Work Environment Assessment
My workplace health rating would be at 75 depicting a mildly healthy work environment
(Clark, 2015). I would assert that communication in my organization is not transparent, direct,
and respectful as would have been according to Clark. The incident I will be portraying includes
ineffective communication to the psychiatric unit from the pharmacy. A policy was introduced
by nurse leaders requiring the psychiatric medical staff to contact the physicians from the
pharmacy unit and to provide them with a detailed update on the whereabouts of a mental
patient. Be that as it may, the procedure was not adhered to as expected since we were
psychiatric nurses were supplied with the wrong medication. When I contacted the pharmacy
unit, I was surprised to receive negative response that we were responsible for the prescription
errors that occurred.
Barriers in Communication
The primary communication barrier between psychiatric unit and the pharmacy was that
there was no verbal communication. We relied on written notes that brought up the confusions.
Medical staff are required to verbally call and speak to the pharmacy on that particular unit.
Moreover, the revised patients’ information was incomplete had not updated patient status
information.
Conclusion
Improved communication help prepare new graduate nurses to effectively address
incivility (Griffin & Clark, 2014). “Communication is not a single-way street. In the case that a
message affects certain offices or fields, the manager must scrutinize areas of concern before the
communication takes place (Marquis, & Huston, ,2017, p. 495). The primary technique that I feel
would have enhanced a positive outcome was for the pharmacists to not have authorized
medications that would negatively influence the quality of patient care. Verbal two-way
communication between psychiatric unit and the pharmacy would positively enhance outcome.
Many medical/surgical caregivers on the medical/surgical floor expressed how awkward they
were with this change; our voices were not heard in any case. "A communicative leader is
characterized as someone who offers and seeks criticism effectively, encourages participatory
choice and is seen as open minded" (Johansson, Mill operator & Hamrin, 2014).
References
Clark, C. M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. American
Nurse Today, 10(11), 18–23. Retrieved from https://www.americannursetoday.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/11/ant11-CE-Civility-1023.pdf
Griffin, M., & Clark, C. M. (2014). Revisiting cognitive rehearsal as an intervention against
incivility and lateral violence in nursing: 10 years later. Journal of Continuing Education
in Nursing, 45(12), 535–542. doi:10.3928/00220124-20141122-02
Johansson, C., Miller, V. D., Hamrin, S. (2014). Conceptualizing communicative leadership: A
framework for analyzing and developing leaders’ communication competence, Corporate
Communications: An International Journal, 19 (2), 147–165. Retrieved from the Walden
Library databases.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing:
Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
