NR 718 Week 1 Discussion Evaluating Leadership Competencies for the Advanced Practice Nurse Evaluating Leadership Competencies for the Advanced Practice Nurse Example

Leadership competencies are essential for advanced practice nurses (APNs) as they play a vital role in healthcare delivery. Effectively leading and managing healthcare teams can significantly impact patient outcomes. APNs must possess various leadership competencies, including clinical, professional, and health systems leadership competencies (Chair et al., 2023). This paper aims to examine these competencies and identify strengths and areas for development.

Clinical leadership competency involves providing leadership and liaising with other health agencies and professionals to improve patient care (Heinen et al., 2019). This competency is one of my strengths in my current psychiatric mental health nurse practice. This competency has enhanced my effective communication and collaboration with the interdisciplinary team to provide patient care. It has also enhanced my skills in analyzing organizational systems for barriers and promoting enhancements that affect client healthcare status.

Professional leadership competency is my second strength, and it involves participating in professional organizations and activities that influence advanced practice nursing (Heinen et al., 2019). As an APN in psychiatry and mental health, I am interested in advancing the nursing profession and have actively participated in professional organizations. This has enhanced my knowledge and skills in advanced practice nursing.

My third strength is health systems leadership competency, which involves demonstrating leadership in enhancing group dynamics and managing group conflicts within the organization (Heinen et al., 2019). In my current practice as a psychiatric mental health nurse, I have experience in managing conflicts and fostering a positive work environment, which has improved teamwork and, ultimately, patient care.

As a DNP-prepared psychiatric and mental nurse, I am interested in further developing my clinical and health systems leadership competencies, specifically in advanced communication skills, health policy, and creating a supportive organizational environment. I aim to enhance my ability to effectively lead quality improvement and patient safety initiatives using advanced communication skills and processes (Howick et al., 2019). I am also interested in applying business, finance, economics, and health policy principles to develop and implement effective plans for practice-level and system-wide initiatives that improve the quality of care delivery (Heinen et al., 2019). Lastly, I advocate for and create an organizational environment supporting safe client care, collaborative practice, and professional growth.