Leadership Approaches and Communication Styles Affecting Practice Changes During Healthcare Crisis Among Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital

AUTHOR(S)

FE CLARISSE JOY I. MARIANO RN, MAN BEA- GRACIA M. CRUZ RN, MAN, MBA, DNM, CHA, FPCHA, USRN

ABSTRACT

—— The ever-changing world of healthcare nursing nowadays is always leading professionals to doors of opportunities and a road to development and progress. In the everyday encounter of the researcher, leadership approaches and communication styles always arise in the situation. May it be in deciding on the smallest detail of a task loaded for them at that moment. Thus, this sparks the idea of delving more into the depths of both variables and learning more about how they impact one another. The curiosity about how each leadership approach differs in their communication styles on situations that need decision-making may it be urgent or not. Thus, learning more about how communication styles interplay with the leadership approaches and how they can be associated with each other. Can these interplays in the variables differ when practice changes during a healthcare crisis arise in the situation? This study may reflect how good leadership and communication impact the working output of the nurses in the chosen tertiary hospital in Marikina City. Research studies always aim for an output that could further enhance the healthcare system and the work output of professionals. Thus, leadership approaches and communication styles may be a few of those confounding factors that are crucial but have not been recognized further in developing the working output of the nurses. These work outputs can be a foundation for an improved quality of patient care. Moreover through this study, the researcher created a new framework and strategies inclined to the relationship between leadership approaches and communication styles and their impact on the practice changes during health crises that can be encountered by nurses in the future. The relevance of this study focuses on the scarcity of research studies relating to the impact of both the leadership approaches and communication styles in the practice changes in healthcare settings especially during a healthcare crisis. Previous research studies have not yet delved into analyzing each leadership approach and exploring its association with the different communication styles which may contribute to creating a better leader world-view of managing people. The researcher used descriptive quantitative research to address the above research questions in this study. A random stratified sampling technique was used among the nurses assigned to the different departments in a Tertiary Hospital. These respondents came from the highest to the lowest of ranks to simply gauge the perceived experiences of the nurses in each unit regardless of their rank in the organization. There are a total of 286 staff nurses in the whole institution of different ranks and positions. All of the nurses during the gathering of data may only be limited due to the different other factors at the time of the data gathering procedure. Through proper statistical treatment used, it is therefore recommended that an assertive communication style be encouraged among nurses in the chosen tertiary hospital, regardless of whether practice changes are being implemented. Assertive communication promotes clarity, mutual respect, and efficient collaboration among healthcare team members, which can enhance patient care outcomes. Before practice changes during healthcare crises, the study suggests that transformational leadership is perceived as the most effective leadership style among nurses. Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their teams through a shared vision, fostering innovation and adaptability in addressing challenges. During practice changes in healthcare crises, the study finds that nurses perceive democratic leadership as most favorable. Democratic leaders involve team members in decision-making processes, promoting shared responsibility and commitment to implementing changes effectively. Overall, the recommendations derived from the study’s conceptual framework underscore the importance of effective communication and leadership in navigating healthcare crises and implementing practice changes to improve patient care quality Keywords — Leadership Approaches, Communication Style, Practice Changes, Healthcare Crisis, Quality Patient Care