Leadership comentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Leadership comentary - Essay Example In this essay, I will discuss on understanding empathy, which is the leadership skill that I have obtained during my practice. In this discussion, I will use a reflective model to show how understanding empathy is achieved during my practice. Gibbs reflective model is what I will use (Gibbs, 1988). This reflection model has six stages: description of the events, expressing feelings, evaluating the value and ability, analysis of how bad or good the situation is, conclusion on the findings, and lastly making an action plan (Gibbs, 1988). In this essay, I will apply Gibbs reflective model to help in relating theory and critical thought to nursing practice as it may allow. Leadership role and the evidence base for the leadership skill will be included in the discussion. I will then give a conclusion to the essay that will talk about my reflection skills, recognize my qualification and present both my personal and professional development (Fradd, 2004). Understanding empathy is the skill of leadership which I have chosen to deal with in this essay. I have chosen this as it is one of the quality that is needed in this field. In my first placement, I got myself to a situation where empathy was really needed. Understanding others in the personal level that is ‘being in their shoes’ was really needed in my first placement. This gave me a sense of curiosity and I wanted to learn and know more about empathy. At this point, I started researching on the skill and my knowledge developed. Power, influence and authority are basic for leadership. However,  competent leaders ought to use less power and authority and rather use more influence.   Furthermore, motivation, appreciation and persuasion are more important than a simple show of power. Nurse leaders should employ three main influence categories in creating a supportive care environment.  These include mentoring by instruction, modeling by example and building caring relationships (Chin, 2008). Descript ion of events is the initial stage of Gibbs (1988) model. I had to look after a 60 year old male patient with primary diagnosis Cancer Rectum day 14 post-op in a surgical ward. The patient had difficulties with his speaking but could understand little English. I have learned that even when under pressure, l don’t have to rush through the patient (l had to look after 3 other patients). Misunderstanding and miscommunication result in not giving effective care to patients. I used eye contact and body language in order to meet his needs. The patient was friendly and responded well, which boosted my confidence especially on mobilizing him using therapeutic communication skills. In order to communicate effectively with the patient, I had to be patient and learn new communication skills that are; gestures and body language (D'Antonio, 2010; Marquis & Huston, 2009). The second stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection involves discussion about feelings and thoughts. I was aware that I had to do a good job and that the patients were my responsibility. Therefore, the difficulty in communication got me nervous and worried. This made me feel a lot of pressure, as I did not want the patient to know that I had difficulties in communicating with him. This got me worried about how the nursing training programme can incorporate such lessons. The friendly and respo