Assessment task
Clinical Case Scenario
Weighting
40%
Word Count
Total 2000 words or equivalent +/- 10%
Relevance
Good leadership is essential to patient-centred care and staff satisfaction in the healthcare environment. All members of the healthcare team can be leaders and evidence-based theory should inform your leadership practice.
You don’t have to wait until you’re promoted to a senior position to prove you’re willing and able to take on more responsibility. You can start developing and demonstrating your nurse leadership now to prepare for your career. You will not only gain respect, but also valuable experience tackling more important responsibilities that you’ll encounter in an advancing nursing career. Here are some helpful tips for effective leadership:
Be proactive
Strong leaders take positive action. Think about how you will plan out your project or nursing intervention. Plan out how you will approach the issue(s) and what steps will you take to resolve it. Either by yourself, or through recruiting a team and leading them.
Be the first to respond in a crisis
You can make a huge difference by being one of the first to step up and help out, especially during a critical or emergency situation. This kind of dedication shows that you truly value your patients and or staff’s safety. A true leader supports and inspires others to do the same.
Consider how to delegate
It’s a common misconception that being a strong leader, means having to do everything by yourself. But that’s just not the case. The best leaders understand that they can’t handle everything alone. Instead they recruit, upskill and support their team by delegating tasks to others. Knowing when to ask for help and when to check-in with your team, is the key to good leadership.
Continuously improve your own (and others’) education
You’re now close to completing your Bachelor of Nursing degree and your professional development journey is only just beginning. If you aspire to be the next Nurse Unit Manager, Clinical Coordinator, Nurse Specialist or Educator, start thinking about how you can sharpen your leadership skills and acquire qualifications for more advanced positions. Enrolling into a post graduate degree will signify to your superior that you’re committed to your professional development and career advancement. These are some of the many ways you can stand out from the crowd.
Due Date: 17/5/23, 22:29 ACST
Instructions: Read and engage in the learning materials in Modules 3 & 4 then apply your knowledge to the following case scenario
Assessment 3 – Clinical Case Scenario
You are a third-year nursing student on placement in a rural and remote hospital in Australia. It is now (Monday of) week three in an eight-week placement in the Emergency Department [ED]. You are starting to feel like part of the team, well done!
For background, the term ‘rural and remote’ encompasses all areas outside Australia’s major cities. According to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification System (AIHW, 2022), these areas are classified as Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote or Very remote. Your experience of this ED has been typically busy with patients and staff from a diverse culture and linguistic backgrounds. The profile of the community includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well as non-Indigenous population.
You have been assigned to Nikki (RN) the team leader. You, Nikki and Shaun (RN) have been allocated to work in the 5-bed Resuscitation Bay. Nikki has 8 years post-qualification experience (RN8) and is also the Clinical Nurse Educator. Nikki delegated the task of priming and attaching normal saline 100 mL as a keep-vein-open [KVO] for the patient in Bed 3, to you. You go to prepare your IV giving set and realised that the equipment drawers in bedspace 3 was near empty – there were no normal saline 100 mL IV bags left within reach. When you did your equipment check earlier that morning, you remembered that there should be one saline bag left in bedspace 1. Taking initiative, you let Nikki know that you were going to Bed 1 to collect the normal saline.
At Bed 1, you noticed that the bedside curtains were closed and you could hear Shaun moving behind the curtains. He gave you verbal consent to come in. Shaun has 2 years post-qualification experience (RN2) and this is his first rotation working in the Resuscitation Bay. Shaun informed you that the patient in Bed 1 is deceased and that he was completing his paperwork in preparation of transferring the patient to the mortuary. Whilst moving towards the equipment drawers to retrieve your normal saline, you observed that the patient was lying supine, the blanket was covering them up to their chest and the bedspace looked neat and tidy. Your clinical knowledge informed you that the patient looked pale, their lips were blue, slightly parted and they were not breathing. All the observation monitors around the patient were already disconnected (i.e. no monitoring of vital signs) and switched off. You collected your item and left the bedspace.
A few minutes later, you successfully administered the KVO for your patient in Bed 3 under Nikki’s observation. Nikki then let you know that she will be at Bed 5 to take a serial ECG for the patient. Whilst you are still in bedspace 3, Tony the Ward Cleaner approaches you with a startled and concerned expression on his face. Tony beckons you forward and tells you that “the person in Bed 1 doesn’t look very well. Can you please come and help?”. You quickly realise that he’s talking about the deceased patient. You reassured and thanked Tony for letting you know. You explained that the patient is deceased. Tony asks if it’s still okay if he quickly empties the bin and sweeps the floor in the bedspace. You are not sure where Shaun has gone to, but you explain that Shaun is in charge of that bedspace today and that you will ask Shaun whether Tony can clean. Luckily, Shaun returns from the adjacent room, he explains that he had to collect another form to complete his paperwork. Shaun takes over from you and allows Tony to clean the bedspace.
Later in your shift, you debrief with Nikki. You explained the situation and asked if there was a policy or procedure that you should follow in terms of allowing the cleaner in or if there was a way to let staff know that the patient in the bedspace is deceased. Nikki said that no, there is currently no policy or strategy to inform staff that the person in the bedspace is deceased. Nikki reflected and shared that she used to be a neonatal nurse in the UK during 2016. The hospital she used to work at used the Purple Butterfly Initiative as a simple, sensitive and effective method to let others know about the loss of a baby, or babies, from a multiple pregnancy. Nikki suggested that this is an opportunity for you to show leadership and has tasked you with presenting a similar initiative. She asked you to consider how you would facilitate this change in practice.
By the end of week 5 (Friday) of your placement, you are to present your project proposal to Nikki.
Task: In your paper, focus on the leadership style(s) that you might adopt for this clinical case scenario.
- Identify your chosen leadership style(s), describe and explain the characteristics and traits that would be needed to communicate skillfully and respectfully to staff, patients and their relatives.
- Support and critique the evidence-based theory behind your chosen leadership style(s)
- Would you choose paper-based or digital technology (or both) to action your initiative? Why?
- Examine how you would propose this change to the multi-disciplinary team and other stakeholders i.e. consider how you might present this to the Director of Nursing and Medicine of this hospital. Would you arrange a meeting? Send an email?
- Discuss the importance of empowering members of the health care team, in this case scenario, you are focusing on yourself. Describe how you might feel empowered by Nikki the Clinical Nurse Educator because she tasked you with this project. What is the impact on your learning and development as an early nurse leader? Support your statements with literature.
Tip: The focus of your analysis is on leadership and not on the nuances of clinical practice. i.e., don’t focus your paper on the nursing invention (a similar initiative to the Purple Butterfly).
Supportive resources
Massiah, A. (2016) Butterfly effect – how a mother’s loss opened the conversation on baby death British Broadcasting Company
Viral Stories. (2022). See a ‘Purple Butterfly’ Sign on Baby’s Crib? [Video] YouTube.
