Week 4 Literature review

2

Process of Program Planning

Student’s name

Institutional Affiliation

Course name

Professor’s name

Due date

Process of Program Planning

Workplace for change

The workplace where change will be instituted is a medium-sized community hospital. This hospital provides emergency care, surgical procedures, and inpatient care services. It has several specialized units, such as the maternity ward, surgical department, and critical care unit. The change will focus on the medical-surgical unit level, where change will be instituted. The hospital is facing persistent high readmission rate in the medical-surgical unit. Significant number of patients are returning to the hospital shortly after discharge. It places additional strain on healthcare resources and suggests underlying issues in quality of care, post-discharge support, or patient education. Addressing the high readmission rate is imperative to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and ensure patients receive the comprehensive care and guidance needed to recover successfully (Warchol et al., 2019).

Team needed to change.

The team would ideally comprise a nurse Manager to provide insights into daily operations, staffing, and nursing protocols within the unit. Clinical Nurse Specialists offer clinical expertise in patient care and identify areas for improvement. Case manager to assess the discharge planning process and its effectiveness. Data Analyst to analyze readmission data and identify patterns and trends. Patient Educator to evaluate patient education programs and their impact. Quality improvement coordinator to facilitate process improvement initiatives. Physician representative to provide medical input and perspectives on patient care. IT Specialist to assess the technological tools and systems supporting patient care and discharge processes.

The rationale for selecting the individuals is to create a well-rounded team to address all aspects of the change initiative. Nurse Manager and Clinical Nurse Specialists possess frontline experience and clinical insights, while the Case Manager understands discharge process intricacies. Data Analysts bring data-driven insights. Patient Educators offer perspectives on patient understanding and compliance and Quality Improvement Coordinators facilitate process enhancements. Physician Representatives provide essential medical input, and IT Specialists assess technological support systems (Taberna, 2020).

The team members fulfill team roles within the change initiative. The nurse manager and clinical nurse specialists can be seen as front-line leaders who understand the impacts of changes on healthcare delivery processes. The case manager and quality improvement coordinator are champions for the change, as they are dedicated to improving the discharge process and overall quality of care. Data analyst provides clinical or technical expert knowledge in analyzing readmission data. Patient Educator and IT Specialist contribute their expertise to different initiative aspects and offer valuable insights and support.

Interdisciplinary Teams Impact

Interdisciplinary change teams are impactful than one discipline. Patient care is highly interdisciplinary in healthcare settings, and many issues require a multifaceted approach. Interdisciplinary team expertise ensures comprehensive understanding of the issue and holistic approach to finding solutions. Secondly, it offers Diverse Perspectives that can result in innovative and well-rounded. Thirdly, interdisciplinary teams can better address these challenges by pooling their collective skills and experiences. Interdisciplinary teams also encourage better communication, improved care coordination, reduced errors, and a more patient-centered approach (Bendowska & Baum, 2023).

References

Bendowska, A., & Baum, E. (2023). The Significance of Cooperation in Interdisciplinary Health Care Teams as Perceived by Polish Medical Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 954. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20020954

Taberna, M. (2020). The multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach and quality of care. Frontiers in Oncology, 10(85). https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.00085

Warchol, S. J., Monestime, J. P., Mayer, R. W., & Chien, W.-W. (2019). Strategies to reduce hospital readmission rates in a non-Medicaid-expansion state. Perspectives in Health Information Management, 16(Summer). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6669363/