January, 2019
Improving the Work Environment
Improving the work environment within a hospital facility is a primary goal that overlooked at by nurse leaders and other healthcare managers. Even nurses focus on the welfare of the patients and sometimes forget to look into their own well-being. The management which sometimes includes stakeholders is usually so fixated on the clients that they overlook the well-being of the nurses who do most of the care giving. The focus is on the outcome and ignores the people in the process. As a result, nurses experience tough challenges that even complicate and make them unable to perform their duties the way they should (Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine, & Institute of Medicine, 2014).
Statement of the problem
The environment that nurses work is full of traumatic events that also affect the nurses psychologically. They deal with sick children, burn victims, the dying cancer patients who are people in extreme pain. They are not immune to this human suffering. They struggle with depression, grief, and loss as well. The sad assumption made is that it is a job and they should somehow not be affected, but in most cases they are. The issues they see on a daily basis slowly eats away on their sanity and sometimes results in depression or even addiction. About ten percent of the nurses working in the United States are on drugs as a coping mechanism for the trauma they experience on a daily basis (Finkelman, 2018).
Besides, their state of mind is made worse by doctors who look down upon their jobs and use inappropriate language or sexually abuse the nurses. Nurses have to cater to all kinds of patients including some very passive aggressive and narcissistic patients who continually frustrate them to such a considerable extent. They are insulted, spat on, vomited on, even defecated on, and nobody cares to take care of their mental well-being after such painful experiences. The empathy that they give on a daily basis is never reciprocated back to them.
Thirdly, the occupational health and safety are not adequately considered. Many nurses report joint pains, back, and other issues right after a shift. In worst case scenarios nurses are overworked and majorly understaffed. The work they do is seldom recognized as much as the doctors’. They are often ignored and looked down upon. This results in low job satisfaction and poor motivation for work (Jones et al., 2012). It leads to a compromise of the quality of care they give to patents and n addition the low motivation may result in errors. Burnouts are the primary cause of failures in healthcare facilities. It leads to depression and low morale even for life give that the nature of their work is hugely daunting.
Evidence-based interventions
The most practical approach would be carrying out needs assessment that is incredibly inclusive (Jones et al., 2012). Also, open channels of communication should always be available so that the nurses air any concerns they have. There should be dialogue forums and discussions on how to tackle challenges prevalent within a healthcare facility. The staffing should always be considerate, and nurse leaders should be extremely keen on how shifts are allocated no matter the workload. At any given time, any nurse that is feeling overworked should be replaced and given time to rest adequately. The staffing manager should also identify the departments most notorious for overworking the nurses.
Potential barriers
When it comes to patient care, the aim is to minimize costs as much as possible. Managers do not like to keep hiring and training staff especially nurses where the workload is intense. Also, other team members who feel that their workload is not being attended might oppose changes in the schedule for the nurses (Jones et al., 2012). Some doctors may prefer certain shifts more which make it more complicated. In some cases, leaders who pay attention to nurses’ grievances are resisted by the team and are not supported. The organization may not like the idea of having to provide therapists and psychologists for nurses because it is costly and time-consuming.
Strategies to overcome barriers to change
The most effective strategies to overcoming barriers and change have participative leadership. This ensures that the goals that are set are all-inclusive and cater to the needs of all parties .Also, the leadership should have effective communication within which all challenges are adequately addressed, and the key areas of concern identified. Cases of psychological disturbances or incidences should always be reported, and awareness should be encouraged (Finkelman, 2018). The teams should also build trust among themselves so that there is an open line of communication. Pharmacists, technicians, nurses, doctors, nurse-aids and other professionals should go through training on each other’s scope so that they are educated on how to approach issues. Counseling should be offered on a regular basis to the nurses.
Plan to implement evidence-based interventions
Cooperative relationships among the doctor, nurses, technicians, and other staff should be encouraged through effective leadership (Grossman, 2013). There should be a smooth flow of communication among team members so that outliers or incidences of absenteeism, depression or drug abuse are easily recognized and attended. Besides, interprofessional teams should be able to access mental wellness facilities within the institution whenever they are under stress and a statistical report generated that can be reported. These measures strengthen the teams and make it easier to identify challenges affecting the groups.
Root cause analysis
The most effective method would be first investigative research on the work environment that the nurses work. These may include surveys, questioners and forums. The aim is to allow the nurses an opportunity to express themselves freely without fear of victimization. Research is a significant part of the needs assessment that the nurses should have. The analysis should be carried out by impartial professionals who have no interests within the facility to avoid tampering of the results. In addition, any cases that are of concern should be reported promptly.
Recommendations
Nurses should be allowed to rest adequately even within a shift if one feels overwhelmed. Besides, the hospital should provide supportive care and group cohesion among Interprofessional teams so that there exists a good rapport between all the staff. Whenever there is a discrepancy, there should be laid out guidelines on the steps to take so that victimization does not occur. There should be constant forums of expression and support. Collaborative decision making helps to make the nurses feel represented (Grossman, 2013). Whenever their grievances are not addressed, they should have a way to channel them. Nurses should always be empowered in their workplaces. Their professional identity should not be ignored but recognized at all times and even rewarded in exceptional cases.
Conclusion
The working environment of nurses should be looked into. There are many cases of inadequate patient care that have been linked to the climate that nurses operate. Nurses are under constant pressure to perform, but their emotional needs rarely looked into. In a nutshell, they experience a degradation of their job, and sadly it affects the quality of care they give to patients. Leadership and the management may resist the counter-measures because of the cost implications but the consequences of errors that may result in preventable death far outweigh these costs. It is fundamental to look after the nurses’ well-being because it reflects the overall performance of the hospital. They are an integral part of the recovery process and determine the speed at which healing occurs.
References
Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine, & Institute of Medicine. (2014). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health.
Finkelman, A. W. (2018). Professional nursing concepts: Competencies for quality leadership. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
Grossman, S. (2013). Mentoring in Nursing: A Dynamic and Collaborative Process. New York: Springer Publishing Co.
Jones, C., Finkler, S. A., & Kovner, C. T. (2012). Financial Management for Nurse Managers and Executives - E-Book.
yaserarmengol37
NURSINGPROPOSALassessment4.docx
0
