Developing a Shared Vision
Instructions:-
Choose two issues or challenges that the leaders of today’s health care organizations face. Select from among the following topics:Staff Shortage (Physicians, Nurses, Allied Health Providers, Ancillary Services)
Reorganization in Response to Merger or Consolidation of Services
Layoffs as a Result of Declining Revenues
Influx of Registry, Part-Time, and Temporary Contract Staff
Poor Performance Outcomes Leading to a Reduction in Medicare Reimbursement Dollars
Poor Job Satisfaction Rates Resulting in Turnover
You are the manager of an ancillary service department at a large, 500+ bed hospital. Develop a proposal (750-1,200 words) that is directed toward your staff, in which you address the following:
Inform the staff of the two issues (from the topics provided) your organization is facing.
Describe the impact of these issues on your department.
Describe how improved communication, collaboration, and teamwork can improve conditions in your department.
Identify at least two examples from the required or recommended readings of techniques found to foster inclusion and improve communication and collaboration.
A minimum of three academic references from credible sources are required for this assignment.
Solution
Developing a Shared Vision
Background
The provision of quality, safe, and effective healthcare requires the combined effort of the staff and the leadership/management of the organization, and the adoption and implementation of strategies that promote quality improvement. The leadership must work with the staff to solve problems that place challenges in the way of achieving the set institutional objectives. This organizations faces numerous challenges that we continue to fight together to ascertain better healthcare services, patient and staff safety, and patient satisfaction. Addressing the challenges will ensure the improvement of the capacity of the hospital to promote health and wellbeing of the society and guarantee the protection of the staff through job security. Your attention, commitment, and determination are needed for the resolution of the current challenges facing the management/leadership of this facility.
Challenges
The leadership of this health care organization faces two critical challenges that limit the ability to meet and address health care needs and wants of our patients adequately. To start with, staff shortage is currently a critical challenge facing the organization. As staff, you play the central role in ensuring patients receive quality care. The capacity of the hospital to deliver quality, efficient, and safe services depends mainly on staffing. A high staff to patient ratio signifies the ability of the organization to meet the health needs of every patient sufficiently. With a capacity of over 500 in-patient clients, the hospital requires sufficient personnel to attend to hospitalized patients. HRH (2017) posits that physicians, nurses (advanced-practice nurses and registered nurses), and allied health providers work collaboratively to deliver care to hospitalized patients through individualized health care services. Currently, we are experiencing staff shortage, an issue that impacts our services significantly.
Secondly, poor job satisfaction rates is another critical challenge. The various challenges we are facing as an organization have resulted in increased job dissatisfaction among staff contributing to higher turnover. Most of the nurses and physicians who have left the organization have cited increased workload, burnout, stress, and general dissatisfaction with the general duties as the main reasons for their decisions (Baernholdt & Mark, 2013; McHugh, Kutney-Lee, Cimiotti, Sloane, & Aiken, 2011). Investigations have identified the issue of shortage of staff as the most impactful cause of the poor job satisfaction rates and turnover. Additionally, others pointed out the issue of employee pay as a concern. Important to note is that we are doing everything to solve the issues and make sure we have enough staff, better working conditions and environment, and engage every member of this organization in processes targeting the improvement of each person’s welfare, quality of the services, and profit efficiency (Baernholdt & Mark, 2013).
Communication, Collaboration, and Teamwork
The improvement of communication, collaboration, and teamwork is fundamental to the improvement of conditions in the ancillary services department. Efficient communication plays an important role in promoting effectiveness in patient care by enabling team members of different specialties to work together and deliver quality services. On the issues of staff shortage and poor job satisfaction rates, communication is critical in engaging each other and resolving matters that might impact on the staff and the organization negatively. Communicating any issues of concern with the management is important in ensuring that issues are looked into and sound decisions made (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008). Moreover, the management with communicate with on matters staff shortage to solve the issue with immediacy.
Improved collaboration in the organization will play an important role enhancing effectiveness in the delivery of care as the professionals assume the complementary roles and work together in cooperation. Enhanced collaboration will promote responsibility sharing and facilitate effective decision-making. The problems facing the management require a collaborative approach involving the staff and the institutional leadership. Moreover, according to O’Daniel and Rosenstein (2008), improving collaboration will improve decisions regarding the formulation and implementation of plans, especially on hiring, training, and improving working conditions.
Additionally, improving teamwork serves a major role in promoting collaboration and efficient communication, building respect, and fostering trust. Teamwork makes it possible from the health professionals from different specialties to work together towards the achievement of the same goal. Upholding teamwork will make it possible for the staff to cope with the current challenges of staff shortage, reduce medical/clinical errors, provide better patient care, and triumph over issues such as stress, burnout, and dissatisfaction among others (McHugh, Kutney-Lee, Cimiotti, Sloane, & Aiken, 2011; Baernholdt & Mark, 2013). Therefore, it will play a fundamental role promoting efficacy in the provision of quality and safe services by reducing the burden of the workload from individuals and sharing it as a team (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008).
Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork: Examples
One example of fostering team collaboration is through the creation of programs and outlets for health professionals to work collaboratively as a team. The leadership will focus on creating programs that bring together nurses, physicians, allied health providers, and ancillary service professionals to work towards the delivery of quality health care. The teams will ease work, communication, and professional workload caused by staff shortage (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008).
Another
example is through managerial support for enhanced communication, collaboration
and teamwork. The organization will focus on creating an environment of trust, respect,
assertiveness, efficient communication, accountability, education, and shared-decision-making.
Additionally, the management will involve staff in creating and implementing
appropriate intervention strategies to promote inclusion, collaboration and communication (O’Daniel
& Rosenstein, 2008).
References
Baernholdt, M., & Mark, B. A. (2013). The nurse work environment, job satisfaction and turnover rates in rural and urban nursing units. Journal of Nursing Management, 17 (8), 994-1001.
HRH. (2017). Why is teamwork in health care important? Retrieved from Global Resource Center: https://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/HRH_Info_Teamwork
McHugh, M. D., Kutney-Lee, A., Cimiotti, J. P., Sloane, D. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2011). Nurses’ widespread job dissatisfaction, burnout, and frustration with health benefits signal problems for patient care. Health Affairs (Millwood), 30(2), 202–210.
O’Daniel, M., & Rosenstein, A. H. (2008). Professional communication and team collaboration. In R. G. Hughes, Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses (pp. 271-284). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US).
