The administrative arena in the world of nursing is an extremely competitive and stressful environment. Being a nurse leader demands passion, dedication, superb critical thinking skills and an undying wisdom to create essential policies and decide the day-to-day fate of an organization.
This week, we
interviewed two nurse leaders and brought the spotlight to their leadership
skills and professional commitment as administrators in their respective
universities.
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| Mark Ryan Contaoi |
Mark Ryan Y. Contaoi, BS Bio, RN, MAN
earned his bachelor’s degree in Biology and Nursing at University of Southern
Mindanao and North Valley College Foundation, Inc. respectively. He also
finished his master’s degree in nursing with a major in medical-surgical
nursing at Southwestern University. He is currently studying at San Pedro
College for his PhD in Nursing. Contaoi is the dean of nursing at the
University of Southern Mindanao and is also the Research Coordinator of the
College of Health Sciences in the same university.
 |
| Laurence Garcia |
Laurence Garcia, RN MN, on the
other hand, is a young, energetic and passion-driven dean of Cebu Normal
University. Before being the dean of one of the country’s leading nursing
schools, Garcia earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Masters in
Nursing major in Mental Health Psychiatric Nursing degrees from the same
university. He is a young, energetic, passion-driven dean of one of the
country's leading nursing schools and has assumed office in the middle of last
year. He had also been in active trail for the last few months where he coordinated
an international nursing conference in Cebu as well as doing a visiting
professorship at a university in Thailand. He has published and presented in
various national and international publications and conferences. Currently, he
is pursuing a Doctor of Science in Nursing degree major in Gerontology Nursing.
Let’s take a sneak peak on the nursing
careers of Dean Contaoi and Dean Garcia.
How would you describe yourself as an academic leader?
MC: As
an academic leader, I always believe in the power of vision. I hope that in
this lifetime, I can possibly claim that I have what it takes to be the person
I wanted to be. Having enrolled in the PhD in Nursing program of San Pedro
College, I have realized the value of continuing education because there are so
many things that we can still discover that we may not have yet experienced in
the past. Things that will help us grow and become better individuals.
MC:
Being the Head of the Nursing Program of the
University of Southern Mindanao, I have realized that people in the
organization have various personalities and that their behaviors could either
put you down or the organization itself becomes dysfunctional. In our organization, I
have been working to build a good working atmosphere and establish harmony in
the professional relationship among my co-employees. With this, I have come to
understand individual diversity in terms of personal differences and their
views and opinions over matters. However; we can always harmonize and use these
differences to become one in spirit and in goal. It is all about the teamwork
that keeps the vision intact. Therefore, I am a leader who sets goals,
acknowledges individual’s strengths and listens to people who could give
brilliant ideas and great contributions.
LG: I am not yet considering
myself as a leader. With my age right now, given this great responsibility, I
am just considering myself as a motivator of change and an inspiration to the
younger generations. I am humbly enthused with this opportunity to bring about
change. Leading is yet far from what I am doing right now. Only when I see my
own people moving in the direction where I am going will I consider myself as a
leader. For now, the best description would be someone entrusted to create
movement, by that I mean moving towards excellence in the academe.
What
is a challenge that you had to overcome in your career and how did it make you
a stronger person?
LG: The
greatest challenge would be balancing between the great responsibilities of a
young administrator and enjoying my youth. I have to sacrifice a lot of
youthful moments and face the tasks given to me with maturity. While people of
my age are savoring the moments of youth, I am facing responsibilities heavy
enough to take away youth from me. But, honestly, I never regret my decision to
accept the challenge because through this I was able to inspire the youth.
Setting aside enjoyment will not mean losing happiness. It only means choosing
a deeper meaning of happiness. But of course, I have to say goodbye to youthful
fun and have fun the way mature people will.
What is something you have accomplished in your career that you
take great pride in?
MC:
I really take pride in everything that I’ve been through in my
career as an academic leader. The responsibilities and duties I have assumed
for a year now as Dean of Nursing is life-changing for me. I would say managing
people constitutes the most difficult and yet most rewarding function one can
ever have. The greatest accomplishment I made so far is about changing the old
landscape of leadership and management in the organization. I was able to
transform what seemed to be conventional into something new and promising. I
would also say that I gained the kind of respect, trust and confidence I
deserved from colleagues in the organization despite being the youngest in the
group. However; I believe that leading and managing people at my workplace
would still entail a lot of courage and dedication making it a good training
ground to become an effective leader, communicator, and manager to the
organization. It is even more inspiring to note that people thank you for
making a difference in their lives in a meaningful way. There is no greater
accomplishment than seeing your people doing well because of your influence.
Being a change agent, for me, means that you are doing something good for the
people.
MC:
My 10 years of teaching experience combined with my roughly four
years of administrative leadership opened my eyes to a lot of obstacles and
unforgettable events that became turning points on how I could effectively handle
imperfections in my professional career. I would say that conflict is
inevitable in any organization and this posits the challenge to my leadership
skills. Whenever there is conflict, it definitely changes the landscape of the
working environment.
MC:
Over the years I have witnessed people in our
organization self-destruct because they wouldn’t engage out of a fear of
conflict. Sometimes I can be the source of conflict because of some decisions
that are not amenable to everyone. This is really the most difficult part of my
career having to deal with disputes and misunderstandings. It is not at all
uncommon to see what might have been a non-event manifest itself into a
monumental problem if not resolved early on.
MC:
I have to make sure that I resolve issues and
concerns at the soonest time possible. I know that I cannot please everybody
but developing effective conflict resolution skills will set an essential
component of building a sustainable organizational model. From my perspective, the issues surrounding conflict
resolution can be best summed-up by adhering to the following ethos: “Don’t fear
conflict; embrace it – it’s your job.”
LG: As a teacher, the best accomplishment would
always be hearing news about our graduates who achieve in their own fields. I
may have contributed little to their success but I know for sure that part of
who they are now is because of the efforts of a teacher like me. Once in their
lives they have walked with me towards the direction of success.
What advice do you hope to offer your undergraduate students?
MC:
Every time I face my students in the classroom, I always remind
them that it is not by accident that they took up nursing but they were
destined to be in the place where they are right now. The circumstances and
decisions that led them to the nursing profession do have a purpose. So always
look at the brighter side of it and do not be discouraged of the many do’s and
don’ts of the course. Work hard and be driven to achieve what
is set to be accomplished at the end of the line. They must be high-spirited;
goal-oriented, and give over a 100% of what they do so they can bring about the
best and positive results in the end. Nursing is not a difficult pursuit at all
when you keep the faith and that strong belief that you can withstand the tests
that come along. Being passionate about the things you do will keep you going
and help you get closer to your dream to become a professional nurse in the
future. Just be guided with this quote “Start where you are. Use what you have.
Do what you can”.
LG: If they wanted to
achieve something, they need not suffer a lot. That is what I learned. They
just have to love what they are doing. Finding ways to enjoy even in the most
difficult moments would make living life a little lighter. Always balance work
and play.