Nurse Leaders: Inspiring Positive Change

Posted on May 23, 2020

I am always inspired by the qualities of Nurse Leaders, those in our midst, and those who have gone before us to lead Nurses and healthcare professionals globally to be strong, educated, and empowered in our service to others and to ourselves. As Nurses, we are leaders in healthcare, and we inspire and affect positive change wherever we practice.

Laschinger et al., notes that environments encouraging Nurses to practice to their fullest potential will establish competent and confident work spaces. And, “…when nurses felt their work was meaningful, that they had autonomy or control over their work, and felt competent and able to make an impact, they were more satisfied with their work”. Nurse Coaches take ownership of their own practices, businesses, community needs, professional education, and personal responsibilities and revel as role model leaders effecting and empowering environments they are connected to.

Kowalski and Yoder-Wise define the “Five C’s of Leadership” as, “character, commitment, connectedness, compassion, and confidence”, and all of these characteristics can be witnessed when witnessing a nurse leader in action. Character traits like honesty, trustworthiness, boldness, humbleness and humor are innate in leaders. Commitment to vision and goals while honoring history and seeking future possibility. Connectedness to people and communities maintains balance with decisions and having compassion, kindness and complete consideration for those they serve keeps actions unbiased.

Having the confidence to practice these four prior C’s keeps a nurse leader authentic and real.

A visionary nurse leader carries innate qualities that inspire, mentor, and support all whom they encounter. They foster an exchange of ideas, innovation, revolution, and lead against the grain with passion and perseverance. They are educated. They honor the past, yet they seek improving the future and they empower all around them to consider the possibility and how they can use their own skills to best serve the greater good.

One visionary Nursing and Nurse Coaching leader who exemplifies these characteristics and actions is, Barbara Dossey PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, HWNC-BC. Dr. Dossey is a leader in Nursing, holistic and beyond. She encourages Nurses to enliven the connection to body, mind and spirit through practice, research, education and role model behavior.

Dr. Dossey is a real life Nurse Theorist who created the insightful Theory of Integral Nursing defined as, “a …comprehensive way to organize multiple phenomenon of human experience and reality from four perspectives: (1) the individual interior (personal/intentional); (2) individual exterior (physiology/behavioral); (3) collective interior (shared/cultural); and (4) collective exterior (systems/structures).”

In addition, Dr. Dossey is the co-creator of the International Nurse Coach Association, and Integrative Nurse Coaching, recognizing that Nurse Coaches are Nurse leaders who partner with patients and communities to help them connect to their inner wisdom, guiding them to decisions that best affect their own determination of health. She believes this so much, that she also is co-author of the go-to textbook of Nurse Coaching titled, Nurse Coaching Integrative Approaches for Health and Wellbeing and also co-authored the Art and Science of Nurse Coaching: the Providers Guide to Scope and Competencies.

Dr Dossey is a Nightingale Scholar and established the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health which states that a, “… healthy world for all peoples is envisioned by the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health (NIGH)”. She has been intentionally planning for the celebration of Florence Nightingale’s 200^th birthday and the World Health Organization’s recognition of 2020 as the Year of the Nurse. Dr Dossey has made enhancing Nursing her life and has contributed to it in so many ways. Find out more about Barbara Dossey and her work, at her webpage.

I have had the pleasure to work with and learn from Dr. Dossey as a Board-Certified Nurse Coach. Her presence is inspiring, her humbleness intriguing and her passion un-relentless, and she knows how to enjoy a lovely glass of wine and chat! On one such occasion, I asked her how she had the courage to start Nurse Coaching. She said (and I use this quote often to kick start my own professional and personal dreams),

“We must begin. Even if we don’t know all the answers, we must begin.”

So, how will you begin? Even if you don’t have all the answers?

We encourage you to begin your journey to becoming a Nurse Coach, where you will lead other Nurses, your patients and your communities to become more connected to their version of health and wholeness. Together, we are healing healthcare as essential leaders shifting the paradigm of health care. We want you alongside us!

Nicole Vienneau

Senior Faculty

Nicole Vienneau is the founder of Blue Monarch Health, PLLC, a Nurse Coaching practice led by Registered Nurses who create actionable wellness plans to make brains and bodies feel alive.

She believes each person holds their own wisdom and power, and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare, which is why she is so passionate about enhancing the power and voice of Nurse Coaches as co-founder of the National Nurse Coach Network. She believes Nurse Coaches are essential to healing healthcare.

Nicole was an ICU RN for many years and suffered compassion fatigue. She left bedside Nursing fearing she had lost her love of caring for patients. What she discovered, was she needed to heal from the daily suffering and stress of the critical care environment. On her journey to healing, she discovered Nurse Coaching which helped her instill joy, self-compassion and self-care into her daily life. She attributes the Nurse Coach Community to her healing, and is why she is an advocate for Nurse Coaching for all Nurses!

Nicole is Senior Nurse Coach Faculty with the International Nurse Coach Association and the Integrative Nurse Coach Academywhere she thrives teaching Nurses health and wellness coaching through the Nursing lens.

Her educational background includes a Masters in Nursing Science and Systems Leadership from the University of Arizona (Go Cats!), a BS in Nursing Science from Grand Canyon University and a diploma in Nursing from Fanshawe College in Canada. She also obtained an esteemed board certification in Nurse Coaching from the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation.

Nicole is a fitness professional with multiple certifications, yoga teacher, Nurse Coach activist, and a retired Reebok-sponsored fitness athlete and national fitness presenter and trainer. When she’s not coaching clients or writing blogs, you can find her teaching active older adult fitness classes, volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association, lounging in the sun with her cat babies, or on a hike with her awesome husband.