14 The phases of competency are Phase 1: Knowledge Development-Moral Sensitivity, Phase 2: Knowledge Application, Phase 3: Creating an Ethical Environment, and Phase 4: Promoting Social Justice Within the Health Care System. 13 Ethical decision-making confidence develops from clinical expertise and is a core competency for nurse leaders which allows them to effectively manage hierarchical challenges, model interprofessional communications, 14 and advocate for multi-professional consensus in difficult ethical situations.įounded on the premise that self-confidence is not an absolute, to assess the participants’ confidence in their ethical decision-making competencies, the EDMC Scale was developed using the Phases of Development of Core Competency for Ethical Decision-Making by Hamric and Delgado. Rather, confidence occurs along a continuum and is situational, being influenced by both the situation and task required, and is driven by a conviction to overcome obstacles allowing one to do what is perceived as right. 12 It is also important to acknowledge that confidence is not an absolute. 10, 11 The position of a nurse leader includes, but is not limited to, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse executives, chief nursing officers, and head nurses.Ĭonfidence can best be defined as a quality or state of being certain and this certainty results from having faith or belief in one’s powers and a willingness and/or ability to act. As such, nurse leaders provide direction and support, motivate, coordinate, demonstrate critical and reflective thinking skills, apply intra- and interdisciplinary peer supervision, act as the liaison to and effectively communicate with other departments in interdisciplinary care, among many others. Stanley and Stanley 9 offer a global definition of the nurse leader specifically, “hey are found across the spectrum of health organizations, often at the highest level for clinical interaction, but not commonly at the highest management level.” p. 8 Building on these skills, nurse leaders have the additional responsibility to be a resource, preceptor, mentor, and role model for their peers and charges. Like hands-on skills, soft-skills such as self-management and interpersonal relationships 7 need to be developed and mastered so that nurses possess ethical confidence when facing ethically challenging patient situations. Much like the hands-on skills nurses need to master in order to deliver safe quality patient care, nurses must also develop the skills necessary to effectively advocate for their patients. It is postulated that nurse leaders must be competent in ethical decision-making to successfully maneuver today’s healthcare setting which includes managing advances in technology, practicing within economical constraints that often appear diametrically opposed to delivering quality patient care, and facing complex ethical situations. While the literature offers innumerable publications focusing on moral distress and ethical decision-making competence in nurses, 1– 6 there is very little written specifically on nurse leaders. Nurse leaders, whether involved in direct patient care or administrative roles, are impacted by challenging ethical cases. Ethical issues occur frequently in today’s complex healthcare settings.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |