Roles and Responsibilities in Leadership and Management
Roles and Responsibilities in Leadership and Management
Use of Contract Employees
Introduction
As America approaches mid-21st century, a new load of societal crises appears on the horizon (Gary, 2004). Nursing shortage is a crisis that challenges the beliefs and the values of the nursing profession (Edmonson, 2010). The contract employee wonders how the poor terms of the contract shall fulfill her desires for prosperity. Nurses wonder how they can fulfill their obligations to patients where there is insufficiency in numbers and distribution. The resulting scenario is characterized by job dissatisfaction, moral distress, and inadequate quality of services. In relation to the economic distress, health care organizations use contract employees such as travel nurses and registry staff because they are less costly and can be dispensed in times of economic turbulence (Ibid). This situation poses a dilemma for nursing managers and leaders who must address the issues faced by a practicing nurse while responding to the needs of the future nursing practice. In view of the nature of the nursing situation, it is obvious that is an urgent need for a shift in the direction of direction of leadership.
Leadership Perspectives
Drawing from the exploration of the Bible, Jay Gary (2004) analyzes the leadership style exhibited by Jesus, in societal crises. He aligns his view of leadership to kingdom theory, proposing that Jesus created a community to survive Roman backlash and Jewish insurrection. His definition of leadership relates to the theory of transformational leadership, and, so, he defines leadership as the capacity to transform or shift the inner place from which a system or individual operates. In line with the justification of the need for transformation, the 21st century nurse is languishing in unemployment or in unfulfilling contracts. Leaders occupy the chief position; they direct the profession and personnel, and, so they must seek to overturn conventional systems that provide mechanisms that support the existence of the problems experienced by the nursing profession. Nurse leaders have the responsibility to have a close watch of their fellow workers’ needs and care for them. The profession needs a leader who has wisdom, vision, faithfulness, care, diligence, and trust. When a person has influence and respect, people begin to follow them.
In “Jesus, the CEO”, Ruth Swope (2009) says that, to be effective, a leader must observe the patterns of the most effective leader to have ever lived. She concurs with Jay Gary (2004), but the Swope rather goes to the concept of servant leadership. Jesus demonstrated that being a servant is the ideal way to act as a leader. Swope’s view of leadership borrows from the management concept that holds the view that hierarchies in management are obsolete. The current health service environment experiences challenges that are manifold (Jooste, 2004). According to her, leadership authority results not from the position but from the shared vision that a leader carries and acceptance by the institution, as a leader. In this pre-historic concept, the focus is off the position at the top of the management hierarchy.
In this respect, leaders are expected to live by the values and walk the talk. Therefore, the nurse leaders need to implement an effective leadership style, in order to steer nursing off the problems and into the future. Leadership setting and roles of authority, power, and influence are dynamic and fast changing. The past roles are different from the expectations of the present and future. In this respect, a new leader that embraces a different approach, different from the past and present, should emerge. The 21st century marks the beginning; it is a new time timeframe that requires a new leadership approach. In the same that Jesus proclaimed that whoever want s to be great must be a servant, the profession requires re-envisioning, nurses’ empowerment, restructuring the work environment and provision of support. These actions, implemented together, have the capacity to reduce the moral distress experienced by the nursing professionals.
In fulfilling the leadership duty, the nurses can honor their commitment to patient care (Edmonson, 2010). In support of contract employment, in nursing, leaders cite the need for experience for graduates before they can engage in permanent practice, in nursing. Young and inexperienced nurses would like to work in a variety of settings and locations, in order to be able to make decisions as regards the line of practice that suits them. It is ideal for nurses who do not have significant obligations at home. Obviously, graduates are flexible and undecided with regard to long-term practice. This is a sign of the shift from the conventional systems, in which permanent employment is a measure of stability. Allowing dynamism and diversity broadens the capacity to restructure the health care system and create new forms of livelihood.
Jooste K. (2004) has a rather managerial perspective of leadership. He says that leaders should have the essentials of authority, influence, and power to move people in the direction of their goals. Leaders who embrace this concept are those oppose the use of contract employees in nursing. They cite the vulnerable nature of short-term employment in times of economic challenges as justification. Full-time nursing positions are recession resistant. In times of economic recession, health care institutions consider ways to cut costs, and rather than lay off permanent employees, the institutions terminate the contract and temporary employees. In a hospital, clinical employees are more secure from terminations than administrative and support staff such as registry personnel. In addition, contract employment, in particular travel nursing, is not ideal for people with significant family commitment. For persons who are not flexible and cannot travel frequently nationally, then travel nursing may not be the ideal.
Personal and Professional Philosophy of Nursing
As we move forward deep into the century, we must realize that we are encountering evolution. The world is dynamic, and challenges take new form each day. Therefore, we must embrace leadership that is new and different. The world needs a combination of participation and transformation to create a dynamic system. The new system must respect the trend in globalization, technological advancement, and diversity issues. This kind of system accords organizations the freedom to use many options when deciding how to recruit employees for different functions. They can choose to use existing workers, hire new workers, or use contract personnel, in various projects. They may even outsource the function. In addition for the desire of organizations to be flexible in the hiring processes, these alternatives have become viable because of the advances in technology and communications infrastructure. I embrace a philosophy that promotes greater participation by nurses in leadership.
References
Edmonson, C. (2010). “Moral Courage and the Nurse Leader”. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(3): Manuscript 5.
Gary, J. (2004). “The Wisdom of Jesus & Societal Crisis”. Christianfutures.com. Helping leaders cultivate foresight, Aug 30, 2004.
Jooste, K. (2004). “Leadership: a new perspective”. Journal of Nursing Management, 12(3): 217-223.
Kingston, M. (2007). “Beyond Leading and Managing”. Journal of Nursing Administration, 37(8): 327-328
Swope, R. (2009). “Jesus the CEO”. Jesuscentral.com.
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