and implementing standards of care at a healthcare facility and must work to make sure that those standards are maintained. They may be required to collect data regarding the patient experience as well as staff morale to make improvements that benefit everyone at the healthcare facility.

Staff Mentorship

Nurse leaders play a unique role in helping to grow and develop the nurses who work for them. Nurse leaders can provide those who report to them with training opportunities and ongoing mentorship, ensuring that they can reach their full potential and enjoy a rewarding, lucrative nursing career.

Impact of Effective Leadership on Healthcare

Effective nurse leadership can have a ripple effect on an entire healthcare facility, highlighting the importance of training programs and mentorship programs. Nurse leaders can have an impact on healthcare by offering:

Improved Patient Outcomes and Care

Nurse leaders who prioritize evidence-based care and know how to effectively utilize the resources available to them can improve patient outcomes as well as their care experience. In addition, many of the best nurse leaders implement strategic policies that aim to improve specific aspects of patient care. This establishes that every patient receives personalized treatment while at the healthcare facility.

Enhanced Team Performance and Staff Satisfaction

In addition to prioritizing the patient experience, the most effective nurse leaders also advocate for the needs of their staff members. By creating a cohesive hospital team, nurses can create a positive work environment in which nurses feel respected and appreciated. This helps to reduce burnout and improve staff retention.

Reduced Healthcare Costs

By effectively managing resources, improving the patient care experience, and increasing retention rates among staff members, nurse leaders can reduce overall healthcare costs. This then makes high-quality care more affordable and accessible for everyone in the community.

Leadership Theories in Nursing

Nurse leaders across all specialties often find that they align with specific leadership styles in nursing, with many taking a blended approach to the various leadership theories. These are the most common leadership styles in nursing:

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders tend to be influential mentors largely because they align themselves with a leadership style that relies heavily on inspiration, motivation, and growth among peers. Transformational leaders in nursing often emphasize skill development, both on a personal and professional level, to help the team achieve its healthcare goals.

Servant Leadership

Nurses who adopt the servant leadership style are motivated to take on supervisory and management positions to serve the greater needs of the healthcare facility or community at large. They often advocate for increased employee development, as they believe this is the best way to achieve the goals that the team has set. Nurse educators are often considered to be servant leaders.

Situational Leadership

Described as a flexible and adaptable leadership style, situational leadership requires a nurse leader to take into consideration a variety of factors before deciding. Situational leadership is ideal in clinical settings, but it doesn't always accommodate the strategic plans required to achieve long-term goals.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership is ideal for nurse managers responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of a hospital team. Transactional leaders maximize efficiency by effectively utilizing available resources to achieve short-term goals.

Authentic Leadership

Prioritizing transparency and ethical decision-making, nurse leaders who adopt an authentic leadership style emphasize the importance of building relationships not only with patients but also with other members of the healthcare team. The authentic leadership style is particularly valuable in a clinical setting, where critical, ethical decisions must be made on a daily basis.

Developing Leadership Skills in BSN Programs

Aspiring nurse leaders will find that they can develop the interpersonal and clinical skills required to take on higher-level positions in the nursing field by enrolling in an online RN to BSN degree program.

Leadership Coursework and Continuing Education

The online RN to BSN degree builds upon your nursing foundation and allows you to focus on leadership coursework throughout your degree program. This gives you both the practical and soft skills needed to take on advanced nursing positions.

Clinical Practice

Throughout your RN to BSN degree program, you will complete additional clinical practice hours, giving you more insight into the various nursing specialties available and allowing you to focus your career on a pathway that interests you most.

Mentorship Programs

Throughout your online RN to BSN program, you may have the opportunity to connect with professors and classmates who become mentors who guide you during this next phase of your career. Mentorship programs within these degree programs are particularly valuable because they transcend the workplace environment and provide you with support throughout every phase of your nursing career.

Strategies for Overcoming Leadership Challenges

Leadership in nursing is complex and dynamic. No two days are alike in any clinical setting, which requires nurse leaders to be agile and flexible every step of the way. These are some of the most common leadership challenges in nursing and how to overcome them.

Self-Care and Resilience

Burnout in nursing is becoming increasingly common, and nurse leaders can help reduce burnout in nurses at all levels by stressing the importance of self-care. Nurse leaders should ensure their nurses take care of themselves by providing quiet lunch breaks, opportunities to exercise, and mental health support.

Effective Communication and Problem-Solving

Miscommunication in the healthcare setting can lead to complications with patients and discord among staff members. Nurse leaders can create and implement communication strategies that ensure that everyone has access to the information and direction they need. Frequent, clear communication is essential in any nurse leadership position.

Professional Development

Nurse leaders should recognize the powerful role that professional development plays in nursing. By providing nurses with ample professional development opportunities, you will improve employee retention rates as well as patient outcomes.

Advocacy

Nurse leaders may be faced with challenges that require them to advocate for their patients or fellow nurses. The most effective nurse leaders are willing and able to advocate for policy changes that protect their patients and their staff members.

Develop the Top Leadership Skills in Nursing at Lindenwood University

Many nurse leadership positions require nurses to have a BSN degree because BSN-prepared nurses have well-developed leadership skills as well as an advanced understanding of the best nursing practices. At Lindenwood University, we offer an  that allows you to pursue your BSN degree and learn more about the types of leadership in nursing. Our curriculum emphasizes the importance of evidence-based care and ethical decision-making in nursing, allowing you to develop leadership skills needed to advance your nursing career.

Request more information about our online degree programs today.