DPLS 727: Complexity & Leadership Studies

Expected Competencies

  1. Understanding Complexity Theory:
    Demonstrate foundational knowledge of complexity science, including core concepts such as emergence, nonlinearity, feedback loops, and self-organization within dynamic systems.

  2. Ontological and Epistemological Inquiry:
    Explore how complexity theory informs deeper questions about identity, leadership, and knowledge creation, with an emphasis on how systems are shaped by interdependence and difference.

  3. Application to Leadership Practice:
    Apply complexity frameworks to leadership and organizational challenges in real-world settings, moving beyond traditional hierarchical models to adaptive, responsive systems.

  4. Systemic and Ethical Insight:
    Analyze ethical implications within complex social systems, emphasizing participation, trust-building, and collective sense-making as core leadership practices.

  5. Transdisciplinary Integration:
    Engage with concepts across philosophy, science, organizational theory, and leadership studies to interpret and influence complex systems effectively.

Achieved Competencies

  1. Theoretical Integration of Complexity and Healthcare:
    Demonstrated mastery in applying complexity theory to real-world challenges in healthcare systems, showing how lived experience roles can transform traditionally rigid institutions.

  2. Ontological Framing of Non-Clinical Roles:
    Developed a coherent ontological argument for defining and legitimizing “Patient Partners” within healthcare as a vital component of adaptive system design.

  3. Systemic Proposal for Role Credentialing:
    Proposed a unified title, definition, and training protocol for patient-family advisors to enhance research integrity, system adaptability, and clinical collaboration across healthcare institutions.

  4. Critical Ethical Reflection:
    Engaged with the emotional, ethical, and systemic tensions that arise when non-clinical voices are introduced into clinical settings experiencing burnout and resource strain.

  5. Adaptive Leadership Perspective:
    Connected the principles of complexity to leadership approaches that embrace humility, difference, and iterative change, especially in high-stakes systems like NICUs and trauma care.

Applied Competencies

  1. Organizational Systems Thinking:
    Framed healthcare as a complex adaptive system (CAS), mapping how different layers—from clinical delivery to family support to research policy—interact and evolve over time.

  2. Policy and Practice Innovation:
    Outlined actionable steps for standardizing patient advisor roles through certification and credentialing, ensuring broader institutional acceptance and measurable outcomes.

  3. Healthcare Leadership Development:
    Connected theories of burnout, trauma-informed care, and family-centered practices with the emerging presence of lived experience leaders in healthcare settings.

  4. Ontological Clarity for Implementation:
    Emphasized the importance of shared language and defined identity in building data integrity and system-wide trust when incorporating non-clinical stakeholders in care teams.

Artifact Inclusion

The Ontological Construction of Lived Experience Roles

This paper addresses the absence of a consistent ontological framework for individuals serving in healthcare systems with lived experience. Referred to variously as “Patient Partners,” “Peer Mentors,” and “Patient Experience Advisors,” these contributors offer emotional intelligence, systemic insight, and operational awareness from a non-clinical perspective. By drawing from complexity theory (Byrne & Callaghan, Axelrod & Cohen) and ontological identity formation (Cilliers), the paper argues for a unified title and credentialing framework. It offers a systems-level solution to improving patient outcomes, provider well-being, and healthcare efficacy by formally integrating lived experience as a valid and measurable leadership voice within healthcare ecosystems.

References

  1. Axelrod, R. M., & Cohen, M. D. (2005). Harnessing complexity: Organizational implications of a scientific frontier. Basic Books.

  2. Byrne, D. S., & Callaghan, G. (2014). Complexity theory and the social sciences: The state of the art. Routledge, Taylor & Francis.

  3. Cilliers, P. (2010). Difference, identity and complexity. Philosophy Today, 55(Supplement), 55–65.

  4. Cleveland, L. M. (2008). Parenting in the neonatal intensive care unit. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 37(6), 666–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2008.00288.x

  5. Degl, J. (2013). From hope to joy: A memoir of a mother's determination and her micro preemie's struggle to beat the odds. Lemon Tree Publishing.

  6. D’Agata, A. L. (2018). Stress, resilience, and health outcomes in neonates: A developmental science perspective. Advances in Neonatal Care, 18(3), 208–216. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANC.0000000000000512

  7. Huston, T. (2016). Home. http://toddhuston.com/

  8. Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care. (2020, April 25). About us. https://www.ipfcc.org/

  9. Jack’s Helping Hand. (2019). Programs. https://jackshelpinghand.org/

  10. Kane, L. (2019, September 18). Medscape National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report 2019. Medscape. https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2019-lifestyle-burnout-depression-6011056

  11. Ponte, P. R., et al. (2003). Making patient-centered care come alive. Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(2), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005110-200302000-00004

  12. Providence Medical Group. (2020). Patient & family advisor role description. http://www.q-corp.org/sites/qcorp/files/Prov-Advisor-Job-Description.pdf

  13. Selby, J. (2019, November 1). About us. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. https://www.pcori.org/about-us

  14. Sharma, A. E., Knox, M., Mleczko, V. L., & Olayiwola, J. N. (2017). The impact of patient advisors on healthcare outcomes: A systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1), 693. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2630-4

  15. Wadsworth, B., & Harmer, C. A. (2016). A stronger patient voice improves transparency and care. Journal of Nursing Administration, 46(12), 621–622. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000415

Keywords

Complexity theory, complex adaptive systems, lived experience, patient partner, healthcare transformation, credentialing, NICU, trauma-informed care, family-centered care, healthcare burnout, organizational systems, adaptive leadership, patient engagement, ontological identity, transdisciplinary practice.