Clinicals 8

Hello everyone,

I completed 8 hours of clinicals on Wednesday and I have 4 more hours to go. My preceptor started his day off with checking his voicemail and emails. We attended a Nurse Leadership Council Meeting that discussed the manager's role in Shared Governance. Shared Governance is a concept that can be used in any discipline. Shared Governance teams are decisional for the discipline. The meeting also discussed the characteristics of an effective team which include; competent team members, unified committment, a collaborative climate, results-driven structure, and clear and defining goals. The members of the Shared Governance partnerships with the manager. There is equity, ownership, accountability, and shared decision making. Effective teams require double-loop communication. Double-loop communication is a process whereby the manager is involved in listening to the staff and encouraging feedback. There is back and forth dialogue between the manager and the staff. The manager must possess the characteristics of a transformational leader which include; coaching, role modeling, and goal setting. Manager's must have a thorough understanding of principles of Shared Governance and must be able to routinely engage in personal reflection in order to attend to own issues of power and control. The meeting was actually on Webinar, which is an online interactive website that allows different hospitals to be involved in one meeting. The room consisted of all of the nurse managers in the hospital. The meeting also defined the difference between the manager's role: traditional vs. current, manager's role in discussing Return On Investment (ROI), education of self and staff, and key elements of a leader. Leadership means knowing where your power comes from. I was thoroughly impressed and enlightened by this meeting. I never really understand all of the intricate details of Shared Governance and never had an interest in becoming involved until now.