MSN Specialty Executive Leadership

Question

The purpose of this assignment is to: a) demonstrate how the skills outlined in the AACN Essentials are applicable to the role of a master’s–prepared nurse (CO #5, #6) and b) present ideas in a clear, succinct, and scholarly manner (CO #1).

Course Outcomes

Through this assignment, the student will demonstrate the ability to:

(CO#1) Demonstrate effective verbal, written, and technological communication using legal and ethical standards for transferring knowledge. (PO 3)

(CO#5) Analyze the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing [AACN Essentials]. (PO 1)

(CO#6) Assess the roles of the master’s-prepared nurse. (PO 1)

Sample paper

MSN Specialty Executive Leadership

Speaker notes

MSN Specialty Executive Leadership

The executive leadership position for MSN students prepares one for executive and management positions in the healthcare field. MSN specialty executive leadership program is provided at the master’s degree level program. Executive leadership program enables nurses to provide direct care services to patients and staff while still utilizing their clinical judgment knowledge. The executive leadership program trains master’s students to develop positive collaborations with the entire heath care team in order to provide a robust environment that addresses the needs of patients. The MSN specialty executive leadership prepares students assume leadership roles in healthcare settings. It enables nurse leaders to provide effective services in healthcare organizations.

Available areas of Practice

Students who successfully complete the program are able to choose among various fields of practice where they can effectively apply their skills. The various field of practice areas include hospitals, data management firms, community-based clinics, nurse-managed clinics, ambulatory care centers, practice management organizations, corporate organizations, and other areas.

How Executive Leadership Program Prepares Students

The executive leadership programs prepare students to assume delivery of nursing and health care service provision in a number of ways. The program enables students to implement, maintain and define the standards required in quality patient care. The program also enables students to learn how they can manage work teams (American Association of colleges of Nursing (AACN), 2011). In healthcare settings, nursing executives face the main challenge of developing effective teams to implement projects. The program enables students to learn how they can implement programs and policies that help healthcare organizations in achieving both the financial targets and care delivery targets involving continuous improvements. The program equips students with knowledge on how they can mentor staff in order to improve performance and maintain their motivation levels (AACN, 2011). As such, leaders learn the various ways they can develop and sustain motivation among staff. The program enables executive leaders to manage change in healthcare settings. Change is an important component in the healthcare settings. Executive leaders must learn how to implement changes in healthcare organizations by involving the entire team.

The executive leadership program enables nursing leaders to gain a better understanding of the need for research. As such, they are in a better position to participate in research. The program enables executive leaders to learn how to balance the operational, strategic, and financial and the interpersonal responsibilities that relates to the healthcare settings (AACN, 2011). The program teaches nursing executives the various ways in which they can draw on the knowledge and skills of their peers, subordinates, and supervisors and apply this to achieving the organizational goals and objectives. This also enables them to learn how to solve problems collaboratively. Lastly, the program enables nursing executives to develop ethical reasoning or decision-making. Nursing executives should be able to provide patients and staff appropriate advice whenever ethical issues emerge.

How the skills outlined in the (9) AACN Essentials are applicable in Executive Specialization

The skills outlined in the AACN Essentials will greatly assist students in the executive leadership program. The first skill outlined in the AACN Essentials highlight the need for scientific backing for practice. This is essential since executive leadership requires nurses to be able to conduct research and apply the findings in practice (AACN, 2011). This enables the leader to apply scientifically backed theories and solutions in healthcare delivery. The Second AACN Essential relates involves organizational and systems leadership that enhances systems thinking and leads to quality improvement. The AACN Essential is applicable since it equips graduates with skills for working in organizations such as hospitals that deal with the larger community (AACN, 2011). It helps the executives to develop effective management strategies in healthcare settings. The third AACN Essential relates to the ability of the graduate to apply analytical methods in evidence-based practice. The graduate can apply the skills learned under this essential to apply analytic methods in reviewing existing literature in application of evidence-based practice. The essential can also enable a graduate to examine critically the quality improvement practices in place with an aim of promoting an effective patient-centered care.

The fourth skill relates to the application of information systems technology in improving healthcare delivery. The skills obtained from this essential can enable executives to improve healthcare systems, provide better patient care, and to offer better leadership in both academic and healthcare systems (AACN, 2011). The skills obtained in this area also enable executives to apply new knowledge in healthcare delivery. The skills also enable executives to assess the effectiveness of new patient care technologies as applied in particular areas of practice. The fifth essential relates to health care policy and the role played by advocacy in health care (AACN, 2011). This skill is applicable since it enables executives to be aware of the policy development process and to utilize knowledge on advocacy to influence healthcare policies. Appropriate policy development initiatives are critical in ensuring that the healthcare system fulfills the needs of all stakeholders. Skills obtained from this essential can also enable an individual to advocate for health care policy that social injustices and equity in health care.

The sixth essential involves establishing collaborations across the profession for the purpose of improving patient and population health outcomes (AACN, 2011). This essential can be effective in helping executives employ effective and efficient communication skills in the implementation of practice guidelines and practice models. The essential can also enable executives to lead various interprofessional teams in the organization to analyze complex practice issues. The seventh essential relates to clinical prevention and population health (AACN, 2011). Clinical prevention relates to risk reduction or illness prevention for families and individuals. The implementation of population health activities and clinical prevention is critical in helping achieve the national goals of the entire population. Implementing of the two can help an executive develop strategies for combating unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among individuals.

The eighth essential relates involves the advanced nursing practice (AACN, 2011).. Over the years, healthcare has experienced significant changes owing to emergent technologies that lead to sophisticated healthcare systems. It becomes difficult for executives to master all the advanced roles involved in healthcare delivery to patients. Advanced nursing practice thus enables graduates to concentrate in a narrower field of practice such as executive leadership or informatics. As such, the graduate is able to become a master of the particular area or field of specialization. The last essential is the master’s level nursing practice (AACN, 2011). The master’s level nursing practice seeks to improve the healthcare outcomes for patients. Master’s level nursing practice enables graduates to develop appropriate skills and knowledge relating to nursing and the relevant health sciences.

Ways that a master’s prepared nurse would use the AACN Essential skills in nursing practice.

AACN Essential skills can be used by an executive specialty in ethical decision-making. The rising demands for cost control and the increasingly complex health technologies have raised the need for ethical decision-making by leaders (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). A critical competency required among executives is the ability to provide counseling to patients in situations where ethical dilemmas face them. Another core competency relates to the ability of the executives to lead discussions relating to ethical issues affecting communities and the healthcare facilities. Ethical decision-making becomes the foundation of content in clinical practice, research, management, and evaluation. AACN Essential skills enables executives to gain an understanding of the belief systems, personal values and principles that lay the foundation for nursing practice. AACN Essential skills enable students to explore values and examine how such values shape the professional practice and how they influence the decision-making process.

Executives can apply the AACN Essential skills to analyze ethical dilemmas in their field of practice and evaluate how the ethical dilemmas affect patient care (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). Executives are more likely to encounter ethical dilemmas during practice involving patients. ACCN Essential skills are also critical in helping executives take responsibility for their own practice outcomes. The quality of one’s practice may vary depending on many factors. Learning the essential skills can enable one to become accountable for their practice outcomes. ACCN Essential skills enable executives to identify areas in which conflicts of interest may emerge. In this way, one might be able to develop alternative solutions and thus avoid personal conflicts. The essential skills enable executives to examine their decision-making processes from an ethical point of view (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). In other words, the executives can be able to evaluate their decision-making from both an organizational and a personal perspective.

The AACN Essential skills enable executives to operationalize the various norms and principles within their specialty area. The essential skills are fundamental during practice. The AACN Essential skills enable graduates to transition into advanced practice nurses (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). The content acquired under the AACN Essential skills enables graduates to understand clearly their role in the nursing profession. It also helps them to understand the various requirements and regulations within the nursing practice. An understanding of the AACN skills enables graduates to transform into advanced nursing practitioners and to integrate new activities and new knowledge into their professional practice in the field. It also enables the graduates to provide their services in an effective manner even in multidisciplinary environments. Executives should display certain behaviors in their field of practice. AACN skills enable executives to exhibit the desired professional behaviors and personal qualities in their field of work (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014).

Professional role development enables executives to develop the ability to communicate effectively with other health care professionals. It is important that executives develop effective collaborations and learn to develop interdependent relationships in their field of work. Executives are leaders who must bear the right communication skills in the health care field. Executives are able to assume the role of advocates in the health sector. The role of advocacy is set to benefit the patients and bring appropriate changes in the healthcare system. AACN skills enable executives to advance their knowledge as researchers, consultants, managers of systems, and as clinicians (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). The skills enable executives to manage changes within health care systems rather than reacting to changes. Thus, executives plan for changes in advance instead of waiting for changes or external forces that move them to change. Nursing executives also gain the knowledge involving proper recruitment procedures in the nursing profession.

An executive who acquaints self with knowledge on AACN may be in a better position to develop effective policies, make appropriate organizational decisions and make sound financial decisions (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). An executive should be able to develop ways in which patients can receive quality and cost effective health care. The appropriate executive should also be able to design and institute different health care systems, and to manage effectively the human and physical resources available within the health care organization. With regard to policy issues, the skills enable executives to become responsive to an ever increasing participation of the government, the public and other third parties in the running of health care organizations (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). This enables executives to learn how they can analyze policy research results and apply the knowledge learnt in improving health care delivery systems and processes.

One can use the AACN skills to gain a better understanding of health care financing and the most appropriate ways of managing health care facilities financially. Nurses can use the skills acquired to gain an understanding of the economic implications involved in health planning, the designation of wage systems, examination of the personnel and other resources available in the organization (McClearly-Jones et al., 2014). Nurses can also be able to apply the core principles involved in budgeting, health economics and fiscal management. Nurses or executives can be able to apply cost-benefit analysis and other procedures to determine the effectiveness of particular processes or systems. This can lead to the development of high quality and cost effective decisions, which ensures that only the effective decisions have been implemented.

The executive leadership position for MSN students is important in preparing students for executive and management positions in the healthcare field. MSN specialty executive leadership program is provided at the master’s degree level program. The various fields of practice available for graduates include hospitals, data management firms, community-based clinics, nurse-managed clinics, ambulatory care centers, practice management organizations, corporate organizations, and other areas. The program enables students to implement, maintain and define the standards required in quality patient care. The skills outlined in the AACN Essentials will greatly assist students in the executive leadership program.

References

  • American Association of colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2011). The essentials of Master’s education in nursing. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/MastersEssentials11.pdf

McClearly-Jones, V., Smith, P., & Carithers, C. et al. (2014). Collaboration in the face of change: a successful graduate curriculum revision. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 4(1): 1-9.