1.Explain the distinctions between a leader and a manager.

2. Which is more important: working for a good leader or a good manager? Explain your response.

3. Pay attention to the nurse manager in a unit where students have been assigned. What kind of management style is exhibited? What is the staff’s reaction to this style?

4. What characteristics do you believe are most important in a good nurse manager?

1. Meet with the nurse manager of your assigned unit. On a daily basis, what interpersonal, decisional, and informational activities does he or she engage in?

2. You are the unit’s nurse manager. One of the most experienced employees has been on sick leave, and another has recently given birth. The remainder of the staff is working extremely hard to pick up the slack in order to avoid using agency personnel. What tangible and intangible rewards could you use to thank your employees?

3. PART 1: Begin by writing a 50-word description of your ideal nurse manager, someone for whom you would like to work. Describe a real-life nurse manager you met during one of your clinical rotations. What characteristics of this person correspond to your ideal? In what ways does this person fall short of your expectations? (Remember, no one is perfect.)

PART 2: Consider becoming your own ideal manager. What characteristics of an ideal manager do you already have? What skills do you still need to hone? How are you going to do it?

1. Determine your state’s informed consent requirements. Is the standard the same for elective procedures and emergency situations?

2. Obtain a copy of the Nurse Practice Act in your state. Is there enough guidance in the act for nurses to know if an action falls within the scope of nursing practice?

1. Describe how your state’s Nurse Practice Act protects consumers and promotes professional nursing advancement.

2. How do you feel about multistate licensure? What effect does it have on professional nursing?

3. How can a new nurse ensure confidentiality in clinical settings?

4. How can nurses protect the confidentiality of medical information when transmitting it via fax or e-mail?

5. Describe the nurse’s role in obtaining informed consent. Do you think this falls within the scope of nursing practice? Explain your response.

Should nurses be covered by malpractice insurance? Explain your response.

7. Should advance directives be made available to all patients? Explain your response.

8. Should employers be allowed to require nurses to work overtime if a unit is short on registered nursing staff? Provide evidence from the literature to back up your answer.