www.nursingtimes.net/ Vol 109 No 42 / Nursing Times 23.10.13Keywords:C - PDF document

www.nursingtimes.net/ Vol 109 No 42 / Nursing Times 23.10.13Keywords:Condence/Newly qualied/Leadership This article has been double-blind peer reviewedNursing PracticeResearch reviewLeadershipAuthors Mary Morley is director of therapies, South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust, London; Lisa Bayliss-Pratt is director of nursing, Health 5 key points The Francis report states that all nurses need strong leadership skills It is unclear whether newly qualied professionals feel able to adopt a leadership roleMost newly qualied health professionals feel condent in demonstrating personal qualities and in working They are less condent in managing and improving services and setting direction In this article... How condence was assessed among a group of newly Where respondents lack condence in their leadership Newly qualied health professionals do not always feel condent about their leadership abilities and may feel unsure of their leadership roleCondence in leadership among the newly qualied P COY F Nursing Times 23.10.13 / Vol 109 No 42 / www.nursingtimes.nettheir personal qualities or working with others but felt less so at managing or improving services, or setting direction. These ndings may not be surprising. While the demonstration of personal qualities and team-working are well established in health professionals’ training (McNair, 2005), the importance of newly qualied staff managing and improving services and setting direction is less so. Nevertheless, both the Francis (2013) and Keogh (2013) reports highlight the importance of listening to the views of the most junior health professionals and engaging them in improving services – their energy must be “tapped and not sapped” (Keogh, 2013).It is important to acknowledge that while newly qualied professionals may lack condence in their own abilities, objective measures and reports of others may show them to be competent. improve services, 12% of respondents were “very condent”, 38% “condent”, 30% “somewhat condent” and 7% “not at all condent”. They were least condent in expressing the need to change processes, putting forward suggestions to improve service quality and questioning established practices that do not add value (Table 1). On setting direction, 10% rated themselves “very condent”, 39% “condent”, 39% “somewhat condent” and 13% “not at all condent”. They felt most condent dence in their decisions about the future direction of the service, gathering and analysing data and making recommendations for improvements.iscussionMost respondents reported being condent or very condent about demonstrating TABLE 1.NTSNot at all condent (%)Somewhat condent (%)Condent ery condent Managing servicesContributing to service plansReceiving and incorporating feedback from othersUnderstanding what resources are availableOrganising resourcesSupporting others in delivering high-quality servicesSupporting team membersUsing information/data to identify improvementsDeveloping and learning from experienceImproving servicesPutting the safety of patients/service users at the heart of thinkingTaking action to report or rectify shortfalls in patient safetyGathering feedback from patients, carers and service usersUsing feedback to contribute to healthcare improvementsQuestioning established practices that do not add valuePutting forward creative suggestions to improve service qualityExpressing need to change processes and systemsAcknowledging impact on people and servicesSetting directionUnderstanding factors determining why changes are madeUnderstanding recent legislation/accountability frameworksGathering and analysing data about aspects of serviceUsing evidence to suggest changes that will improve servicesConsulting with othersContributing to decisions about the future direction of the serviceAssessing eects of change on service delivery/patient outcomesMaking recommendations for future improvements This is a small study; further research using a larger sample might give a clearer indication of where newly qualied professionals lack condence. This could also sionals lack condence, competence or both – and whether the solution is offering more preparation for leadership or simply ReferencesFrancis R (2013) Report of the Mid Staordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. London: Stationery Oce. tinyurl.com/HMSO-Francis2Keogh B (2013) Review into the Quality of Care and Treatment Provided in 14 Hospital Trusts in England: Overview Report. tinyurl.com/NHS-Keogh (2005) The case for educating health care students in professionalism as the core content of interprofessional education. Medical Education; 39: 5, 456-464.NHS Leadership Academy (2013) Leadership Framework. tinyurl.com/NHS-LFrameworkNHS Leadership Academy For a Nursing Times Learning unit on nursing appraisal, go to nursingtimes.net/appraisal