Many leaders have assumed leadership responsibilities to meet the challenges posed by this pandemic. In this COVID-struck world, we need leadership furnished with meticulous observation, diligent management, and extreme dedication. A nurse isn’t just the doctor’s assistant anymore. Instead, they contribute to life-saving endeavors in a hospital. Effective nursing leadership has become one of the most critical factors to enhance patient outcomes and retain top-performing staff. Nurse leaders ensure that medical institutions have all the resources and staffing to provide optimal healthcare facilities to patients. Here’s how nursing leadership has been helpful during the pandemic:
Nurse leaders’ influence on healthcare
The world dedicated 2020 to the global nursing staff for their devoted services against an ongoing and deadly pandemic. But coronavirus isn’t the only challenge modern-day nurses are facing right now. The shortage of physicians and the retirement of aged workers are grave problems that need addressing only via nursing leadership. Leadership capabilities empower nurse managers to embrace their new role in the current medical field. And this is how nurse leaders have helped humanity survive COVID:
Patient satisfaction:-
Several studies have confirmed that a profound relationship exists between nursing leadership and patient satisfaction. The research shows that nurse managers can affect the nursing staff’s behavior and patient satisfaction with transformational leadership to create better results mid-crisis.
Become educators:-
A leader’s responsibilities include inspiring others and motivating coworkers to surpass their former selves. Nursing leadership also focuses on transferring their knowledge and educating fellow nurses. Several institutes now offer online DNP programs for nurse educators allowing nursing leaders to influence patient outcomes effectively. Also, experts recommend nurses engage in interprofessional collaboration to communicate and enhance their work experience by sharing experiences.
Patient mortality:-
During a pandemic, the primary focus of the healthcare industry is to reduce patient mortality and improve its life-saving efforts. Combating adverse events and saving more COVID-affected lives has become one of the primary duties of modern-day nurse managers.
Gaining authority:-
Nursing leadership enables nurse managers to participate in policy-making efforts. It empowers them to take matters into their hands and make the right decisions about their colleagues. So, in the days of a pandemic, nurses must turn into influential decision-makers. Moreover, they can serve as role models for other nurses and mentor them to become future leaders of the nursing profession.
Proactive care:-
Proactive nursing focuses on preventing diseases instead of just treating illnesses. Preventive measures are more successful in saving lives and protecting the masses against this pandemic. Thus, nursing leadership plays a pivotal role in spreading awareness regarding the dangers of COVID-19 while enforcing healthcare guidelines. Preventive measures also cost the national healthcare system less than treating diseases. Nurse Managers are contributing to the vaccination of the public, too, by administrating shots.
Preventing burnout:-
A pandemic has been negatively influencing the nursing staff’s mental health lately. The threat of infection, long work hours, presence in high-risk regions, and several other factors enhance burnout among nurses. Nursing managers can contribute to avoiding nurse burnout by recognizing the symptoms. They can also reduce burnout by exerting the right actions among their coworkers. Nursing leadership styles have proven to be effective in protecting a nurse’s mental well-being in 2021. COVID puts the nursing staff gravely at risk of mental breakdown since they’re more susceptible to distress. However, nurse managers have performed a notable role in curbing depression among coworkers.
Patient advocacy:-
This pandemic requires nurses to advocate for better healthcare facilities. We’ve seen an unequal distribution of medical capacities in the United States since some racial groups are more vulnerable to this virus than Caucasians. Leadership qualities enable nurse managers to reject blindly following pre-established norms and challenge the injustices courageously. They use evidence, education, and experience to advocate for high-quality care for their patients. Nursing leadership also allows them to propose alternative strategies to improve our national healthcare. They’re empowered to make the best decision for their clients when a physician isn’t present at the scene on time.
Evidence-based practice:-
Nurses have three primary responsibilities during a pandemic. First, they must ensure care delivery in the safest manner possible. They should also monitor patient care by addressing their complaints. Thirdly, nurse leaders are responsible for maintaining and promoting evidence-based practices for enhancing the efficiency of healthcare. Experts believe that coronavirus suffered from over 6,000 mutations. Without updated medical information, nurses can’t make the right decisions. So, nurse leaders must encourage the reading of medical journals and professional publications. It helps them remain well-informed about the current situation and choose the best care for their patients.
Bring the change:-
In the end, an important influence of nursing leadership on this pandemic-stricken healthcare industry involves their efforts to bring organizational change. The three elements of change in our medical structure are the following:
- The opportunity to drive the change
- The preparations that are made to welcome the change
- The ability to value the positive outcomes of this change
Nursing leadership authorizes nurse managers to drive the change with their decision-making and problem-solving skills. These leaders are crucial to bringing the necessary improvements in the national healthcare industry we so desperately need!
Conclusion
The beginning of this pandemic created several problems for the national healthcare system. Uneven distribution of coronavirus-related cases caused the shortage of equipment in some epicenters. On the other hand, the scarcity of PPE threatened the nursing staff’s safety and well-being. Nurse leaders fought these challenges by discovering inventive methods to improve healthcare and diminish the impact of this global pandemic. The four areas where nurse leaders showed exceptional courage are teamwork, care delivery, patient logistics, and the staff’s mental health. Their vision has enabled them to manage the national health against COVID efficiently.