Reference no: EM133720222

INTRODUCTION

This Leadership Learning Experience (LLE) project will help you examine the roles of a nurse as detective, scientist, and manager of the healing environment in delivering safe and effective patient care. Nurses are increasingly called upon to assume dynamic leadership roles on interdisciplinary teams in the workplace. In the LLE, you will examine team dynamics in your practicum healthcare organization to learn about the function of the nurse as leader and change agent. You will observe nursing leadership-in-action during interdisciplinary team meetings. This project will be included in your nursing portfolio.

1. Make an appointment to plan your project with your practicum preceptor.
a. Prepare for this meeting by:
i. reviewing previous course (e.g., C489) content on leadership and interdisciplinary practice
ii. identifying your practicum agency's mission, vision, value statement, and strategic plan
iii. jotting down your thoughts about the nurse as leader in the interdisciplinary environment
b. Determine the topics and questions you would like to address during your meeting with a nurse manager.

2. Request a 30-minute meeting with a nurse manager soon after your third shift. Be prepared and professional in this meeting, and demonstrate organization of your thoughts for efficient use of your time together. You should at least ask the following questions:
a. What leadership roles do nurses play in this facility at the administrative, management, and patient care levels?
b. What regular interdisciplinary team meetings occur at these levels?
c. How is the nursing staff involved in these meetings?
d. As part of my practicum assignment, I need to observe/engage in the work of three different teams. How can I participate in an activity of an interdisciplinary team?
e. Who should I talk to in order to arrange attending these meetings?
f. What advice would you give me so I can accomplish my goal of observing the nursing leadership dynamics in the different types of teams?

3. You need to attend three or more interdisciplinary team meetings with a nurse leader, as an observer or an active participant. The nurse leader may include a charge or unit nurse manager, clinical nurse specialist, nurse educator, or nurse administrator.
a. The interdisciplinary meetings need to have three or more participants from differing specialties (e.g., respiratory therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist, wound care nurse, PICC team nurse, physician, pharmacist, nursing assistant, patient care assistant, administrator). These meetings may or may not be related to a patient you are providing primary care for during your clinical rotation. While attending the meetings, you should observe the following:
• name of the meeting or team
• date
• who is in attendance
• why is the meeting being held
• what is/are the goal/s of the meeting
• how does the team interact (e.g., group dynamic)
• how do the leaders function (e.g., was the leadership effective)
• how do these meetings fit into the organizational goals
• what role does the nurse fulfill in the meeting
• what were the meeting outcomes or next steps

REQUIREMENTS

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

Note: Any information that would be considered confidential, proprietary, or personal in nature should not be included. Do not include the actual names of people, stakeholders, or other personally identifiable information. Fictional names should be used. Also, agency-specific data, including financial information, should not be included but should be addressed in a general fashion as appropriate.

Note: Your submission may be in a variety of formats (e.g., report, multimedia presentation).

A. Summarize (suggested length of 1/2-1 page) evidence-based practice, relevant national standards, or current literature to support the need for interdisciplinary teams.

B. Summarize (suggested length of 1-2 pages) your initial meeting with the nurse manager and your experiences during the three different interdisciplinary team meetings you attended as either an observer and/or an active participant.

C. Discuss the roles of three interdisciplinary team members who participated in the interdisciplinary team meetings you attended.
1. Explain how nurses play an important role in interdisciplinary team interactions.

D. Evaluate your interdisciplinary team interactions by doing the following:
1. Discuss how effective the leadership was during the team meetings, based on your observations.
2. Discuss two goals from any of the interdisciplinary teams you observed.
a. Discuss how you participated or could have participated in achieving the goal(s) of one of the teams.
3. Discuss the benefits of having a cohesive interdisciplinary team, based on your observations, for the following:
• client or patient
• healthcare organization
• nursing staff
• group dynamic
4. Assess the group dynamic for one interdisciplinary team you observed or participated with, including the effectiveness of the group.
a. Discuss the method you used to evaluate the group dynamic.
b. Discuss whether any personal or professional conflicts arose during the team interactions.

E. Identify two potential issues that may arise in the future within any of the interdisciplinary teams, based on your evaluation of the groups' dynamics.
1. Compare two methods for dealing with difficult group dynamics (e.g., negotiation, conflict management).
a. Discuss how you could implement one of these methods.
b. Discuss how individual members of the interdisciplinary team could affect the function or dysfunction of the group.
2. Discuss two factors that could make it difficult for change to occur in your clinical setting, based on the meetings you observed.
a. Discuss why nurses, as leaders, are instrumental for leading change.

F. Discuss how the meeting outcomes for any one of the interdisciplinary teams were communicated throughout the practice setting.
1. Discuss whether the interdisciplinary team's recommendations and action items were implemented.

G. Reflect on how your observations or participation in the interdisciplinary meetings shaped your views about the role of the nurse in an interdisciplinary team.
1. Discuss your observations of nursing leadership in action.
2. Discuss how you, as a nurse, could function as a leader in your clinical setting.

H. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

I. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.