Oncology Unit In Acute Care Hospital Essay â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Oncology Unit In An Acute Care Hospital Essay? Answer: Introduction This essay seeks to comprehensively discuss transformative leadership theory and provide an account of its functionality within the nursing context. I work in the oncology unit of an acute care hospital and thus I have used it as the specific context for application of the theory. This case study sample is assumed to be reflective of other acute care settings. The essay is grounded in using the theory to increase the access and quality of patient care. Transformational leadership has several instrumental aspects that are quite relevant in the quest to transform and enhance the quality of health care provided to patients and the access to these services. These aspects include motivation and inspiration. This essay heavily uses them to argue out its applicability in the oncology unit. I have identified several challenges facing the unit and consequently illustrated how they can be mitigated by employing the transformational leadership approach. The essay concludes that this leadership approach can be applicable in transforming and enhancing service delivery in the oncology unit in an acute care hospital. The scope of the essay covers the history of the theory, its applicability in a practical nursing context, and the resultant conclusions from the analysis. All these are discussed broadly in an analytical manner with the exception of conclusions. A summary of the history and chief premises of the theory The term `transformational leadership`, was coined by a renowned sociologist James V. Downton in 1973 (Bruce Francis, 2013). He came up with this terminology seeking to explain the relationship between change and leadership. Later on, leadership expert James McGregor Burns build on Downton`s concept of transformational leadership in his 1978 book titled `Leadership` (Curtis, Vries, Sheerin, 2011). According to him, transformational leadership referred to a process where leaders and their followers uplift each other to greater levels of motivation and morality. Bernard M. Bass further developed the transformational leadership concept as indicated by his 1985 book tilted ``Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations`` (David Kirimi, 2012). He argued that this type of leader has the following attributes: sets vivid goals, is a reflection of fairness and integrity, exhibits high expectations, offers support and recognition, encourages others, has the ability to stir up other peoples` emotions, gets individuals to look beyond their self-interest as well as inspires and motivates individuals to reach for the improbable. There have been further developments done to the theory over time (Diane, 2013). Now over 25 years after Bass` book, it is argued that transformational leadership is one of the paramount concepts in organizational leadership (Diane, 2013). The theory is grounded on several fundamental premises. These premises include the following: Individuals will follow a person who inspires them, an individual with a vision and passion can accomplish immense things and the avenue to get things executed involves injecting energy and enthusiasm (Duygulu Kublay, 2011). Usually, people will follow the leader whom they perceive to inspire them. It is assumed their belief that the individual has some inspiration and motivation to them will act as a trigger and driving force for them to voluntarily follow the leader. Additionally, it is assumed that the person who has a vision and passion is in a good position to achieve things of great magnitude. As such, these two attributes are critical although it becomes quite a hard exercise the two most of the times. The two elements are used as the underlying factors when a person desires to achieve great things. Also, using enthusiasm and energy facilitates getting things done. This implies that energy and enthusiasm are indispensable when an individual in a leadership position wants things to be executed accordingly (Duygulu Kublay, 2011). Transformational leadership theory describes a leadership approach which brings about change in people and social systems (Edgar, 2016). Ideally, it creates positive and valuable change in the followers. When authentically enacted, it heightens the morale, motivation, and performance of the followers via different mechanisms. Such mechanisms include: linking the followers` sense of self and identity to the organization`s mission and collective identity, being an inspirational role model to them, challenging the followers to take ownership of their work and comprehending their strengths and weaknesses. This enables the leader to align followers with the tasks they can optimally perform (Elaine, 2012). The chief components of the theory include: intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and idealized influence (Elesa, 2013). Intellectual stimulation describes the level to which the leader takes risks, challenges assumptions and solicits the ideas of the followers. This promotes the development and nurturing of individuals who think independently. Individualized consideration is the degree to which the leader addresses individual follower`s needs and concerns. The empathy and support offered by the leader give them intrinsic motivation to perform their tasks. Inspirational motivation is the ability of the leader to articulate a vision which is inspiring and appealing to the followers (Gilbert, 2011). This offers the organization`s meaning and purpose hence steering the group forward. Idealized influence reflects high ethical conduct, earns respect, and instills pride and trust. It enables the leader to walk the talk (Elesa, 2013). A description of its possible application in an oncology unit Today`s nurses employ fundamental transformative communication principles to enhance interactions with patients, peers, family members and colleagues (Heuston Wolf, 2011). This implies that transformative communication principles are linked to transformational leadership principles. For instance, the linkage between the need to positively communicate and the need to optimize ones and group`s potential principles respectively. As such, I believe the blend of the two is indispensable in bringing harmony among the above-mentioned parties. This is efficacious in enhancing patient care and professionalism within the different contexts of a highly diverse society (Hutchinson Jackson, 2013). An example of the most suitable context for application of the transformative theory is in the oncology unit in an acute care hospital, where I work. The department is always busy since we provide the following services: a diagnostic job to identify a new diagnosis, treatment of therapy complications, administration of investigational and standard chemotherapy, supportive care, radiation therapy, biopsies and surgical operations, among others (Owen, 2012). The department team is large. Some members work round the clock with some reasonable breaks while others usually work on a shift basis. We possess varied levels of expertise, education, motivation and experience (Kwame, 2012). The operations of the unit are commendable since we offer excellent services round the clock to the patients received in the department (Owen, 2012). However, there have been several challenges within the unit. Such problems include: poor design of systems, inadequacy in meeting the health needs of the chronically ill patients, and lack of a shared decision-making relationship between nursing professionals and patients in the unit (Marshall, 2010). Traditionally, health care institutions have experienced challenges linked to the process of how patient care is provided (Michael, 2011). I agree with this based on my observation and work experience on the way healthcare service delivery is done in my locality and in other areas. However, I believe that such challenges can be progressively alleviated only if transformational leadership is used prudently and inclusively. The oncology unit wherein I work is a good example (Marshall, 2010). There has been poor systems design in the oncology unit. Such a key system is the patient health documentation system in the unit. For a long time, the health and treatment records of the chronically ill patients have been managed poorly. This means that the patients usually consume a lot of time waiting for their medical documents to be retrieved at the unit (Bradley, 2016). As a result, this has led to poorer quality patient care and wide dissatisfaction and disappointment among our patients (Michael L. , 2011). The theory is very instrumental in addressing the above-described challenge of poor systems design. It will aid in enhancing the patient health records documentation system. This will be achieved by bringing the responsible staff on board for an in-depth discussion with their leader (Salanova, Lorente, Chambel, Martinez, 2011). The leader will precisely articulate the vision and the need to efficaciously handle the documents of the patients. I believe that this will serve to motivate the staff to execute their mandates more effectively and, hence, avert inconveniencing the patients when they require their medical records. As such, this will motivate and inspire the unit employees on the need to be quick and swift when handling the patients` documentation (Patrick, Laschinger, Wong, Finegan, 2011). This can also be done by taking them through an induction session and also the manager challenging the staff members and inspiring them with a sense of purpose and excitement. As such, th e employees will be more likely to change or adjust their perceptions which will influence the way they handle such documentation (Smith, 2011). The inadequacy to satisfy the health needs of the patients who are chronically ill in the unit has proved to be a challenging issue. Such needs include: counseling, advice on aspects such as lifestyle, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and biopsies among other paramount needs and services offered by the unit (Nurse, 2012). I believe that this has been contributed to by the absence of enough attention to behavioral health determinants and prevention, and the disharmonious collaboration between and among the nurses and other health care providers working in the unit. It is a saddening situation (Nurse, 2012). The theory is also useful in satisfactorily addressing the issue of inadequacy in meeting chronically sick patients` needs. Addressing such needs will require the reforming of the way attention to behavioral health determinants and treatment and prevention are done in the unit (Tricia, 2015). Since the transformational leadership theory involves implementing new ideas which the followers can comfortably identify with, the leader will be able to inspire and motivate enhanced collaboration and coordination among the staff in the unit regarding the awarding of adequate attention and considerations to treatment and prevention options available and suitable to each unique individual patient. For instance, based on my experience, introducing a universally joint consultation and feedback framework in the unit is a great way of motivating change among the staff. This will include setting up a unit where such collaboration and coordination will be carried out extensively and precisely. The un it will be accessible to all the relevant staff round the clock (Tricia, 2015). From my observation, the lack of a shared decision-making relationship between nursing professionals and patients has been overtly present in the unit. This implies that there has been the absence of openness between the providers and/- or nurses and the patients. This has caused critical decisions to be made independently either by the health providers or the patients (Patricia, 2011). Transformative leadership is paramount in mitigating the lack of a shared decision-making relationship between nursing professionals or other healthcare providers and patients within the unit. This means that since the theory promotes increased ethical conduct, respect, and trust, the unit staff will be spurred to embrace a shared decision-making association with their patients (Wong, Cummings, Durchame, 2013). The trust between the staff and patient(s) may be in terms of the confidentiality of the health details of the patient and perhaps the treatment options. As such, I believe that this will initiate a considerate and comprehensive shared decision-making through an approach such as having an in-depth personal conversation with patients. Since respect is very key in decision-making between two parties, the unit will provide induction sessions for the unit staff on how to build on respect for the patients visiting our unit. This will lead to enhanced and prudent decision options f rom which informed choices can be arrived at. I am of the view that, essentially, this will also remarkably address the need to be increasingly attentive and considerate to the preferences, values, and cultural backgrounds of the patients visiting the unit. Consequently, this will cause high-quality service provision (David Kirimi, 2012). The transformative leadership theory is the most appropriate applicable theory in addressing the above-discussed challenges in the workplace situation. This is essential because all the key challenges highlighted above relate to the theory (Sadeghi Pihie, 2012). According to me, it calls for change or transformation. This will positively impact the service delivery in the crucial unit (Michael R., 2013). Based on my knowledge, the theory is applicable since it seeks to empower each staff member to achieve his or her full potential besides focusing on the general performance of the department. This is crucial (Sadeghi Pihie, 2012). Conclusion It is necessary to bring change in individuals and social systems. At the center of this is the transformational leadership approach. Its origin and development are attributed to James V. Downton, Burns and Bass. The theory has been used for many years, specifically for over twenty-five years in advocating for individual and group optimization of productivity. It has made it possible to bring the desired change in organizations and hence aid in steering them towards their consensual vision and mission. It does this by articulately involving all the followers both at the individual and group levels. This is based on its four key components which include: intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and idealized influence. The theory can be applied in the oncology unit in an acute care hospital to transform and enhance service delivery to the patients who visit the unit. The importance of the theory is inevitably remarkable. This is because it is suitably applicable in addressing some of the identified challenges in this unit. This is grounded in the theory`s attributes like initiating and motivating change, inspiring, connecting and challenging usually at individual and group levels. Essentially, this theory is a masterpiece in establishing desired positive and transformative change. References Bradley. (2016, 04 19). How Nursing Leadership Styles can Impact Patient Outcomes and Organizational Performance. Retrieved from onlinedegrees.bradley.eduResourcesInforgraphics Bruce, A., Francis, Y. (2013). Transformational and Charismatic Leadership. Emerald Group Publishing. Curtis, A., Vries, J., Sheerin, K. (2011). Developing leadership in nursing: exploring core factors. British journal of nursing. David, M., Kirimi, B. (2012). Transformational corporate leadership. Andrews UK Limited. Diane, H. (2013). Leadership and nursing care management. Elsevier Health Services. Duygulu, S., Kublay, G. (2011). 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