The practice of nursing has undergone a lot of changes over the years. One of the most important aspects is greater appreciation of the role that nurses play in any clinical setup. Nurses are now called upon to fill strategic roles and managerial positions as evidence of their extended responsibilities. With this in mind, the people tasked with leadership in a nursing setup may opt to follow varied managerial approaches to the issues with which they deal. It is against that backdrop that this paper will compare and contrast nurse leadership versus management as they apply to the issue of patient satisfaction.
Patient Satisfaction
Hospitals and other clinical facilities provide healthcare as a service to patients who are their customers. Like with any other institution, customer experience and satisfaction become critical components of the quality of service offered (Healey & Lesneski, 2013, pg. 253). It is an especially important metric in a dispensation which is patient- centered and one whereby decisions are made to prioritize the patient. Some of the aspects of patient satisfaction include communication with and the responsiveness of clinicians and other staff at the hospital, information about medicines, pain management, the cleanliness of the hospital environment, as well as the information given on discharge (Healey & Lesneski, 2013, pg. 253). Nurse leaders are expected to play an active role in ensuring that patient satisfaction is given the priority it deserves and that the care provided meets the expectation of the patients.
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Approaches to the Issue
As earlier mentioned, nurses in senior positions may approach the matter of patient satisfaction from different perspectives. For starters, the terms leader and manager may be used interchangeably within the nursing field. However, they might imply different things on closer analysis (Healey & Lesneski, 2013). First, a nurse manager will describe a position that an individual holds within the organizational setup (McRae, 2017, pg. 51). It implies power and control over people in certain situations. On the other hand, the power that a leader possesses may not necessarily come from holding a position of seniority over others. It derives from one’s ability to influence other people. The influence will likely come from communicating effectively as well through interpersonal skills (McRae, 2017, pg. 51). It is worth noting that a nurse can show leadership at practically any level even without having to manage or supervise anybody.
When it comes to patient safety, a nurse leader and manager may take totally different approaches to the issue. For starters, a manager may be interested in ensuring that each person does whatever they are supposed to do (McRae, 2017, pg. 52). The individual is more concerned about following the laid- down procedures and managing the people placed under their reporting line. The person may delegate his or her responsibilities to those below and ensure that they oversee whatever is being done. Therefore, a nurse manager is task- oriented and is interested in seeing that one fulfills whatever is set out for them at the workplace. With regard to patient satisfaction, a nurse manager will be interested in ensuring that the hospital improves on its satisfaction scores from patient surveys and identifying issues that may be of concern with regard to the matter.
On the other hand, nurse leadership would take on a different outlook towards patient satisfaction. As earlier mentioned, a leader is all about influencing other people. Therefore, a nurse leader would be more concerned with setting and upholding standards of patient satisfaction and getting others to follow (Olson, 2013, 342). The role is not as task- oriented as that of a manager and is less about following a certain set framework when working. Here, one is called upon to use their skills, knowledge, and communication to inspire others onto a particular course. As a leader in charge of patient satisfaction, one would be expected to go the extra mile and to take on more risk in the quest to find better ways of getting things done. At the same time, one is also called upon to spearhead transformation in the work environment for the benefit of patients. Most importantly, the leadership approach is one that is people- oriented and requires a lot of engagement. In this case, the leader must inspire and empower the nurses so that they are better able to discharge their roles (Olson, 2013, pg. 342). The nurses will in turn be able to empower the patients so that they can actively manage their health and that will contribute to increased satisfaction levels.
Personal Approach
Ultimately, different people will take on varied approaches to a given issue based on their beliefs and philosophies to which they subscribe. Personally, I would prefer to approach nursing matters from a leadership point of view. While the position would call for an individual to fulfill some managerial and supervisory tasks, it is also important to have a people- centered approach which makes one stand out as a true leader. The challenges of the modern day nursing practice demand that nurses are well empowered to respond to the ever- complex situations that they increasingly face. Most importantly, the need for a more patient- centered approach to the provision of care means that it will be important to become proactive in addressing the issues that could stand in the way of the set goals (McRae, 2017, pg.52). As far as patient satisfaction goes, my style would be one of demonstrating best practice that the rest of the team should follow and things that they should embrace to achieve the desired outcomes. There is also a need to provide mentorship especially to the younger practitioners who may need extra guidance before they are fully confident of their abilities.
Source of Funding
Patient safety is a matter of utmost importance in the healthcare setup. As seen above, it is something that would require several changes to ensure that patients leave feeling more satisfied than before. For starters, a nurse leader would need to entrench the use of healthcare analytics to get a better understanding of patient satisfaction (Healey & Lesneski, 2013, pg. 275). The use of analytics would make it possible to decipher the relationships that exist between patient experience, employee satisfaction, and clinical outcomes. Secondly, it would be critical to leverage on innovative technology such as interactive education systems that provide patients with information about their health. In any case, part of improving patient satisfaction lies in empowering patients to take better control of their health. Ultimately, such undertakings would require funding to accomplish. A nurse leader could turn to several possible sources to acquire the necessary funding which could be at the federal, state, or even local level. Examples of places from where one could source the funding include the CDC and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (Healey & Lesneski, 2013, pg. 278). The funding could be used to acquire the relevant technology and to come up with the means necessary to disseminate the information that would lead to higher rates of patient satisfaction.
All in all, patient satisfaction is an important issue in any healthcare setting. A nurse leader and manager would approach the matter using different approaches. Leadership is all about ensuring that one can influence the rest to follow them in doing something positive. Therefore, a nurse leader will be called upon to do more than what is in the job description to ensure that there is better patient satisfaction.
References
Healey, B., & Lesneski, C. (2013). Transforming public health practice San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.
Olson, L. (2013). Public Health Leadership Development: Journal of Public Health Management And Practice , 19 (4), 341-347. doi: 10.1097/phh.0b013e3182703de2
McRae, S. (2017). Transforming leadership for patient satisfaction Nursing Management (Springhouse) , 48 (2), 51-54 doi: 10.1097/01.numa.0000511923.13387.69
