Nursing: Servant Leadership

Throughout the duration of Nursing 1001, I have realized the compassion and dedication that is required for nursing. Nursing is more than just simply taking care of someone’s physical needs, nurses are responsible for emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual health. As we learned in class, the nursing profession has evolved significantly since Florence Nightingale. Not only are nurses much more respected, they play a major role in the medical field. Without nurses, hospitals, clinics, and private practices would be lost. Prior to this class, I always viewed nurses as below doctors. However, I now view nurses as more of an equal to doctors rather than a subordinate. Without the numerous roles of nursing, the medical industry as a whole
would crumble. For example, nurse provide support to billions of people a year; not only patients, but the families of patients as well. In addition, nurses provide physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual care to people of all ages. As I learn more about nursing, I also learn to appreciate the profession more. Nurses have an impact on so many people’s lives. Whether it be small or big, kind acts of nurses are often remembered by patients and their family for the rest of their life.
Service leadership is a philosophy that consists of achieving results for organizations by serving those in need.
A servant leader is really what the name says: a servant first and a leader second. The difference between service leadership and conventional leadership is the spread of power. While most leaders strive to be on top and have all the power, a servant leader shares power to create a cohesive environment (Sherman 2012). A nurse can be a servant leader through problem solving and compassionate patient care. Not only do servant leaders promote their own personal development, they strive to help their colleagues be the best that they can be as well. Through servant leadership, nurses can build a circle of trust with their colleagues and patients alike. Rose O. Sherman, professor of nursing and director of the Nursing Leadership Institute, explains ten traits that are vital to an excellent servant leader: active listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment, and community building (Sherman 2012). Not only do these characteristics make for a better servant leader, they also make a better nurse. Overall, servant leaders help to guide other nurses in the right direction by creating a positive work place and cohesive
environment.
After learning about the role of servant leadership, I realized how important it is to integrate it into the medical world as a whole. However, servant leadership applies directly to nursing. In my future career, I hope to be a nurse practitioner. Through servant leadership, I will be able to manage health problems and help treat patients in the best way possible. Servant leadership is so important because it requires a very specific skill set. For example, a service leader nurse must value caring and serving above all, while still having the knowledge to know how to treat patients and what the best options are.