The third lecture in the Routhier Lecture series was entitled: “Leadership in today’s complex health care environment: what’s required?” It could also have been entitled just “Leadership”. What is required in being a leader in the nursing field is the same as being a leader in any other segment of society.
The four speakers for this lecture series were: Leah Binder, President &CEO, Leapfrog Group, Washington, D.C.; Sandy Coletta, Vice President & COO, Care New England Health Care System; Lester P Schindel, CEO, Charter Care Health Partners and Patricia Burbank, Assoc. Dean URI College of Nursing.
What was abundantly clear from all of the speakers, was the fact that management skills are not the same as leadership skills. Sandy Coletta probably expressed it best when she said, “Great leaders encourage people to accomplish impossible goals”. According to Lester P. Schindel, “We need to develop leaders that will inspire others to excel.”
How do you become at great leader? A universal trait cited by all of the speakers was communication. You have to have open lines of communication where everyone talks to everyone and feels free to voice their opinions. The second most important principle was trust. If you want to lead people, they have to trust you and you have to trust them to do their job. As moderator Esther Emard pointed out, “It is interesting to note that according to the Gallup Poll, for the past ten years, nurses continue to be rated the most honest and ethical of the professionals in the United States.” “Nurses should take advantage of that trust and assume a bigger leadership role in health care.”
Leah Binder noted the importance of finding a mentor to help you develop into a leader. Someone you respect and wish to emulate. She also stressed that companies are focused on “value” in health care. “Getting the right outcome for the right price.” “If you look at a company’s balance sheet, they spend more on health care than they make in profits.” A key component of health care today is the patients are concerned with cost, because of higher deductibles and co-pays. “There is a movement for consumerism and leadership needs to find out what patients want.” According to Leah, “If you want to find out how a hospital is doing, talk to the nurses.” “Never has there been a time when nurses’ perspective and opinions have been more needed. Nurses should be involved in health care decisions on a local, state and national level.”
Lester Schindel pointed out the need for “Using data to effect change and find solutions to meet the expectations of the patient and family. Find out what works and what doesn’t work. Nurses have the most contact with patients, so they need to provide direction by focusing on safety and quality of care.” “Nurses also need to build relationship with doctors and administrators.” Having their trust and respect makes you much more effective as a patient advocate. Open lines of communication are absolutely critical in all aspects of health care, especially patient safety.
Sandy Coletta noted that the challenges facing nurses and hospitals today are same as those of past generations. She cited a great speech given by a hospital administrator at the dedication of a new building. After a lot of applause, the speaker noted that this was the same speech given by his father fifty years ago at the dedication of another building. “The one constant in the health care environment is change”. It is also apparent that change is happening more quickly than anyone expected. To be a leader in the nursing field, “You need to know all aspects of the health care system. You need to know the business; the personalities, strengths and weakness of your staff; the resources available, finances and clinical aspects.” “You need to inspire people to maximize their talent.” “A great leader is able to think outside the box, try different things, not be afraid of failure and be prepared to be wrong.” A great leader has, “the intestinal fortitude to handle difficult situations, make tough decisions and work through problems and challenges.” “Attitude is critical to being a true leader.” Great leaders’ help others succeed and pass on their knowledge to the next generation.
Pat Burbank provided perspective on preparing the next generation of nursing leaders from the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing Report. “There is a critical need for nurses to continue their education and earn advanced degrees to help future generations of nurses learn.” “Ideally 10% of each graduating class should get their masters within 5 years of graduation.” “Nurses need to engage in a lifetime of learning.” “There should be mandatory continuing education requirements for all faculty and practicing nurses.” There should be an emphasis on helping nurses earn PhD’s to train the next generation. Pat gave a PowerPoint presentation that cited: “Four key messages for leading change and advancing health from the Future of Nursing Report.”
- Nurses should practice to full extent of their education and training
- Nurses should achieve higher levels of education through an improved education system promoting seamless academic progression
- Nurses should be full partners in health care redesign and improvement efforts
- Improve data collection for workforce planning and policy-making
In each of these areas, Dr. Burbank cited the many current initiatives being undertaken to implement these objectives. There is a need for not only more nurses, but better educated nurses and that will take leadership at all levels of nursing.
All of the guest lecturers stressed the fact that nurses must have more of a leadership role in today’s health care environment. Hospitals need to have a culture that promotes leadership. In turn, nurses need to expand beyond their role in bedside care and caring for a patient on an individual level. To gain a leadership role, they should know all of the aspects of running a hospital. Find a mentor, make an effort to be seen, volunteer for committees, and provide real value to your organization. Nurses are the “most trusted” people in the health care community, they should maximize the power inherent in that trust.
This lecture was recorded and is available on the URI College of Nursing web site: https://web.uri.edu/nursing . It is the third of a four-part lecture series designed to allow all of Rhode Island nursing colleagues to meet and exchange ideas on the many challenges our health care system is facing on national, regional and local levels.