Demonstrating Political Competence: Nurse Leadership at Various Levels
Demonstrating Political Competence: Nurse Leadership at Various Levels
Political competence refers to the expertise, principles, and perceptions required for effective and effectual political involvement in the nursing profession (Melo et al., 2017). The Oxford Dictionary defines “political” as any activity that relates to the public or government affairs or ideas and strategies of a particular party or group, while “competence” is defined as the act of successfully doing something that relates to government or ideas of a particular group (Oxford Dictionary, 2019). Therefore, political competency can be considered as an individual’s ability to understand when to take any action. The dos and don’ts, as well as who one needs to push their goals and objectives forward.
Political competence can help an individual to determine and forestall who may be resilient to anticipated changes and how to handle them. It also helps in the understanding of the political topographies and leading alliances that inspire individuals to support and engage in agendas. The primary objective of political competence is to affect changes in the nurses, patients, and society at large. The necessary competencies needed for nurses are communication skills, problem-solving, collaborative skills, the ability to influence, and the ability to identify resources (Melo et al., 2017).
Political competency in nursing encourages nurses to effectively lead and run a healthcare facility. For instance, political competency can be demonstrated during the allocation of funds to different health departments in the community. All the healthcare departments within a facility may need resources for effective operation. Should a department feel excluded during the distribution of the resources, they may opt to riot or even strike. Such situations may put the nurse in charge in a dilemma as it makes the decision-making critical and difficult (Patton et al. 2018). A nurse leader in charge, therefore, should use their political competency skills to identify any individual or department that may be resistant to any made decision and encourage and motivate the rest of their workers.
References
Melo, W. S. D., Oliveira, P. J. F. D., Monteiro, F. P. M., Santos, F. C. D. A., Silva, M. J. N. D., Calderon, C. J., … & Simão, A. A. C. (2017). Guide of attributes of the nurse’s political competence: a methodological study. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 70, 526-534. https://www.scielo.br/j/reben/a/yS4P7CcCGqRNVbz8bgXjj4J/?lang=en
Oxford Dictionary. (2019). Definition of competence. Retrieved from
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/competence