Authors

  1. Falter, Elizabeth (Betty) MS, RN, NEA

Article Content

Leadership in Nursing Practice ... Changing the Landscape of Health Care, 2nd Edition, Tim Porter-O'Grady and Kathy Malloch, 2016. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Softcover, 598 pages, $80.95.

 

This is a second edition text written by 2 well-respected authors, with a contemporary approach to leadership. It bridges service and education and is both practical and evidence-based. The authors state:

 

This text is designed to address the foundations of leadership for the clinical leader. It is not a management text. Too many of the textbooks and resources used for leadership courses in nursing get lost in the minutia of management.

 

The book consists of 15 chapters, which include:

  

* Chapter objectives;

 

* Reflective questions;

 

* Evidence-based content related to chapter subject;

 

* Highlighted critical thoughts;

 

* Scenarios with discussion questions;

 

* Tables;

 

* Chapter test questions; and

 

* References.

 

The book is accompanied with a Jones & Bartlett Learning NAVIGATE 2. This includes an eBook with Interactive tools, a Study Center, Assessments, and Analytics.

 

At first glance, the main purpose of this book will be seen as a textbook for nursing students in degree programs. However, it could be utilized in the service sector as well.

 

Too often, leadership courses in the academic setting are separate from programs provided internally by service sector institutions. Porter-O'Grady and Malloch devote their final chapter to integration. Chief nursing officers and nurse educators might consider this book to supplement their own programs. This book is reader-friendly and beautifully laid out while rich in leadership content. The chapter on Conflict alone makes it an excellent resource for any leader's bookshelf. The chapter designs will also help a team think critically and problem solve.

 

Leadership in our evolving health care system is not simple. The authors get this. They see their book as a work continually in progress. Underlying all of this is their understanding of complex leadership. In their words:

 

... principles of complexity leadership have guided the development of much of the content of this text.... The emerging complexity leader must recognize that the leadership of organizations, systems, and the ways in which people work in networks, and communities of practice is different from our previous understanding of the leader's role. (Preface, xviii)

 

From my chair as a reviewer, we could all learn from this book.

 

101 Global Leadership Lessons for Nurses ... Shared Legacies From Leaders and Their Mentors, Nancy Rollins Gantz, 2010. Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Softcover, 680 pages, $39.95 ($19.99 sale price at time of review).

 

If you value mentoring, and diversity, this unique book of personal stories written by mentor and mentee from around the world may interest you. More than 100 topics are addressed from the perspective of both mentor and mentee, residing in more than 30 countries. These international nurse leaders offer advice across 101 subjects.

 

Understanding views from around the world better prepares today's leaders to work and lead globally. While this book was published in 2010, many of the lessons come from nurse leaders whose cultures are hundreds or thousands of years old. The stories are still relevant today.

 

Rollins Gantz organized this book rather creatively. You can search by topic, country, or author or through an index with more specificity. For example, I found Magnet in the index. That took me to the chapter on C-Suite Savvy, the United States, mentor Victoria Rich and mentee Sandra Lost (chapter 6, pages 28-34). What struck me at once was how authentic the writers were in sharing their lessons learned.

 

In perusing the 30 different countries, I chose to go a chapter from the country Botswana. I knew very little about this landlocked country adjacent to South Africa. Soon I was learning about "Global Nursing at Its Best (chapter 37, pages 192-197) from nurse leaders in this faraway continent. The mentor is Esther Salang Seloilwe, a senior lecturer at the University of Botswana. Her mentee is Larne Gaolatihe Bakwenabatsile, the nursing officer at Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana. Given potential nurse shortages, both locally and globally, and the transfer of deadly viruses (such as Ebola) through international travel, nurses will encounter other nurses from around the world. Our first instinct may be to Google the history and geography of a particular country. This book digs deeper than what the Internet delivers. It is a rich way to read about how 2 nurse leaders within their own countries communicate what is important to them. The short chapters with reflective questions at the end could easily be read for a team meeting around a particular topic or country. The author's expertise in both culture and mentoring is well evidenced throughout this book. Her passion for mentoring and diversity gives us a global dialogue we should all welcome in this diverse but connected world of nursing.

 

-Elizabeth (Betty) Falter, MS, RN, NEA