Introduction
Leadership and management opportunities exist in all professions, and one needs to sharpen leadership skills and use them in practice. It allows individuals to find practical solutions in critical workplace situations and organize their work in the most optimal way. The elaboration of the professional development plan for both short-term and long-term success allows the employees to structure their actions and emphasize the most critical aspects that require further changes. My long-term goal is becoming a good leader, and my short-term goals are improving my time management skills, learn to articulate expectations, become more assertive, develop the ability to speak in groups and stimulate other people. The nursing profession is not the exception, and nurses should understand their strong and weak sides in character and behavior to grow as healthcare specialists.
Statement of Philosophy
My nursing philosophy is centered around the ethical principles all healthcare professionals share. The main issue in the nursing philosophy is the client-centered approach that determines all actions the nurse makes at the workplace (Rovers, Malette, & Guirguis-Younger, 2017). Orientation on the needs of the patient is not only connected with the preservation of their health state. It is also associated with the patient’s emotional well-being and spiritual needs. A nurse is often the connection between the patient, their relatives, and the physician, which means that there is the responsibility to control the psychological side of the patient’s health (Smith, 2020). As a result, the perspectives on leadership the nurse develops should be connected with the interests of the patients. For example, a nurse cannot elaborate on the leadership philosophy that makes taking care of the patient’s emotional health unnecessary. They cannot delegate this responsibility to another person if the patient needs spiritual assistance at a particular moment (Watson, 2018). Therefore, there is a vital need to elaborate a balanced view on the responsibilities at work and find the approach that satisfies both the nurse and the patient.
At the same time, the nurse must guard their psychological well-being and ability to work generally as a professional. Excessive attention to problems not directly related to the nurse’s duties can lead to constant stress and burnout (Watson, 2018). As a result, the nurse will not be able to work effectively for a long time if their philosophy does not protect them and does not value their needs. Therefore, the long-term goal for the nurse is to find a balance between being an excellent professional and preserving own psychological health to help patients effectively.
My philosophy as a nurse coincides with the general professional views of healthcare workers. The difference is the additional attention to my psychological state and becoming more assertive. As the investigation shows, I have developed listening skills and empathy that are vital in communication with patients and hearing their needs. However, I have problems articulating my needs and vision and being a leader with an active position. It often leads to biased situations when I overwork and become emotionally exhausted, which reduces the quality of nursing services I can potentially provide to patients if I were not stressed.
Therefore, my significant values are a patient-centered approach to all actions at work. My vision is to help patients professionally, paying enough attention to their emotional and spiritual needs. My interest is in preserving the balance between the workload and recreation and becoming a better leader. The tests I passed for this assignment show that I have much work to do regarding my communication, observation, leadership, and management skills.
Use of Assessment
Being assertive is the first goal that I set in my nursing philosophy. Even though I believe myself to be an “ok” leader, and as the prompt states, I do think that we all have had, at some point, demonstrated leadership skills. I consider myself more introverted in the professional work setting, but when with family and close friends, I am more comfortable and become more extroverted. Being more introverted with strangers, I believe, has deprived me of leadership roles that I could have obtained had I been able to approach them with more confidence and excellent communication skills. I can accomplish this goal in a year of gradual attempts.
Articulating expectations is my second goal in my development as a leader. In high school, I worked as a retail sales associate and became a sales manager. I firmly believe I would have been in this role sooner had I shown more interest in socializing, promoting sales to customers, and pushing my coworkers to do the same. Moreover, if I stated that I expected professional growth, others would understand that I have ambitions concerning this work. I felt I lacked the confidence to interact with others and did not feel like I could create a relationship with my customers. Fortunately, this became smoother after years of working there, and when I did rise to this management role, I became much more confident, and it became natural to become a problem solver and lead my team to success. Thus, I can accomplish this goal entirely in several months because I have already started working on it.
The third goal is the ability to speak in groups and stimulate other people with the things I say. While I can talk one on one with others with no difficulty now, I still find it hard to speak in front of groups because it feels like many eyes are watching me at once, and it makes me anxious to think that they can all see when I make errors. It is possible to assume that achieving this goal requires years because stimulating other people for actions is the level of the professional leader with developed charisma.
The fourth goal as a professional is time management, which is essential in organizing work-life balance and workplace actions, which I plan to achieve in one month. I tend to manage time well when others depend on me and when it involves the care of other people, but unfortunately, when it comes to managing time for myself, I tend to procrastinate and put others before me. It can still be seen as a lack of self-confidence because I think I also need to make time for myself. In the “Professional Development Inventory,” I have marked several columns with “need to increase” because I always think we need to constantly evaluate ourselves and reflect on how we can be better for ourselves and our patients. I believe a great leader is always looking for ways to improve, build a better framework, and guide their teammates to success.
Specific Strategies
It is possible to become more assertive by changing how the person speaks to the audience. It is necessary to be sure of what the individual says in public and to state it in a loud voice with good diction. Articulating expectations is another example of the ability to speak in public, and it is essential to elaborate on the plan of change before stating them (Smith, 2020). The ability to talk in groups and stimulate other people can be achieved with practice, so I plan to communicate more in groups. Time management, in turn, requires a detailed daily plan that I would follow.
Priority of Goals
Time management is the first goal I plan to achieve because I cannot organize work or personal development without it. It is consistent with my unique value to find a work-life balance. Then, I plan to become more assertive and start straightforwardly articulating my expectations. It might help me to become a better leader and to feel more self-assured. These qualities are connected with my vision to help patients proactively. The last goal is developing the ability to speak in groups and stimulate other people because it is most challenging and time-consuming to achieve. This aim supports my vision of the mission as a nurse to make everything possible to help patients.
Conclusion
Leadership style is critical in the professional development of the nurse because it shows that the nurse can react adequately to the set goals, understand their duties, and complete the tasks effectively. The self-assessment showed that my leadership style has both strong and weak sides. It shows me that there are spheres that need improvement to develop as a professional. It is incredibly challenging and vital for me because I feel that communication and being a leader are difficult due to my introverted character. I plan to become more assertive, learn to articulate expectations, develop the ability to speak in groups and stimulate other people, and improve time management. Therefore, the rational approach to analyzing my weak leadership sides might help me become a better leader and pursue my goals in the nursing profession.
References
Rovers, M., Malette, J., & Guirguis-Younger, M. (2017). Touch in the helping professions: Research, practice and ethics. University of Ottawa Press.
Smith, K. M. (2020). Talking therapy: Knowledge and power in American psychiatric nursing. Rutgers University Press.
Watson, J. (2018). Unitary caring science: Philosophy and praxis of nursing. University Press of Colorado.