Term Paper on "Philosophy of Nursing Leadership"

Term Paper 3 pages (1049 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Philosophy of Nursing: Employing the House-Mitchell Path Goal Theory of Leadership in a Heath care Context

The House-Mitchell Path-Goal Theory of contingent and situational leadership stresses that no single person or manager is an island. An individual leader must be responsive to the larger organizational environment. This theory underlines the commonly experienced truism for individuals in the health care field that no nurse can function outside of her specific situational environment. In other words, the behavior of a nurse in a suburban pediatrician's office would necessarily vary from the protocol followed by a nurse in a war zone, in terms of relating to subordinates and superiors. It is not that either nurse is incorrect in his or her leadership style, or more worthy than the other, rather a nurse must tailor his or her behavior to his or her situation.

This theory is valuable as well for nurses to understand their leadership roles as it also stresses that an individual in the caring profession, responsible for managing the health of patients, must be responsive to ever-changing patient and subordinate needs, shifting situational dynamics, and also to the fluid demands made upon their personal reserves of leadership and management within his or her organization. True to the situational and contingency theory, a good nurse must be a leader in advocating for the patient's needs and establishing what is necessary for the patient to be restored to health, and set clear and goal-oriented treatment plans that must be followed for the sake of the patient, rather than the sake of the nurse's personal sense of self-empowerment as a leader. (Blanchard, 2005)

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