Published 21 April 2023
Basseterre
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
First Joint Senior Nurse Manager’s Meeting and Introduction to Leadership Course
Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew Friday 21st April 2023.
It is a pleasure to be here with you as you launch the First Joint Senior Nurse Manager’s Meeting and Introduction to Leadership Course.
One of the most crucial elements in inspiring and motivating nurses is nursing leadership.
Nursing leadership has a direct impact on the thrust of the organization, its effectiveness, and caregivers and patients alike. You are essentially the backbone of every healthcare institution.
As we work towards improving the hospitals and healthcare system, we recognize that an emphasis must be placed on adopting qualities of a highly reliable organization that works to create an environment in which potential issues are anticipated, detected, and addressed early enough to prevent disastrous circumstances “almost always”. I say “almost always” because I understand that things happen. No one is perfect, and at times certain things may slip through the cracks, but this cannot become the norm.
Additionally, I am aware that there are certain circumstances that are unavoidable.
However, it is your Government’s intention to upgrade our healthcare sector to ensure every citizen and resident have access not only to world class medical technologies but also world class care.
The healthcare sector is always evolving, and so regular training, workshops, and evaluations are necessary to ensure the staff is kept abreast of the advancements and to offer quality care.
Nurses make up the vast majority of the healthcare workforce and spend more time in one-on-one consultations with the patients than any other medical professional. The impact of nurses within the healthcare sector is undeniable, whether positive or negative. However, our commitment to the people must be our focus on what will engender positive outcomes.
Only with strong, steady, and visionary nurse leadership will nurses continue to grow and help shape smarter healthcare delivery for the future. While physicians and healthcare executives certainly serve as key decision makers on an organization’s high reliability journey, the importance of leadership in nursing should not be underestimated, as nurses have an awesome responsibility to improved patient care that cannot be ignored. Strong and dedicated nurse leadership having a voice at the table will help healthcare change for the better.
As nursing leaders, you inspire and influence others to achieve their maximum potential. Empathetic clinical specialists, mentors, and change agents are what make up transformational nursing leaders. They inspire, encourage, and influence others to display model behaviours as they themselves strive to advance to leadership positions as well.
Effective nursing leadership enhances patient care, boosts staff morale, and offers direction through the difficulties of healthcare administration. The healthcare system would falter and be unable to fulfil the needs of the twenty-first century without competent nurse leaders.
I understand the challenges. My administration understands the challenges, and this is why we made the pledge to rectify many of the issues you have struggled with over the years.
In my Budget Address in December, I stated that one of the major investments in health care would be on Institutional Enhancement Projects and this includes incentivizing the medical staff through development initiatives to boost morale and correct the numerous discrepancies within the sector.
Such leadership courses are critical to the overall advancement of the healthcare sector.
The healthcare industry is continually evolving, presenting nurses with new challenges, procedures, and opportunities. Although nurses—both new and experienced—generally understand the nature of change in the healthcare industry, if leadership can implement change in a way that enables the unit or team to see the overall benefit of the change—in the least disruptive way possible—then nurses will be better prepared and successful in their roles.
This is why these courses are critical. They keep you abreast of the evolution of healthcare, advancement in leadership skills and equip you with the knowledge and techniques to build a successful team. Successful team building makes stressful situations manageable. When nurses collaborate, both patient outcomes and staff satisfaction improve.
Our vision is to have nurses who provide safe, patient-centred care.
You Government cares. We are empathetic to your plight and endeavour to resolve the issues one step at a time.
I challenge you therefore to adopt positive mindset and develop the skill set that would engender the positive change required to attain the laudable aims and objectives of this course. We owe it to our patients, ourselves, and our country.
It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare this workshop open.
