Again, its opinion article, data collected from the zoom seminar interactions with Nursing Now groups, and other zoom seminars. Maintained confidentiality of the events and members but felt to highlight the issues through the article.
Read the report on Investing in the power of Nurse Leadership: What will it take? This artice discusses about barriers and facilitators of nurse leadership.
https://www.intrahealth.org/resources/investing-power-nurse-leadership-what-will-it-take
Interviews of 29 nurses, Nursing policy leaders in Kenya- Please take a look:
https://www.intrahealth.org/resources/investing-power-nurse-leadership-kenya-spotlight-brief
Ms.X: I believe there are issues with all senior leadership Men and women. Nurses’ voices are not taken seriously. Front line nurses have met with these senior staff and nothing changes, it is frustrating. Why do women in senior hospital leadership not advocate for a women-centered profession? By the way, clinical nurses are not treated as professionals but as assembly line workers.
A nurse from Kenya: It is unfortunate that in Africa, It’s not only being invisible or not getting enough recognition and pay but also the fact that the doctors usually look down on us. most of the nurses in my country are suffering from an inferiority complex which is at times instilled during their school days. unfortunately, the nurses in senior management positions do nothing about this. It is frustrating.
Ms. Y: I believe nurses fear speaking out for fear of losing their job. we don’t have job security in our settings, especially in the private sector. Nurses cant say or speak out even when they have the right idea or are in the right to fear of losing their jobs. The small percent who come up to help Lead nurses are put down by the fellow nurses
Ms. Z: Nurses have been aligned with hospitals and medicine. Realignment with public health may be a timely approach to addressing the needs of humanity more directly. The ICN’s articulation to the UN SDG is a step away from medicine as nurses are involved with 15 of 17 UN SDGs only one of which deals with health.
A nurse from Uganda: we had a situation of a nurse wheeling a patient from one hospital to another, so as to better serve and help her patient as she was denied an ambulance but all the nurses in senior positions did was to blame her for being unprofessional, which still makes me believe that it’s not mainly about or because we don’t have nurses in senior management positions but rather the severe lack of unity in the nursing profession.
Ms. A: I believe that a strategy would be to think about changing nursing education. Mindset change happens in the long run.
Conclusion: These are personal opinions, need voices from many such members who face these issues daily, and need for the research evidence to support these statements. But, I firmly, believe that there is a stigma among health workers to raise such issues, and can say that there is no enough support to solve their problems. Is it due to a lack of leaders or ignorance of such issues, as it becomes a new normal? certainly, it shows need to strengthen the curriculum of Nursing Leadership.
Very good compilation of comments. Highlights austerity is global and we all need to fight this✅
“We are doing this since years!!” “Be positive” “It takes generations to change, we are seeing lot of changes”
These are the statements heard from senior nurses, but the problem lies here, A student nurse is being taught ideal things, and when they come to practice once graduate, they face reality shock. It leads to excessive stress and burnout among students, which even makes them leave the profession in first few years!!
A Small Child always aspire to become a Doctor, Engineer but not a Nurse in India. Because we doesn’t reflect realities instead hide these things which makes nursing more unattractive profession for a child to choose. The way movies, television portray nurses adds negative image.
Stigma, Fear if losing job, Losing comfort zone is something which makes someone to be hold on to profession but doesn’t add to the profession.
Leadership development program right from first year of nursing is needed throughout course curriculum inorder to loose the fear, and develop assertiveness in Nursing students.
Dear Mallikarjun,
Thanks for sharing the report of the session. We also heard this in India too that nursing seniors are not cooperative, not updated and many other negative comments.
But, who want to them to like that? Did they ever had exposure beyond hospital? Are they having career sessions?
If ANM want to become LHV, she has to undergo training .. there was a course called ward management for nurses developed by INC too. No one in the state or central to implement and/or our nurses themselves don’t want to face that challenges.
Hope in next two decades you all young leader will be in those post. Let us see if you can bring change.
Sincerely
Santosh
Hello Mallikarjun,
These issues are everywhere, no senior Nursing officers want to get updated, whenever you try to change anything you get a weird simple reply,we are doing this since years. Whenever we need to bring some necessary changes we need to struggle a lot. One question always comes in mind why are still the promotions are given on the basis of Years of experience and not on the basis of capability??
It’s everywhere, not just in Nursing I e., Promotion based on experience. Experience is invaluable and cannot be compared to competencies. There is need for mix of experience and competencies.