The Importance of Leadership in Nursing

Discuss the problem of a new associate-degree graduate who still felt unsure of herself and often isolated.

Two new associate-degree graduates were hired for the pediatric unit. Both worked three 12-hour shifts a week; Jan worked the day-to-evening shift, and Rosemary worked the night shift. Whenever their shifts connected, they would compare notes on their experience. Jan felt she was learning rapidly, gaining clinical skills, and beginning to feel at ease with her colleagues. Rosemary, however, still felt unsure of herself and often isolated. Rosemary knows she must speak to the nurse manager about this, but she’s called several times, and she’s never available. To what extent is this problem due to a failure to lead?