Good clinical leadership requires incorporation of ideas from both patients and staff in order to improve healthcare provision. Healthcare provision is simply defined as attempts to restore physical, mental and emotional well-being of patients. Patients and clinicians interact in the healthcare setting in an aim to improve health. There are various health delivery systems that are put in to place in the health care centers so as to achieve treatment and care of patients in the facility. Clinical leadership is an art that allows order and integrates harmony in the health care setting. Good leadership is therefore of importance in any health care setting as it promotes good health care delivery. There are various leadership and management styles that best suit a given situation in clinical practice. There is therefore no single leadership that best suites every situation as it is important for the style to vary in relation to the current clinical situation.
Decision making and problem solving strategies are important aspects of leadership in any organization in the world today (Kumar & Khiljee, 2016). Good leaders in the health sector therefore focus in promoting a patient centered care plan and motivating clinicians so as to achieve better care. It is necessary for the objective of any clinical leadership to focus on integrating different leadership styles as the situation demands and improving the patient-physician relationship so as to promote better care (Bercaw, 2017). The aim of this essay is to explore different leadership theories and styles in clinical practice and give examples on situations that require different styles so as to accomplish best results. It will analyze various leadership and management styles in healthcare and their relevance in the same.
The application of leadership in the health care setting is an area of concern because it affects the progress of any care facility. Various authors explore different styles that impacts a situation in clinical practice (Jeon et al, 2015). There are various theories that have been developed over time in an attempt to understand various styles of leadership and defining a good leader and manager. The definition of a good leader still remains debatable in our world today. Some theories say that a leader is born while others state that a leader is made and this has remained quite debatable over time (Joseph & Huber, 2015). Trait theory (1930-1940) for example defines leaders based on various characters and traits that make them unique to exercise leadership. Behavioral theories developed in the 1940s explains that leaders arise from their behavioral display. Lega, Prenestini & Rosso, (2017) state that for one to be considered a leader they must behave in a certain way or manner that displays leadership skills.
The contingency theory clearly explains that there is no a single specific leadership style that can fit in all situation and that styles vary depending on the situation at hand. Leaders should have critical thinking skills and should apply these skills in accordance to the situation at hand. Since leadership is an art and beyond just traits, not every leader is born a leader. The interaction between an individual and the environment therefore shapes a leader and makes him or her employ the required decision making actions (Gopee & Galloway, 2017). Leadership and management in health care go hand in hand and psychologists claim that good leadership skills come with good management within the setting (Parikh & Wardle, 2016). While management focusses on planning and ensuring the care process is properly arranged and organized, leaders are involved in shaping and making crucial decisions for the organization.
As stated by Banerjee, Bobrowski & Friedman. (2017), a good leadership style in health focusses mainly on ensuring that every individual’s need in the setting is satisfied. It aims at ensuring care is provided in the most efficient manner and is based on the fact that that the patient is the center of all caring practices. For this to be achieved, health care delivery systems must be laid out and implemented. With the introduction of new laws and pay systems in the health sector, health care providers need to adjust on how treatment is carried out and also how they interact with each other. The nurse should always listen to the patient without any discrimination of race or ideology. The nurse should also be kind to the patients and guide them on how to improve and maintain good health. The bureaucratic form of leadership for example may not be well suited for a health care. Fischer, (2016) states that it emphasizes on the fact that leaders should impose rules to their subordinates and that these rules must be followed completely without any deviation. This therefore may lead to lack of motivation to the entire working fraternity as they do not have the liberty to make decisions for themselves even if they think it’s the right way to go about a certain situation.
In the healthcare setting, the physician also takes leadership roles in treating a patient. The patient in this leadership style might not feel free to ask questions relevant to their health as they do not feel close to their health provider. The transformational style of leadership on the other hand might be applicable in a setting to bring change in the way the health workers carry out their activities. As echoed by Heath, Appan & Gudigantala. (2017), it aims at forming connection between leaders and followers to enhance change and transformation in the setting. In discussing leadership styles, a pediatric case for example might require a different approach in leadership as opposed to a geriatric case therefore leadership is deemed to change from now to then. A clinical case involving a child for example may require the clinician for example to breakdown information for the sake of understanding of the patient. It requires a lot of guidance in the treatment process and providing hope and emotional support to the child whereas that of a grown up person might require more of listening from the patient’s side so as to advice on the treatment plan. Therefore leadership changes depending on the situation and the audience involved.
In a healthcare setting, there is a hierarchy of leadership that is instituted within the structure and every leader has a role to play. For example there might be the hospital’s CEO, a financial manager, medical officers, clinical officers, chief nurse, nurses and security heads. All these leaders have a role to play in order to ensure the well-being and safety of the patient. Democratic leadership is a good form of leadership style that encourages the participation of all team members by incorporating everyone’s idea thereby enhancing teamwork and better performances (Ho & Pinney, 2016, January). It offers a patient and employee friendly environment and is best suited for particular cases. As the industry is changing over time, team work based leadership is becoming exercised as opposed to the ordinary bureaucratic leadership. The patient views and beliefs should be placed into consideration in the treatment process as it encourages better understanding of the situation and also help achieve a patient based care program.
According to Richter et al. (2015), different situations in clinical practice require different approaches. For example, an acute care setting focusses mainly on acute conditions that require immediate action and management for the healing process to be achieved. A patient for example who comes to the hospital with a case of a heart attack will require immediate management and care. An outpatient related case will also require a treatment plan for the same day. The leadership style that could best fit such situations would therefore be autocratic. However a chronic clinical case will require admission and careful monitoring of the patient over time hence will employ a different leadership approach such as the democratic form of leadership. As people in healthcare organizations are promoted to assume more leadership roles, they bring change in the way things are run within the organization (Spurgeon et al, 2017). New ideas are brought by new leaders and this helps improve the care providence. There are very few new leaders who use the same systems as used in the past as this does not bring change or improvements needed. The team leadership model encourages all team members and partakers in the health setting to work together so as to accomplish the desired goals and targets. It promotes unity between workers and promotes togetherness.
In conclusion, leadership in healthcare should be comprehensive and adapted according to the situation. There is no one style that represents all other styles of leadership. Leadership requires change to bring improvements in any organization as what might have worked in the past might not work today. As nurses are taking more leadership roles in health care settings, there is a positive change in ensuring that health delivery is improved as they have interacted with the environment already and are aware of the pros and cons within the industry. As stated by Denis & van Gestel, (2016), there are many factors that determine good leadership and this factors include inclusivity of all partakers in the organizations. Leadership cannot be self-centered and decision making process needs to involve all leadership styles for it to be effective and efficient. Leadership is an art that comes with responsibility and therefore good leadership encourages diversity and is liable to change as the situation demands (Kalaitzi & Czabanowska, 2016). It is an interplay between critical thinking and the environmental changes. This shapes a good leader and encourages inclusivity of every single leadership style. It is the responsibility of all of us to therefore encourage leadership that changes depending on the situation so as to accomplish comprehensive health care provision in our health care facilities.
Banerjee, T., Bobrowski, P., & Friedman, B. (2017). Effective Governance, Female Educational Attainment, Leadership and Healthcare Outcomes. Theoretical Economics Letters, 7(05), 1223.
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