The AT 3 assignment asks you to discuss and analyse in more detail, 2 of your chosen discussion posts that you submitted for Assignment 2 (AT2) (600 words for each topic) in essay format.
For the 2 posts that you choose, you are to discuss and analyse professional leadership in nursing in further detail. Building on your engagement from the online forum posts you will expand your responses using sound written and analytical communication skills, to analyse in greater depth the major theoretical foundations of leadership and their application to nursing practice. This is to demonstrate your understanding of the contribution of sound leadership that enhances service delivery to improve health care outcomes. You must read and research widely and use further contemporary literature to support your stance. You must also include again as you did in AT2, screen shot evidence of your original entire posts and response posts in a single (1) collated word document via Turnitin on LEO.
Post 1
Clinical leadership is an important skill that all clinicians should possess and implement in their professional practices, including graduate nurses (Brown, Dewing, & Crookes, 2016). The impact of clinical leadership is considered at the lowest level of any group, especially healthcare organisations. The organizational performance benefits from this kind of leadership, it inspired the nurse’s skills and developed patient-centred care along with evidence-based practice in the healthcare service. The graduate nurses need to develop both confidence and clinical skills to be able to exhibit clinical leadership in their nursing practices (Gidden, 2018). Being able to motivate their fellow nurses, improving the self-esteem of others, building and maintaining therapeutic relationships with patients and professional relationships with peers and subordinates, acting in collaboration with teamwork, improving the nursing practices through the feedback system, are some of the leadership and clinical skills attribute that will help a graduate nurse to establish clinical leadership and ensure proper, effective, safe and quality care to the patients
Post 2: How do these qualities enable RN
Accountability in the nursing practice considers the graduate nurses being responsible for their actions, decisions, and judgments. Autonomy is the individuality expressed by nurses in their nursing practice and their ethical responsibility to respect the autonomy of patients. Both attributes are essential for a nursing professional and related to each other to deliver safe and effective healthcare. The clinical leadership attributes include autonomy and accountability and as a practising nursing professional, one must engage in decision making and actions, through proper deliberation over the expertise, present condition or situation and theoretical knowledge gained prior (Wright et al., 2019). Nurses are expected to be accountable for their decisions, judgments, and actions, to themselves, to the healthcare organizations, to patients, and to their families. As a result, advocating for autonomous decisions and actions becomes a vital part of their nursing practice. Without this, nurses would not manage to revolutionise change and support for their patients. Moreover, it promotes positive impacts on patients results. Therefore, the establishment and maintenance of accountability and autonomy in the nursing practice is an essential part of nursing
Post 3: what can Graduate nurse contribute?
Innovation and positive change are a fundamental part of nursing practice in any healthcare organization. The graduate nurse is responsible for the innovation and creativity in nursing practices and enabling positive change (Kelly & Young, 2017). The nursing profession is always changing as better innovations and practices are being implemented for providing efficient, quality, and safe care to the patients (Weberg & Davidson, 2019). There are various elements in the positive change and innovation to be incorporated in the nursing practice, for instance, leadership skill development, clinical skill exhibition, engaging in research about the newer possibilities, obtaining ideas and feedback from subordinates, increasing the productivity of the healthcare service, engaging in collaborative teamwork, and involving in calculated risks, that are in the benefit of the general population (Kara, 2016). The importance of innovation and positive change in nursing practice, having been identified by many nursing schools of Australia has led to the implementation of innovative programs and courses to involve the student nurses in thinking and creating a constructive change in the field.
Marking rubrics
Introduction 10 marks
There is a comprehensive introduction that outlines the topic of each discussion post Contextualises the scope, content and the sequence of each of the two discussion posts
Content and Discussion 35 marks
Student has highlighted all the relevant factors. Comprehensively explained, analysed and applied the concepts/ issues and their significance. Referred to relevant theory to comprehensively support their stance.
Critical Thinking & Evidence Based Reasoning 30 marks
Links between examples and high levels of evidence/literature provided on all occasions. An argument is presented and well supported with relevant evidence
Sequencing and Accuracy 15 marks
The content succinctly matches the outline presented in the introduction. Writing is organised in a logical manner so that content flows, and there are clear linking sentences. There is a rational and comprehensive conclusion.
Sources & Referencing Evidence of online discussion forum posts attached 10 marks
Accurate use of APA referencing with consistent use of credible in-text citations and ref list. All screen shots of entire posts (from AT2) provided
