Health Systems Leadership: Nursing on the Graduate Level!
Nurses are essential contributors to the country's health system. What many people do not realize is that nurses are also a crucial link between great health care quality and navigating the changes that the health care system constantly undergoes.
For current nurses who want to expand their involvement in guiding their clinics and hospitals forward, health systems leadership nursing may be the logical next step. Let's take a look at what health systems leadership is and how it effects hospital staff and patients alike.
What Is Health Systems Leadership Nursing?
Think of this field as a managerial bridge between patient care and policy advancement. Nurses who move into health systems leadership nursing take on directorial roles that work with budgets, patient-care policies, recommended treatment guidelines, patient safety, and care quality. These are the nurses who look at how changes in medical knowledge could change how nurses at the facility do their job.
Nurses who work in the health systems leadership area combine nursing knowledge, patient communication, budgetary skills, and even human resources training to create a healthy system that serves both patients and staff.
You'd oversee programs that would help nurses and patients communicate more effectively and that would give staff a strong sense of purpose. Studies have shown that effective leadership can improve the quality of care at a facility. You could gain these leadership skills through formal education.
What's the Difference Between These Nurses and Regular Facility Management?
Health systems leadership nurses take on managerial and directorial roles with an eye toward how the policies of the facility affect nurses and the care they give. Regular management may handle fundraising and strictly non-treatment-related issues, while these nurses work with the practical, day-to-day issues.
For example, the accounting department might pay the electric bill of the hospital. The health systems leadership nurse evaluates how the lighting makes patients feel based on a new study that was released. She might look at how lighting in treatment rooms helps or hurts the ability of the nurse and doctor to see fine detail of an injury.
The human resources manager might enforce general staff policies regarding conflicts, but the health systems leadership nurse may assist with conflict resolution between a patient advocacy group, nurses at a satellite office, and labs at the main hospital in a dispute over care quality.
How Would a Nurse Move Into This Position?
Health systems leadership nursing is a master's-level field. A nurse with a BSN degree would return to school to complete a master's program that would cover population health, facility management, changing technology, statistics, and even politics. The health care system in the country is changing rapidly, especially with health insurance changes already happening. These nurses need to be aware of how the changes in government regarding health insurance and health care affect how patients approach care, for instance.
Changing research is also a concern. Many procedures and medications that were once standard are now coming under scrutiny, and many other procedures and medications are now being introduced. A nurse who works in health systems leadership works to apply the new information from studies and research to the everyday treatment of patients. It should be a goal of all nurses to have procedures that do not over-treat or undertreat patients, and implementing changes based on research is critical for achieving this balance.
Are you a working nurse who wants to move their career forward? If you want to earn a Master of Science Degree in Nursing (MSN), ECPI University offers this degree program at an accelerated pace. For more information on this exciting opportunity, connect with a helpful admissions counselor today.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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Gainful Employment Information – Master of Science in Nursing
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