What trait do you think best describes a leader and why? by Brittany

What trait do you think best describes a leader and why? by Brittany - December 2021 Scholarship Essay

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a leader is defined as "a person who leads a group, organization, country etc." When I read this definition I think of a person who is a good example to others as well as an individual that is willing to go that extra mile to figure out the problem or advocate for their patient.
My name is Brittany Wilson, I am currently taking classes at Clark College. I began my educational journey at Clark in Fall term of 2020. I am working on completing my pre required courses so that I am able to apply for the RN (nursing) program at Clark. After I complete the current term (Fall 2021), I will continue classes in Winter term and my final term before I apply for the program will be Spring term 2022.
I have worked in the medical field coming up on 12 years. I currently work as a CNA at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland,OR.
In the past 12 years as a CNA I have worked in a variety of different health care settings. Some of those include Long term care including psych and geri psych, Dementia/ memory care, rehabilitation centers, long term ventalators just to name a few. Within the hospital I have worked with cardiac patients, rehabilitation, comfort care, pre and post operation, Epilepsy monitoring, Critical and intermediate care patients as well.
The ability to adapt to the curve balls of the medical field all while seeing the bigger picture, supporting your team and showing compassion and patience as well as communication is just the tip of the iceberg as far as leadership. Even though we have leaders, one person can not do everything. For Example, The unit that I work on (IMCU/ICU) has a unit manager and a assistant manager. Even though they are the "leaders" of our unit, they can not achieve what is needed for these units to run smoothly (or at all for that matter) alone. They have a TEAM. Leaders have to be able to work within a team, one person cant do it all. Caring for patients in general have so many parts (team members) and those parts must work together to accomplish a common goal.
In conclusion, the definition of a leader is very broad. But in any setting, a "leader" should be able to adapt to their enviroment or situation, must be able to lead by example, be willing to get their hands dirty,not only communicate but also listen and lastly be able to work as a team.