Unit Code: EMN951

Unit Name: Leadership and Change in Emergency Nursing

Description: This course will develop the students’ knowledge and skills in relation to clinical leadership and will enable them to critically evaluate the concept of clinical leaders as role models and the important role that nursing leaders play in improving the quality of care. Theories of leadership will be explored and in particular, the theory of congruent leadership, where leaders have much values and beliefs in their actions, will be emphasized. Through the use of leadership qualities, students will be able to reflect on their values, beliefs and skills in relation to becoming and effective leader. In particular, technique needed to improve creativity, clinical decision making and dealing with conflict will be evaluated and applied. Reflection, emotional intelligence, networking, delegation and motivation are also covered in the course. Networking broadly defined as any social interaction such as joining professional organizations and attending conferences will be emphasized and explored. Organizational politics will be discussed as a means of involvement in professional committees and engaging with the wider community. Students will have the opportunity to use specific examples of their individual leadership styles to evaluate their performance and to identify areas which may need improving. Using real, workplace examples, students will be guided in developing a change proposal designed to improve the quality of a service.

Learning Target Outcomes: On successful completion of this course, the students will be able to: 1. Explore theories of leadership and use congruent leadership as an example of matching values and beliefs in their actions. 2. Synthesise current evidence and literature to apply various strategies aimed at improving creativity, decision making and dealing with conflict. 3. Explore the relationship between patient safety and effective clinical leadership 4. Integrate knowledge of organizational policies through involvement in professional committee and engagement with the wider community 5. Utilize organizational politics to judiciously effect change in clinical practice 6. Integrate current leadership theories to design a change project that is designed to improve an aspect of clinical care.

Prerequisite: N/A

Prerequisite Sentence: N/A

Credit Point: 30

Offered In: Semester 1,2