Discuss and differentiate between management and leadership competencies and describe how development of these competencies could be evidenced in a professional practice portfolio.

Answer

Description

            A professional practice portfolio is defined as a collection of evidence that demonstrates a person’s learning journey over a period of time and it also demonstrate their abilities in a given profession (McEwen & Wills, 2014). A portfolio can largely encompass an individual’s life-long learning or be specific to a given discipline (Hopper et al., 2018). In this case, the portfolio is written according to the context of the nursing profession. Portfolios are developed for various purposes such as for professional development, learning, assessment, job promotions and/or job application as well as for different audiences (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Recommended components of a nursing portfolio include the title, introduction, the content, references for the portfolio, comments from a mentor, feedback from the mentor to the nursing student, self-evaluation specific to each aim, writing on a reflective idea, mentor reforms, course aims, student’s resume, and student’s duties page during the course, a case study. In addition, other recommended components include student’s contact information, nursing care and nursing process, student’s presentations, the amount of achievement of aims, self-evaluation at the end of the course and each topic, student’s activities and projects, and the scientific documentations achieved by the student (Mollahadi et al., 2018). It also entails future career goals, letters of recommendations, personal philosophy of nursing, and professional awards (Davis, 2015).

Argument

            Use of professional practice portfolio in professional nursing practice is important for assessing practice companies. Portfolios can be used to assess the learning that occurs in healthcare organizations while at work as well as for assessing the learning process that occurs in an academic setting (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Professional practice portfolio is associated with a number of benefits and challenges. Portfolios focus on nursing student’s autonomy over their own learning, student-centered and emphasizes on their responsibility for their own learning. Portfolio is a way of showing professional ability, particularly against pre-determined competencies and for demonstrating the development of learning over a period of time. They facilitate the development of skills in reflective practice, critical thinking, and writing as learning process (Davis, 2015).

Portfolios help nursing students to increase the level of self-awareness, promote creativity, increase their competencies, and promote their in-depth conceptualization of meaning of learning and the subject matter. Nursing students use portfolios to see the links between theory and practice in nursing (Ticha & Fakude, 2015). Benefits of the portfolio use are gained through the process of constructing the portfolio as well as through the finished product (Davis, 2015). Mentoring is fundamental in nursing and use of portfolios may help promote the mentoring process. Mentorship facilitates personal and professional progress. In addition, mentoring helps increase self-confidence, reduces the gap between theory and theory, promotes critical thinking, improves quality of patient care, spiritual support, promotes active learning, and increases interactions between nursing students (Mollahadi et al., 2018). 

            Challenges of portfolio use include the time required to complete a given portfolio as well as time to assess the portfolio. In addition, there is uncertainty in terms of the amount and the nature of the evidence, which should be included as well as there is need for effective guidance and support for students (Debora & Claudia, 2014). It is also challenging to maintain the confidentiality and privacy, particularly when nursing students are reflective on sensitive or difficult cases. In addition, lack of experience and confidence at compiling professional practice portfolios and the degree of preparation necessary raises doubts on the effectiveness of use of portfolios to for learning and assessment (Anagun, Atalay, & Kandemir, 2018).

Management and Leadership

            Management and leadership competencies in nursing have importance in construction of a professional practice portfolio and in nursing practice. Nursing management is defined as performance of governance functions and processes that include planning, organizing, directing, staffing, and controlling. On the other hand, leadership is defined as a continuous, relational, dynamic, and ethical process among individuals who desire to achieve a positive change as a group (Fernandes, Araujo, & Pereira, 2018).

American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) (2015) describes management competencies as a demonstration of expertise in three domains including the art of leading people, the science of managing the business, and the leader within for creating a leader within self. The art of leading people encompasses human resource skills, leadership skills, diversity, relationship management, shared-decision making skills, and relationship management and influencing of behaviors. The science of managing the business includes strategic management, performance improvement, financial management, clinical practice knowledge, human resource management, foundational thinking skills, and technology skills. The leader within domain entails skills in career planning, accountability, personal and professional skills, personal journey discipline, and optimization of the leadership skills (AONE, 2015). On the other hand, leadership competencies include the power and ability to influence, emotional intelligence, driving for results, facilitation of change, business acumen, and high-impact communication (Weber, 2015).

            Management and leadership competences could be evidenced in a professional practice portfolio. Management competences can be demonstrated using professional practice portfolios by the extend in which one has been accountable and responsible for achievement of organizational goals through integration and coordination of resources and by using functions of planning, supervising, organizing, planning, evaluating, staffing, negotiating, and representing. Use of interpersonal skills among nurse managers is important apart from the use of responsibility, authority, accountability, and power that is defined by the organization (Beauvais, 2018).

In portfolios, nursing leadership can be demonstrated in the manner in which one creates work climates and practice environments that are healthier for both patients and nurses (Henriksen, 2016). In addition, nursing leadership can be demonstrated in the manner in which one has influenced others to achieve specific goals through use interpersonal skills. A leader should forge links among members of multidisciplinary team to promote high levels of quality outcomes and performance. A leader strives to achieve consensus within a multidisciplinary team relating to its goals.  Besides, a nursing student can use a portfolio to show their input in maintenance of structures that support achievement of specific goals, supply of important information that provide clarification and direction, and their role in maintenance of group cohesion, satisfaction, and performance (Beauvais, 2018).

Professional Standards

Description of Situation

            During my student clinical nurse placement experience, I was delegated by a Clinical Facilitator to administer medications to a stable patient in clinical setting. At the time as was delegated the task, the patient in question had been hospitalized for two weeks following a pneumonia bout and was due to be discharged in two-day’s time following a multi-disciplinary team decision. I involved my two buddy-Registered Nurses (RN) to help ensure I administered levofloxacin 500mg intravenously and benzylpenicillin 2 million IU intramuscularly according to the medication plan developed by a multidisciplinary team following admission of the patient. My buddy RNs were instrumental in helping me take correct readings since both have handling medication administration task for different patients for the past 2 years since they joined the hospital that I was placed in at that moment. In addition, I involved the two RNs to promote the spirit of collaborative practice; I also maintained active and effective communication with the RN.

            On completion of the assigned task, I received positive feedback and commendation from the Clinical facilitator, which made me feel empowered. In addition, my level of competence and confidence in the assigned duty was improved after successful completion of the assigned duty. To me, administering of correct medications, a right dosages, via the right routes and at the right time was a invaluable skill and opportunity offered to me by the Clinical Facilitator and supported by two RNs.

Critical Discussion

            The assigned task was within the student nursing scope of practice according delegation guidelines set by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) (2018). I demonstrated professional nursing practice during performance of the delegated task within the student nurse scope of practice. First of all, I communicated effectively with the Clinical Facilitator, two RNs, and the patient in question. I informed the patient about all the basic information of the medications I was to administer and the significance of each medication in promoting recovery. I observed that use of effective communication encouraged the patient to ask questions and made the two RNs and the Clinical Facilitator to provide clarifications and additional guidelines that were not only important in completing the task at hand but also in building my clinical experience. Secondly, I promoted collaborative practice in performance of the assigned task as recommended in the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) (2016) RN standards for practice. Standard 2 requires nurses to engage in professional and therapeutic relationships (NMBA, 2016). Nursing practice requires a great deal of collaboration and teamwork (Miller, 2018). Effective communication and collaboration enabled me to satisfy Standard 4 of the RN by the NMBA (2016) that requires nurses to comprehensively conduct assessments; before provision of care services.

            The Clinical Facilitator ensured that she delegated me the above task after careful consideration. She first ensured that she had delegated me the right task, at the right circumstance, me being the right person, with right communication and directions as well as with right supervision and evaluation (Barrow & Sharma, 2019). Regardless of the fact that the two RNs were more experienced than me in handling the assigned task, I did the task personally as guided by the ANMF (2018) that requires the accepting person to handle a delegated task to do it personally. The Clinical Facilitator holds the authority and responsibility for nursing care delivery and may transfer the responsibility for performance of a given task to assistive personnel but retains the responsibility for performance of the delegated tasks to promote realization of high-quality and safe outcomes (Miller, 2018). Despite the fact that the task was delegated to me, the Clinical Facilitator remained accountable and responsible for the task by monitoring and supervising my activities to ensure that it was carried out safely and correctly. In line with this in my role as a student nurse, I consulted the Clinical Facilitator about the decisions, actions, behaviors, and responsibilities that I could practice safely within my scope of practice in that situation. The Clinical Facilitator ensured that I had a solid understanding of the task that I was asked to perform before I engaged myself in it.

Professional Membership

            My professional interests lie within the scope of primary healthcare nursing. My role in primary care nursing seems to gain more ground and significance due to increase of the ageing population, increased burden of complex and chronic diseases, and emerging infectious diseases (Australian College of Nursing, 2019). My interest makes me to seek membership of the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA). APNA (2019) welcomes students, nurses, and other professionals with interests in primary healthcare to join the organization. Interested persons or groups can join the organization by filling online or hardcopy membership application forms. Three types of membership are offered including professional, organizational, and student membership. A professional member ought to pay $294 and is open for academics, nurses, and other professional in primary healthcare; however, nurses are entitled to full voting rights. An organizational member pays $786 (for at least 4 individuals) is open for team of academics, nurses and other professional in primary health care; similarly, only nurses are entitled to full voting rights. A student member pays $30 membership fee; open to students only (APNA, 2019).

            As a student member, I will be entitled to weekly APNA Connect enewletters, discounts on education, and I will access member-only Knowledge Hub on the APNA website. However, I will not be entitled to voting rights but I will upgrade to professional membership later on (APNA, 2019). Justification for my interest to join this organization is that I will enjoy networking opportunities to other experienced healthcare professionals with similar interest in primary health care (APNA, 2019).

References

American Organization of Nurse Executives. (2015). AONE Nurse Manager Competencies. Chicago, IL: Author. Retrieved on Mar 07, 2019 from, http://www.aone.org/resources/nurse-leader-competencies.shtml

Anagun, S.S., Atalay, N., & Kandemir, C.M. (2018). Portfolio implementation experiences of prospective primary school teachers. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 9(2), 102-124. DOI: 10.17569/tojqi.397652.

Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association. (2019). Membership. Retrieved on Mar 07, 2019 from, https://www.apna.asn.au/membership/join-apna

Australian College of Nursing. (2019). Community and primary health care nursing. Retrieved on Mar 07, 2019 from, https://www.acn.edu.au/education/postgraduate-course/community-and-primary-health-care-nursing

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. (2018). Delegation by registered nurses. Retrieved on Mar 07, 2019 from,