Nursing Leadership Role

Introduction
Recently I read a Facebook post, written by an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), she went into great detail describing what role she performed, going on to highlight the benefits of care rendered by APRN as member of the health care team . However, she spent the first two paragraphs defending the role of the APRN in a somewhat abrasive manner stating that while not stupid, some are ignorant of the ways of the world and things they had not learned about.
Nursing Leadership Problem
Most certainly, nurses serve as the greatest advocate and greatest hindrance in the advancement of the profession of nursing, whether the novice nurse or in advanced practice nursing. Sommerfeldt (2013) found that novice nurses when asked to describe nursing, found the response of “care for clients” to be a common answer. Sommerfeldt (2013) acknowledged this answer excluded the contributions of other professionals involved in the health care team. But, of greater concern, the lack of a clear answer of the role and function of the nurse as a member of the inter-professional care team, compounds the ambiguity surrounding the profession of nursing as a valuable member of the health care team, especially that of the advanced practice nurse.
Moreover, with health care reform opening more avenues for nurses to provide care, nurses serve as the lynch pin for providing education for a better understanding regarding the multifaceted scope of practice and health care provided by nurses. Of course, this poses the question as to whom will perform this leadership