3 references one from below from this discussion post you are responding to: Ref

3 references one from below from this discussion post you are responding to:
Reflecting on why I chose to have a nurse executive as my specialty allows me to feel that I have made the initiative towards improving my ability to lead and be a social agent for the nursing profession. I have been in nursing for over 36 years, and I have seen many changes in the profession. Many of these changes have remained but some did not stand the test of time and were adjusted and modified to increase the quality of care directly given to patients by the clinical nurse.
While witnessing the changes made to health care over time, I decided I wanted to make a difference and I felt that with proper training I could. I initially wanted to be an educator and felt I lacked the ability to lead. My career goals changed as I believed I needed to have the ability to lead before I could teach. I believe they go hand in hand, but I needed to feel secure in how I approached my specialty. I wanted to feel that I could lead students and assigning myself to the nurse executive specialty would give me that opportunity.
I wanted to inform and teach new nurses what I felt they needed to know and prepare them for what nursing is really like at the bedside. I do not believe that the clinical education given to nursing students is enough to prepare them for the reality of what bedside nursing encompasses. The transition stage of a new graduate of nursing to their place of employment can be overwhelming and is a period of acclimation to their new career. With the nursing shortage now being experienced in all areas in which the nursing profession is present, nurse leaders need to heighten their awareness and hone their skills in preventing these nurses from leaving the profession. According to Kim & Shin (2020), attrition rates range from 30-to 70% in the United States alone (p. 560). Furthermore, Kim & Shin write the negativity experienced by novice nurses given to them by their senior staff members was commonly reported as a reason for exiting the profession (p.560).
With the number of nurse leaders decreasing due to attrition, stress, and burnout from the covid pandemic, nurse managers are needed now more than ever to lead the nursing profession. Nurse leaders need to be competent to lead and be prepared to face the challenges that are presented in this new nursing world we are now practicing in. Sisk et al., (2021) write of the need to prepare the advanced-level nurse with the training that can prepare them to be effective leaders with the skills needed to direct and manage others. In addition, Sisk et al write of a proposed solution that emphasizes that structural empowerment (SE) is key to building up the nurse’s leader’s ability to perform effectively in all areas of management at the health system level (p. 271). This SE would allow nurse leaders to have formal training that would prepare present and future leaders with skills that enhance their abilities to lead nurses in this complex health care system and increase nurse leader retention.
Nurses want to work in environments where they feel they are contributing to how care is delivered to patients. Shared governance (SG) allows nurses to feel that they have a voice in matters pertaining to their specific unit, which fosters a supportive work environment that promotes collaboration with management. Malinit et al., (2022) write that SG allows nurses to become empowered by becoming active participants in the management of the care delivered to their patients. Furthermore, Malinit indicates that nurse leaders are pivotal in establishing SG practices to support their team in achieving quality outcomes while enhancing nurse job satisfaction leading to nursing retention (p. 6).
My career goals are to become a nurse leader that will be keenly aware of what is needed to be a highly efficient manager who is supportive in all areas of the nursing profession. Walden’s executive specialty will start me on that path, but it will be up to me to polish that knowledge for its implementation. As a nurse leader, I can begin this process by honing the skills that have been didactically taught to me and by preparing to work alongside others who have taken this path before me. Networking with others who have gone down this path will be very useful and will give me the opportunity to learn and incorporate these new experiences into knowledge that will become my own.
Becoming a member of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) will allow me to network and be in the virtual presence of similar, goal-oriented leaders, who share my ambition to be an efficient quality leader. Membership for full-time students is at a discounted rate so as a student it would be in my best interest to join now and receive those benefits that would otherwise cost $225.00 annually. The mission, vision, education, advocacy, and community are all benefits worthwhile experiencing on my quest to become a nurse executive (AONL, n.d.).
When a person agrees to become a nurse, they willingly accept the responsibility of becoming a lifelong learner and being an advocate for the patients or patient population under their care. Nurse leaders must be both, patient advocates, and an advocate for the nursing profession in which an oath was taken to first do no harm. The health care of today needs nurses who are highly proficient and qualified to work in the specialty field of nursing in which they have chosen to work. The diversified populations present here in the United States demands that we as nurses continue to change and adapt our nursing profession to the needs of the ever-changing population of patients presented to us in the field of nursing.
Reference
American Organization for Nursing Leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2022, from DOI:https://www.aonl.org/membership/loin
Kim, J. H., & Shin, H. S. (2020). Exploring barriers and facilitators for a successful transition in new graduate nurses: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Professional Nursing, 36(6), 560–568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.08.006
Malinit, C., Gabuya, A., Taylor, K., Paliwal, M. & Weaver, S. (2022). Council fosters engagement in research and shared governance. Nursing Management (Springhouse), 53 (3), 6-10. DOI: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000821700.11080.97.
Sisk, B., Mosier, S., Williams, M., Coppin, J. & Robinson, D. (2021). Developing Effective Senior Nurse Leaders. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 51 (5), 271-278. DOI: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000001012.