Nurse educators take lead in leadership research programme

I am part of a new journey in establishing a leadership development research programme within the context of a university. Its aim? To establish one of the niche areas of the School of Nursing at the University of the Western Cape. Over the last few years, the focus on leadership development has surfaced in many national health care documents. However, few research-based studies have been implemented in the public health care sector of South Africa. It was decided that self-leadership in professionalism would be the focus of our proposal.

A group of eight nursing lecturers gathered in Franshoek, near Cape Town, where we worked on developing a broad framework for the programme and establishing objectives. It was quite a challenge for so large a group to work together in writing one proposal. Apart from that, it was cold, with snow on the mountains around us—not a common phenomenon in Africa. But, what made the writing retreat a great success was the enthusiasm and commitment members showed in writing a proposal that could benefit the community of nurses in the Western Cape.

The Franshoek collaborators

Writing the proposal was, in itself, an opportunity to develop self-leadership. It served as a tool for helping individual participants think about their own self-leadership, in practice. Group discussions led to the realization that self-leadership expands one’s capacity to be effective, both in leadership roles and processes.

It was wonderful to observe how, in the process of developing a leadership research programme, participants assumed leadership roles and worked together in a productive and meaningful way.

Now, the next step—getting funding for the project!

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Shared leadership via a unified teaching platform: Some questions

In South Africa, the Department of Education determines what undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programs higher education institutions should offer. Higher-education nursing schools all enroll postgraduate students, while some enroll both undergraduate students, in large numbers, as well as postgraduate students.

I serve on the School of Nursing faculty at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. In the Western Cape, a regional integrated framework exists among nursing schools for a common shared teaching platform at the undergraduate level. Drawing upon the expertise and facilities of five higher education institutions in the region, the framework’s shared leadership is regarded as distributed leadership. An academic board representing the institutions governs the process and reports, via the Council for Higher Education Committee, to relevant committees at those institutions.

The purpose of shared leadership is to use skills and knowledge to create a common culture of expectations. In the process, no institution should give up its autonomy or power. In this environment, the challenge is to establish productive relationships and to be accountable for contributions made to a collective result.

Some probing is needed, however, to determine if common-platform teaching aligns with the principles of equal distribution (shared) leadership. Here are some principles, together with questions (in italics) that need to be asked:

For this model of leadership to work, there must be equal partners. In the shared-teaching platform, the offering institutions are to follow the enrolling institution’s teaching framework. Which institution—offering or enrolling—should have responsibility for designing the course outline?

Shared leadership is practiced in a supportive work environment, which is dependent on dynamic alignment. Who appoints staff members to teach on a common shared-teaching platform?

Shared leadership works when all participants share responsibility and are accountable for the work of the partnership. What are the responsibilities of the offering and enrolling institutions?

Each person in the group brings with them skills and ideas that are valuable. It is important, therefore, that differences within the group be recognized and embraced. Which theoretical framework or approach should be used in teaching?

Team-building, conflict management and ability to build a new culture are among the necessary skills needed for the success of shared leadership. What happens when students experience problems with a lecturer from a participating institution? What if lecturers are not in agreement on the assessment process? What if there are contradictory policies among institutions with regard to assessment?

Partnering in real-life situations implies collaboratively working smarter, not harder. What happens if the workload is not equally distributed?

Shared leadership focuses on having a shared organisational identity. Do offering institutions submit the list of examiners to the enrolling institution for appointment?

A great deal of individual autonomy is emphasized through the concept of shared leadership. Can offering institutions utilize their own venues for conducting examinations?

An agreed-upon common purpose is extremely vital for the mutually supportive elements of shared leadership. Among educational institutions, what is the main common purpose of a shared teaching platform? Does shared leadership, at the end of the day, enhance quality teaching, promote collaborative research and increase student output?

Through shared leadership, the burden of stress, the complexity of the issues and the urgency for better decisions should be distributed among a team of leaders and institutions. What should be the next step?

Reference:

Jooste, K. (2010). Leadership in healthcare services (2nd ed.) Juta Kenwyn. 

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Nurses in South Africa observe National Women’s Day

In South Africa, the 9th of August is National Women’s Day (not to be confused with International Women’s Day, observed 8 March). It commemorates 9 August 1956, when women participated in a national march to petition against “pass laws,” legislation that required non-whites to carry a document to “prove” they were allowed to enter a “white area.” A protest song composed in honour of the occasion declared, “Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo!” Translated, “You strike a woman, you strike a rock!” (This has nothing to do with nurses that strike!)

National Women’s Day celebrates women’s courage and strength. Similarly, nurses are viewed as the backbone of health care delivery systems. On this day, nurses should reflect on what they have accomplished and what else they must do to ensure health for all in the community and in their own lives.

One week before National Women’s Day, nurses in South Africa celebrated at the 2011 Annual Nursing Education Conference at Sun City (see previous post). You will never believe it—Karen Morin, the president of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), was a keynote speaker! The conference alerted nurse educators to changes implicit in national and international trends, legislation and agendas. Through debate, competence building and information, they were also introduced to changes they are facing in their own educational practice. Workshops were offered, one of which focused on scientific writing for beginners. This session was attended by STTI President Morin and Address Malata of Malawi, president of STTI’s Tau Lambda at Large Chapter.

Nurse leaders at the Annual Nursing Education Conference in Sun City

included: (front, l-r) Christa van der Walt, RN, RM, RNE, RNA, RCN,

University of the North West; Karen Morin, DSN, RN, ANEF, president

of STTI; Address Malata, MScN, PhD, president of Tau Lambda at

Large Chapter; and (back) Karien Jooste, MA Cur, DLitt, RGN, RCN, RM,

RNE, RNA, University of the Western Cape; and Gisela van Rensburg,

MA Cur, University of South Africa.

Nursing students take National Women’s Day in South Africa very seriously. The Nursing, Social Work and Natural Medicine students at the University of the Western Cape held their annual Women’s Day event in Grabouw (near Cape Town), also on 9 August. Last year was the first time that nursing students initiated this event, and the community decided it must take place annually. (See poster and brochure below.)

Worldwide, nurses (mostly women) are becoming more involved in the political arena to influence national health agendas. (I have also observed the trend of more males entering the nursing profession in South Africa.) Although partaking in top-level matters is very important, we should not lose the soul of our profession. Till the next National Women’s Day, we should continue to impact positively the lives of the community, in which a number of challenges still remain. Let’s focus on attitudes and practices that could manifest themselves positively, particularly for women.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.