Abstract book 6th RMS 16.indd

3
Resilience and Leadership
Ms Sarah Lister, Nursing, Royal Marsden (UK)
As research into leadership has developed
it has been recognised that one of the most
important qualities of good leadership for
today’s healthcare is emotional intelligence
(Goleman 2002). This means that effective
leaders know the personalities, strengths
and vulnerabilities of their staff members.
As a leader they may be looked to for
support as well as being challenged at a
personal level. This may mean the leader
is looked to as “container for the anxiety”.
This role is increasing in healthcare as the
environment in which we work becomes
faster, more complex and the suffering and
distress witnessed more intense.
This very different demand on those in
leadership roles calls for the ability to be
“resilient”: that is not only keep going and
coping, but also to do so without becoming
“burnt out” or unable to function.
During this presentation there will be a
review of the concept of psychological
resilience and an exploration of the how
the research in this area can be used to
help the leader look after themselves but
also how they can use it in clinical practice
to support those they lead. The session
will include suggestions of brief activities
that can be used either with a team or
used personally to increase the ability to
cope in difficult situations.
4
Evaluation of Nurse’s Competencies
and Developmental Challenges
Dr Riitta Meretoja RN PhD (Finland)
Targeting practising nurses’ competencies
to optimal use is one of the strategic
challenges of current health care
internationally. To achieve this, a systematic
assessment of nurse competence and its
critical appraisal are justified. One of the
key responsibilities of nurse administrators
is to ensure nurse competencies are
put to the best possible use in patient
care. However, they are often unable to
implement systematic evaluations because
of the rapidity of changes, lack of clarity in a
clinical career structure, and the difficulties
encountered in selecting reliable, valid
and practical measures. Competence
recognition has been identified as a
key contributor to job satisfaction and
retention of nurses. One of the challenges
presented to competence assessment is
to define and quantify the key aspects
of nursing practice so that it is possible
adequately to differentiate between
different competence levels and so that
the validity of that delineation can be
established. Literature reviews have shown
that there is only comparatively little
research into the competence of practising
nurses. There are only few comparative
studies that have looked at different
work environments or at the ratings of
different evaluators, even though there is
evidence that there is variation in these
regards. Nurse competence research
would benefit from studies in which, in
addition measurements of competence,
also other aspects related to professional
development were taken into account,
such as motivation and career orientation.
Hall A Session 2
Nursing Plenary Session
Enhancing the Quality of Life of
Cancer Patients
5
Overview of Cancer Care in RMS
Raid Marji MD, Oncology Medicine (Jordan)
Cancer is made up of more than 200
individual diseases, each with its own
unique causes, risk factors and care
pathways. It takes more than one physician
or clinic to treat and control cancer; it takes
an entire healthcare team that includes,
among others, Surgeons, oncologists,
nurses, pharmacists, pathologists and
palliative care teams.
The cancer system begins with prevention
and health promotion, with the ultimate
goal being to prevent cancer in the
first place. The detection and care of
cancer patients involves every area of the
healthcare system in some way.
Royal Medical services are responsible for
continually improving cancer services:
• Implements cancer prevention and
screening programs designed to reduce
cancer risks and raise screening participation
rates.
• Works to develop and implement quality
improvements and standards.
• Uses electronic information and technology
to support patient self-care and
41 www.jrms.gov.jo