Considering the interview that you conducted with the nurse leader in Unit 2, discuss your responses to the following questions:
What is the greatest challenge that nurse leaders face today in health care?
What challenges have you seen nurse leaders face?
Unit 4 Discussion Board
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Unit 4 Discussion Board
The interview conducted with Mary Ann Sinisi in Unit 2 generated insights into the major challenges faced by nurse leaders in contemporary healthcare settings. Based on the interview, the greatest challenge that nurse leaders face today in healthcare is the shortage of ancillary staff. Ancillary employees are an integral part of a hospital workforce who ensure that healthcare operations are running smoothly. However, an organization may fail to hire adequate ancillary staff due to financial challenges (Balser et al., 2021). According to Balasubramanya et al. (2017), ancillary employees perform supplemental services that enable nurses, dentists, and doctors to successfully execute their roles. During the interview, Mary Ann admitted that inadequate ancillary staff was one of the major challenges that hindered the successful change implementation in her setting. Today’s nurse leaders find it difficult to execute their functions effectively in an environment with inadequate ancillary staff.
I have seen nurse leaders face staff-related issues in their leadership roles. In an organization where I once worked as an operating room nurse, the nurse leader of the surgical department faced the challenge of integrating new staff into the culture of the organization amidst a nursing shortage. As the department continued to experience the nursing shortage, the nurse leader faced difficulties managing new nurses who were less committed to their job than the old nurses. Most of the new nurses could refuse assignments while old nurses accepted to undertake all assigned duties. Mary Ann reported a similar challenge as she indicated that the younger nurses prioritize work-life balance and are not as committed to their job as the old nurses. Working closely with other leaders can help today’s nurse leaders to successfully address the challenges faced in contemporary healthcare settings.
Balser, J., Ryu, J., Hood, M., Kaplan, G., Perlin, J., & Siegel, B. (2021). Care systems COVID-19 impact assessment: Lessons learned and compelling needs. NAM Perspectives, 2021, 10.31478/202104d. https://doi.org/10.31478/202104d
Balasubramanya, B., Nisha, C., Ramesh, N., & Joseph, B. (2017). Staff working in ancillary departments at a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India: How healthy are they?. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 20(1), 44–47. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5278.183844.