Nursing Leadership and Patient-Centered Care: Exploring Leadership Styles in Saudi Arabia's Healthcare

Abstract

Nursing leadership plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of healthcare delivery, fostering professional growth, and promoting patient-centered care. This paper examines the impact of nursing leadership styles on patient-centered care, with a focus on the Saudi Arabian healthcare system. Transformational, transactional, democratic, autocratic, and servant leadership styles are analyzed for their impact on nursing practice and patient outcomes. The study highlights the unique challenges faced by Saudi nurse leaders, including workforce shortages, cultural diversity, and hierarchical structures, and explores strategies for overcoming these barriers. This paper provides actionable insights for enhancing nursing leadership effectiveness in line with Saudi Vision 2030 by emphasizing the importance of leadership training, workforce retention, and technology integration. The findings underscore the critical relationship between leadership styles and the successful implementation of patient-centered care.