Stephen McNally
Western Sydney University, Australia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care
Apart from anecdotal experiences, little is known about the qualities required from unit coordinatorâ??s to effectively lead and manage a large teaching team within a Bachelor of Nursing course. Much of the research literature related to leadership in university education tends to be non-discipline specific. This is probably because it focuses on senior and not on lower end management levels. Historically, nurse academics have developed the leadership and management skills inherent in the unit coordination role â??on the jobâ?. Ad hoc skill development is unreliable and inefficient and may have been responsible for the many anecdotal experiences where poor team leadership and management skills have been exhibited by unit coordinators. Peer evaluation is a valuable resource that has been used as a strategy to inform academics about their teaching practices. However, a recent search of the literature did not reveal studies specific to using peer evaluation as a strategy to develop teaching team leadership and management skills. Consequently, a peer evaluation survey was developed to encourage all members of the teaching team to provide their ideas; thoughts and opinions related to the unit leadership, management and the teaching and learning activities associated with the unit. This paper will present the results from the peer evaluation survey that has provided unit coordinators with empirical evidence related to their leadership and management abilities, which can be used for their personal self-development. In addition, an overview of the workshop that was developed from the peer evaluation survey to enhance the leadership and management skills for unit coordinators will be presented.
Stephen McNally is a registered nurse and has extensive experience as an Academic and is the Director of the Undergraduate Nursing Program at Western Sydney University. He was awarded a PhD in 2007, and his thesis was titled: Triage education: From experience to practice standards.
Journal of Nursing & Care received 4230 citations as per Google Scholar report