NSG 4552 LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT EXAM 1 REVIEW
GUIDE QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWER 2026
Leadership & management Exam 1 Review Guide
• Decision making vs Problem solving vs Critical Thinking – What does each
one look like
• Decision making:
• Used when analyzing client issues/problems. Thinking
skills include interpretation, analysis, evaluation,
inference, explanation. Help
determine most appropriate action to take
• Reflects upon the meaning of statements, examines
available data, uses reason to make informed
decisions
• Critical thinking is necessary to reflect and
evaluate from a broader scope of view
• Think “outside of the box” to find solutions that
are best for client, staff, and organization
• Problem solving:
• Part of the decision making, systematic process focusing
on analyzing difficult situations
• Critical thinking
• Mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing,
applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating info to
reach an
answer/conclusion
• Characteristics:
• Insight
• Intuition
• Empathy
• Willingness to take action
• Clinical Reasoning – What does it involve & why is it important?
• Mental process used when analyzing the elements of a clinical
situation and using analysis to decide
• Leads to deliberative decision making and sound clinical judgement
• Supports clinical decision-making process:
• Guides nurse through process of assessing and compiling data
, • Selecting and discarding data based on relevance
• Using nursing knowledge to make decisions about client
care, problem solving is a part of decision-making
• Decision making models – Why do we use them? How do we use the
nursing process as a decision-making tool?
• Leaders’ vs Managers – What is the role of each?
• Management: process of planning, organizing, directing,
coordinating the work within an organization
, • Effective managers typically have good leadership skills
• Formal positions of power of authority
• Good managers:
• Coordinate resources
• Optimize resource use
• Meet organizational goals and objectives
• Follow rules
• Plan, organize, control, direct
• Use reward/punishment effectively to achieve
organizational goals
• Leadership: ability to inspire others to achieve a desired outcome
• Not always in a management position
• May only have informal power given to them by peers
• Must have followers to be a leader
• Barriers to leadership:
• False assumptions
• Time constraints
• Good leaders:
o Envision future
o Communicate visions
o Motivate followers
o Lead the way
o Influence others to accomplish goals
o Inspire confidence
o Take risks
o Empower followers master change
• Functions of A manager – be able to pick out examples (i.e.,
conducting annual employee evaluations is a part of which
function… staffing)
• Planning:
• Decisions regarding what needs to be done, how will it be
done, who is going to do it
• Organizing:
• Organizational structure that determines lines of authority,
channels of communication, where decisions are made
• Staffing:
• Acquisition and management of adequate staff and staffing mix
• Directing:
• Leadership role assumed by a manager that influences and
motivates staff to perform assigned roles
GUIDE QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWER 2026
Leadership & management Exam 1 Review Guide
• Decision making vs Problem solving vs Critical Thinking – What does each
one look like
• Decision making:
• Used when analyzing client issues/problems. Thinking
skills include interpretation, analysis, evaluation,
inference, explanation. Help
determine most appropriate action to take
• Reflects upon the meaning of statements, examines
available data, uses reason to make informed
decisions
• Critical thinking is necessary to reflect and
evaluate from a broader scope of view
• Think “outside of the box” to find solutions that
are best for client, staff, and organization
• Problem solving:
• Part of the decision making, systematic process focusing
on analyzing difficult situations
• Critical thinking
• Mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing,
applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating info to
reach an
answer/conclusion
• Characteristics:
• Insight
• Intuition
• Empathy
• Willingness to take action
• Clinical Reasoning – What does it involve & why is it important?
• Mental process used when analyzing the elements of a clinical
situation and using analysis to decide
• Leads to deliberative decision making and sound clinical judgement
• Supports clinical decision-making process:
• Guides nurse through process of assessing and compiling data
, • Selecting and discarding data based on relevance
• Using nursing knowledge to make decisions about client
care, problem solving is a part of decision-making
• Decision making models – Why do we use them? How do we use the
nursing process as a decision-making tool?
• Leaders’ vs Managers – What is the role of each?
• Management: process of planning, organizing, directing,
coordinating the work within an organization
, • Effective managers typically have good leadership skills
• Formal positions of power of authority
• Good managers:
• Coordinate resources
• Optimize resource use
• Meet organizational goals and objectives
• Follow rules
• Plan, organize, control, direct
• Use reward/punishment effectively to achieve
organizational goals
• Leadership: ability to inspire others to achieve a desired outcome
• Not always in a management position
• May only have informal power given to them by peers
• Must have followers to be a leader
• Barriers to leadership:
• False assumptions
• Time constraints
• Good leaders:
o Envision future
o Communicate visions
o Motivate followers
o Lead the way
o Influence others to accomplish goals
o Inspire confidence
o Take risks
o Empower followers master change
• Functions of A manager – be able to pick out examples (i.e.,
conducting annual employee evaluations is a part of which
function… staffing)
• Planning:
• Decisions regarding what needs to be done, how will it be
done, who is going to do it
• Organizing:
• Organizational structure that determines lines of authority,
channels of communication, where decisions are made
• Staffing:
• Acquisition and management of adequate staff and staffing mix
• Directing:
• Leadership role assumed by a manager that influences and
motivates staff to perform assigned roles
