1. Discuss the differences between a leader and a manager.

2. Which is more important, working for an effective leader or an effective manager? Explain your answer.

3. Observe the nurse manager in a unit to which students have been assigned. What management style is displayed? How does the staff respond to this style

4. What qualities do you think are most important to be a good nurse manager?

1. Interview the nurse manager on your assignment unit. What interpersonal, decisional, and informational activities does he or she complete on a daily basis?

2. You are the nurse manager on your unit. One of the most experienced staffers has been out on sick leave, and another just had a baby. The rest of the staff are working very hard to pick up the slack to avoid using agency personnel. What tangible and intangible rewards might you use to thank the staff?

3. PART 1: Begin by writing a 50-word description of the ideal nurse manger, someone you would like to work for. Describe a real-life nurse manager whom you have encountered in one of your clinical rotations. What qualities of this person meet your ideal? In what ways does this individual not meet your ideal? (Reminder: nobody's perfect.)

PART 2: Think about becoming an ideal manager yourself. What qualities of an ideal manager do you already possess? What qualities do you still need to develop? How will you accomplish this?

1. Find your own state's requirements for informed consent. Do elective procedures and emergency situations use the same standard?

2. Obtain a copy of your state's Nurse Practice Act. Does the act give adequate guidance for nurses to know if an action is within the scope of nursing practice?

1. Explain how the Nurse Practice Act in your state provides for consumer protection and for professional nursing progress.

2. What are your thoughts on multistate licensure? How does it strengthen and weaken professional nursing?

3. As a new nurse, how can you ensure confidentiality in clinical settings?

4. How can nurses safeguard the confidentiality of medical information when sending it by fax or e-mail?

5. Explain the role of the nurse in obtaining informed consent. Do you believe that this is within the scope of nursing practice? Explain your answer.

6. Should nurses carry malpractice insurance? Explain your answer.

7. Should all patients have advance directives? Explain your answer.

8. Should employers be permitted to require nurses to work overtime if there is a shortage of registered nursing staff on a unit? Support your answer with evidence from the literature.