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Reflective Paper- Mentor Experience

Reflective Paper

Chicago Day 3
MENTOR EXPERIENCE

International College of the Cayman Islands

GR 509

Tutor: Dr. Marshall

By: Suzette Charlery

Date: May 20, 2016

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Reflective Paper- Mentor Experience

Mentor Experience
For this Chicago experience, my topic of interest is to investigate the education advancement
opportunity available for the nurses in Chicago. In preparation for the interview session, I based
the questions on the topic.
Today, I had an appointment for 11:15 am to interview Dr. Kai Tao, who is the Deputy
Commissioner of Community Services of the Department of Public Health in Chicago, which
turned out to be a very interesting and informative session. Dr. Tao started off by giving
background knowledge of her academic advancement. Starting with her Bachelor of Science
degree in Nurse Midwifery, she proceeded to complete a Master Degree in Advance Practitioner
Nursing followed by Doctorate in Nursing Practice. She strongly believes in promoting nurse
manager roles and motivate her staff to strive for higher education from accredited schools that
offer specialization in the various areas of nursing studies. Whether obtained from online or faceto-face colleges, she sees career advancement as beneficial to the community on a whole as the
service and care, provided in the health care system is very important.
This interview has brought it to my attention the multiple job opportunities available for
advanced nurse manager responsibilities in in large countries in comparison to the limited
opportunities available in the small health care system of the Cayman Islands. I found it
interesting to know that within the public health services of Chicago, Nurse Managers lead the
operation of the school-based health centers, maternal, infant, child and adolescent clinics, health
awareness campaigns, STI clinics and preventative procedures such as immunization.
In Cayman, each health care department at the hospital and clinics do have a nurse manager who
works collaboratively with the physicians. However, I am so motivated and inspired to know of

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Reflective Paper- Mentor Experience

the job opportunities in the United States and the wide variety of leadership and management
roles that advanced nurses are in charge of leading independently.
Leadership versus management in nursing, although relatively easy to distinguish between the
two, is complex because many people are both. The main difference between managers and
leaders is the way the two styles motivate people and teams to achieve objectives. Leadership is
the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of vision or a set of goals while
management is defined as an individual who achieves goals through other people (Robbins and
Judge, 2014).
I have had the pleasure of working with good leaders such as the hospitals Chief Nursing
Officers who are visionaries and spearhead the team of nurses, motivating us and leading us to
reach the new direction. Likewise, my experience working with good nurse managers within the
department were those who maintained the status quo, ensuring standards were maintained and
conformed to, as they direct and organize the achievement of tasks. According to Robbins and
Judge (2014), Organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal
effectiveness.
On the other hand, according to RN Journal (2015), toxic nurse managers and leaders are
detrimental to organizations, diminishing staff morale, thwarting creativity, and creating
unnecessary staff stress. From my observation, I have seen how this also lead to increase staff
absenteeism, increased turnover, and working with nurses who do not feel satisfied with their
job. I agree with a key point made by Nayar (2013), who believe that just as managers have
subordinates and leaders have followers, good managers create a circle of power while good
leaders create circles of influence. With the many options for advancement in nursing, it
provides the training needed for strong nurse leadership and management.

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Reflective Paper- Mentor Experience

References:

Nayar, V. (2013). Three Differences between Mangers and Leaders. Harvard Business Review.
Available online from https://hbr.org/2013/08/tests-of-a-leadership-transiti

RN Journal. Journal of Nursing (2015). Recognizing and Overcoming Toxic Leadership

Available from http://rnjournal.com/journal-of-nursing/recognizing-and-overcomingtoxic-leadership

Robbins, S., and Judge, T. (2014). Essentials of Organizational Behavior. 12th Edition. United
States of America. Chapter12