Introduction
I work in a nursing home in a rehabilitation section as a floor nurse. In some instances, I supervise the floor. In regards to my personal growth and development, I consider myself to be within the level of expert practice because I have advanced my education, undertaken thorough career planning, and evaluated myself in terms of the proposed action plans as well as the annual self-assessment. In addition, I have always made sure that I adhere to ethical practice and behavior when executing my duties as a nurse.
There are several scopes of practice and nursing standards that any nurse is expected to follow to the letter. Although I sometimes fail to meet some standards, I strongly believe that major improvements have been made so far. I have also enrolled in a nursing association so that I can enhance my professional development and networking skills.
I am generally competent and skilled in this domain. Nonetheless, I still need to exercise a lot of resilience and commitment when interacting with colleagues in the nursing profession (Davis-Ajami, Costa & Kulik, 2014). My networking skills are still below par largely due to over-engagement in professional activities. On the other hand, I have novice experience in obtaining certification from a suitable field.
Career planning
When I compare myself to colleagues in my present level of practice, I suppose I have gained sufficient expertise skills that can enable me to comprehend my job description and daily requirements. However, I have not planned my future destination and how I can be a better nurse professional. Besides, I am yet to assess the future healthcare needs and the various domains where I can fit. I hardly carry out long-term planning as far as my future career growth is concerned.
As already hinted, I still lack the appropriate capacity to adapt to future scenarios. To a large extent, I am not flexible enough to position myself towards the future. My competency level might not be adequate to suffice the needs of the demanding nursing profession.
Personal journey discipline has enabled me to develop leadership qualities at the workplace bearing in mind that I sometimes play supervisory roles at the workplace. Although I have personally grown as an independent leader, I still score below average in council management and shared leadership. I need to start developing both reflective practice and action learning so that my career journey can be successful.
From the above discussions, I have personally noted that continuous reflective practice is crucial in the nursing profession. It is only through reflections that a practicing nurse can be in a position to utilize the set guidelines and eventually comprehend the various dimensions of leadership. To begin with, leadership demands integrity or remaining consistent with facts or truth. I can confirm that I do very well when it comes to the issue of integrity in leadership cycles.
In addition, I have learned to appreciate the imperfect environment and people I interact with regularly. In any case, it is not possible to work in an ideal environment where everything works perfectly well. I have developed adequate tolerance regarding differences that exist among employees. We should be in a position to appreciate ambiguity at all times to grow as leaders (Waddell, Roberto & Yoon, 2013).
Second, diversity in the workplace is a dominant issue that we may not ignore at all. In my line of practice, I come across major differences among colleagues. For example, some have different sexual orientations, gender, and race. I even find it more comfortable to work along with employees from diverse backgrounds. Better still, I can hold various perspectives without necessarily pointing an accusing finger to an individual, group, or team. We need to entertain diverse opinions and standing points due to the unique nature of mankind.
Since I have gradually learned to work closely with my colleagues, I am currently in a vantage position to discover both their strengths and weaknesses. Other learning points that I am probably well equipped to include the ability to remain committed to myself, nurturing my intellectual wellbeing being adventurous especially in regards to acquiring additional knowledge in my career. In other words, I have developed an expert practice in all the aforementioned domains.
There are various ways I can use my current leadership skills to advocate for change at my workplace. First, open forums can be used by nursing professionals to air their views and concerns at the workplace. Such forums should discuss pertinent issues affecting employees and also offer solutions as soon as it may be possible. Second, individual employees are highly encouraged to attend additional capacity building and training programs especially on critical learning areas such as workplace diversity, cultural differences, and ethical practices.
Professional nursing practice cannot do without some form of effective workplace advocacy (Laschinger, Wong, Cummings & Grau, 2014). Moreover, professional associations can be used to inject discipline into both the employer and employees. This explains why nurses should be members of registered professional bodies so that can agitate for their rights and privileges at the workplace.
Conclusion
Finally, my personal goal for leadership growth is to enhance my strategic thinking ability. I need to be long-sighted and be able to plan over a long period. Strategic thinking also entails self-evaluation on a regular basis besides getting deeper into the tactical details of effective leadership. I plan to achieve this goal through continuous organizational learning (on-the-job training), attending workshops/seminars, and gradual experience gained from the workplace.
References
Davis-Ajami, M., Costa, L., & Kulik, S. (2014). Gap analysis: Synergies and opportunities for effective nursing leadership. Nursing Economics, 32(1), 17-25.
Laschinger, H. K. S., Wong, C. A., Cummings, G. G., & Grau, A. L. (2014). Resonant leadership and workplace empowerment: The value of positive organizational cultures in reducing workplace incivility. Nursing Economics, 32(1), 15, 44.
Waddell, B. D., Roberto, M. A., & Yoon, S. (2013). Uncovering hidden profiles: Advocacy in team decision making. Management Decision, 51(2), 321-340.