law paper
CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND CHAPTER
2.1. The Importance of Patient/Nurse Engagement
The engagement between a nurse and patient is paramount. In the healthcare sector, a nurse needs to engage a patient, and at the same time, a patient needs to engage the nurse (Farrington, Burt, Boiko, Campbell, & Roland, 2017). Based on research, increasing engagement has proven to have positive outcomes. One of the major outcomes is satisfaction. Satisfaction has not only affected the patient, but it has also affected the nurse (Haley et al. 2017). Comment by Ruth Smith: You are right … but you need to reference this Comment by Ruth Smith: Look at referencing to see how you reference multiple authors Comment by Ruth Smith: Which research ? Comment by Ruth Smith: Says who?
The importance of engagements between a patient and a nurse goes beyond the two parties. A nurse is a representative of an organization at the lowest level (Soffer, 2015). When the nurse is on good terms with the patient, the benefits extend to the entire organization. From a business perspective, a nurse is a service provider, and a patient is a customer. An organization might have the best manager, but the manager's best character cannot be seen or known by the patient. The reason behind it is that the patient does not spend time with the manager, but he or she spends time with the nurse. When the nurse engages the patient, the patient is likely to return to the hospital or refer to other customers (Soffer, 2015). This means that the hospital will soon expand and start serving a bigger capacity. When a hospital serves a bigger capacity, it is likely to make more profits. Comment by Ruth Smith: ???? this is derogatory Comment by Ruth Smith: You have to reference these facts Comment by Ruth Smith: What about from a caring perspective (Also please reference) Comment by Ruth Smith: In a clinical area, the manager of often the sister … who does spend time with patients Comment by Ruth Smith: ???? is this good? Comment by Ruth Smith: No it doesn’t -expansion is based in financial constraints, government objective, size of population. This is an over simplified approach. Comment by Ruth Smith: Not really – a lot of hospitals run at deficit
Engagement between a nurse and a patient affects the reputation of a hospital. The reputation of an organization or institution is important because it affects the business. When a hospital has a good reputation, it can attract more customers. The level of confidence among patients increases and that affects the operations (Soffer, 2015). When the number of customers starts increasing, nurse's and patients benefit and other stakeholders (Soffer, 2015). For example, when the number of customers increases, the hospital will need to hire more employees in other fields (Soffer, 2015). Therefore, it is evident that engagements are important not only for the nurse and the patient but for all stakeholders. Comment by Ruth Smith: Reference Comment by Ruth Smith: This is not generally how the NHS operates Comment by Ruth Smith: You have to base this PIP in the UK. This is not the drive of the NHS Comment by Ruth Smith: You have not proven this in the above
2.2. Patient/Nurse Engagements and Satisfaction
At the workplace, employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction are paramount (Delaney, Shattell, & Johnson, 2017). When the employee is satisfied, he or she delivers services that are of good quality. As a result, it affects the satisfaction rates of the customer (Farrington et al. 2017). In the healthcare sector, the customer is the patient, and when the nurse delivers better services because he or she is satisfied, the major beneficiary becomes the patient. Even though engagements have proven to be a big deal, many organizations have much work to do as far as the topic is concerned (Soffer, 2015). Comment by Ruth Smith: What about in healthcare Comment by Ruth Smith: Yes, but reference this Comment by Ruth Smith: This is repetition of above
Patient satisfaction is an aspect that is paramount in the healthcare sector. When the levels of satisfaction among patients increase, the patient's healing process becomes faster (Soffer, 2015). It is important to note that there are factors that affect the healing process of a patient. The study is looking for an area of improvement because the improvements are expected to foster a faster and smooth healing process. Patients need to communicate what is affecting them. When there is no platform to air their concerns, they keep their concerns to themselves. At times, the thoughts might turn into stress (Soffer, 2015). Stress affects the healing process of a person by slowing it down. Comment by Ruth Smith: It isn’t that simplistic. You need to discuss this in more detail to make it credible Comment by Ruth Smith: You over rely on this reference and I don’t think it is giving you accurate info based on UK healthcare provision
Engagements do not only affect patient satisfaction but also affect employee satisfaction. The working environment of an organization affects the satisfaction of the employee. When the nurse is working in an environment that is peaceful, satisfaction levels increase. However, when the nurse is working in a chaotic environment, the satisfaction levels decrease. When there are engagements, the two communicate, which makes it easier for the nurse to understand the patient's needs. As a result, the working environment is motivating and less stressful. Comment by Ruth Smith: This needs referencing
2.3. The Failure of Hospitals to Foster Patient/Nurse Engagements
Some healthcare sector organizations have failed to embrace healthy engagements between patients and nurses (Chan, Hong, Tan & Chua, 2019). As a result, they have failed to meet their customers' needs and increase the productivity of their organizations (Delaney et al. 2017). Patients are delicate customers because their case is that of life and death. If they do not get the quality of care they deserve, they might lose their lives. The satisfaction rates of patients in organizations that do not promote engagements are low. The reason behind it is that they feel like they are limited. Patient-centered care is a practice in the healthcare sector that impacts the way nurses and practitioners treat their patients (Chan et al. 2019). The practice emphasizes the need for practitioners to prioritize patients in the delivery of care. Comment by Ruth Smith: Not always! Comment by Ruth Smith: But what about quality of care?
Research has helped to reveal that not all hospitals promote engagements. There are different reasons why they do not embrace this effective strategy (Delaney et al. 2017). The first reason is the lack of concern and consideration for the well-being of the patient. The establishment of hospitals across the world is the norm in the modern world. However, different factors motivate investors to establish hospitals. Some of the investors are motivated by the desire to change patients' lives (Van Bogaert et al. 2017). Others are motivated by money. In most organizations that have been motivated by money, they do not care about the delivered services. When a hospital does not care about the quality of services that are provided, it does not employ or implement strategies that are supposed to help in the delivery of quality services (Van Bogaert et al. 2017). Comment by Ruth Smith: Who? Comment by Ruth Smith: Who?
The issue of lack of engagement is also associated with the lack of knowledge by the management of a hospital. In some cases, investors tend to establish hospitals with no knowledge of how to manage those (Delaney et al. 2017). When an organization has employees, who do not know what is expected of them, it becomes a challenge for them to implement strategies that will help to best serve customers' interests (Van Bogaert et al. 2017). In a traditional setup, engagements are not important because the patient was not seen as a person with the right to make independent decisions about the types of treatments that will be provided. Some of the investors enter the healthcare sector with the traditional mentality (Delaney et al. 2017). The management or leaders of an organization hire employees based on their knowledge of the healthcare sector. An owner of a hospital selects employees and managers based on his or her ideologies. When the owner does not have the knowledge and skills that are required in the healthcare sector, he or she ends up selecting managers who lack the skills and knowledge to manage the hospital. Comment by Ruth Smith: Always? Reference? Comment by Ruth Smith: What impact does it have on quality of care? Comment by Ruth Smith: What is this? Comment by Ruth Smith: The owner
Even though this is an area that many researchers have failed to focus on, patients are also some of the barriers to implementing engagements in the healthcare sector (Van Bogaert et al. 2017). The attitude that a patient gives to the management affects the strategies that the management implements. Patients are different, and whereas some patients are cooperative, some are not. Some patients like it when they seek services from a hospital without a lot of engagements (Delaney et al. 2017). When a hospital realizes that it is dealing with such patients, the hospital makes the choice of doing away with engagements. Comment by Ruth Smith: Explore this more Comment by Ruth Smith: Explain this
The lack of enough human resources is also a factor affecting hospitals' engagements (Carthon et al. 2019). Time is of the essence in the healthcare sector, and it limits many organizations from doing as they would wish. Engagements need time. From a psychological point of view, it is important to note that people do not open as soon as the nurse initiates an engagement (Manning & Pogorzelska-Maziarz, 2018). It is essential to establish trust before reaching the peak or confidential level of engagements. In some hospitals, there are a few employees and a lot of patients. Therefore, it means that nurses do not have time to foster engagement (Van Bogaert et al., 2017). A nurse is expected to perform by the employer. A nurse pays attention to treating patients as to spending time with them and having constructive engagements. Comment by Ruth Smith: What do you mean by this? Comment by Ruth Smith: What do they wish? Comment by Ruth Smith: There are nurse/patient ratios to meet