Leadership Insights: Celebrating Nurse Leaders

As we celebrate National Nurses Week 2022, nursing caregivers are joining their colleagues nationwide in celebration of the professional practice of nursing. 

National Nurses Week, being held May 6-12 (ending the birthday of nursing founder Florence Nightingale), is an exciting opportunity for health care leaders to show their nursing teams how much they are honored, valued and recognized. It is an entire week dedicated solely to nurses – honoring them for their work while also educating the public about the very important role nurses play in health care.

Nursing has a long and important legacy in our nation’s health care history. From the moment a resident or patient enters one of our facilities to transition to the next care setting, nurses provide the moment-to-moment daily interactions, services and care delivery to the best of their abilities, all while delivering compassionate care. 

The nursing role is rapidly evolving, as nurses are tasked with an even wider range of health care responsibilities. Nursing has become more complex in ways that could not have been imagined a generation ago. Nurses are not only caregivers, but also they are great innovators–utilizing their expertise and critical thinking abilities to assess and resolve complex situations. Every day, nurses continue to promote health and cater to the unique needs of individuals by providing safe and quality care. 

The nursing leader is focused on setting standards and policies, dealing with compliance, and overseeing quality measures and clinical outcomes while spearheading innovation and transformation with their teams and within the organization. 

As I reflect on my career working side by side with nursing leaders and licensed nurses, there are key traits that I consistently have observed in nurses: 

• Overseer – Overseeing care delivery, customer and staff satisfaction, clinical processes, staff engagement, financial outcomes, and compliance are just a few of the oversight responsibilities. Nurses provide direction for their department or nursing unit while holding staff accountable. 
• Educator – Nurses continue to expand their knowledge and understanding of the changes impacting our industry and the residents we care for. Staying on top of the changes that affect clinical practice and patient care is challenging today. Nurses continually go above and beyond to learn and then educate their team members to provide the best care.    
• Team Builder – Nursing leaders and licensed nurses continue to work with their team at all levels, even through these very challenging times in health care. They identify the knowledge, skills and abilities of their team and align those talents with the clinical needs and priorities, which allows them to mentor and develop future leaders. Successful nurses build their role on the people surrounding them. Team building is the cornerstone of their leadership style, which is essential to leading a diverse group of people with distinct personalities and skills. Continuing to foster an environment of collaboration and professional growth is a key strategy for success for nursing leaders in today’s organizations.    
• Motivator and Innovator – Given all of the challenges nurses face, their unique ability to motivate staff during challenging times is first and foremost. They know when to talk and when to listen. They are often confident and optimistic while inspiring enthusiasm in those around them. Today’s nursing leaders also spark and support innovation, knowing that the way we did business before needs to change to succeed in the new health care environment.   

In our complex health care world, we are wrapped up in day-to-day operations and complicated regulations and lose sight of the glue of our organization – our professional nurses. Working next to the dynamic nursing leaders is an honor and a privilege. Thank you for being the center of our organizations and being the heart of health care.

To the nurses across the nation and my Pathway Health nursing team members…thank you! Thank you for embracing the new health care environment and all of the changes it brings and reminding us of every day why we do what we do – to provide excellent care and services to those in need.

Happy Nurses Week!