Conflict in Intensive Care Unit - Assignment Example

 You are a nurse in a busy Intensive Care Unit. The nurse manager has decided to let the staff make their own schedules. Several (3) nurses who have each worked there for 15 years do not want to change their 8 hour schedules because they have scheduled various activities on their days off. However most of the other nurses (12) want to work 12 hour shifts so that they can spend more time with their families. The climate on the unit is getting very heated. The nurse manager has told the staff to work it out amongst themselves, she just wants it to be done! Answer the following questions regarding the above scenario Define the issue. Who are the players in the situation? The players in this situation are the nurses as well as the nurse manager. Each nurse is involved, because he or she will have to decide on his or her shift, and the nurse manager is heading up the issue. The nurse manager appears to not be taking enough initiative to sort the issue out amongst the other nurses, and this can be a huge problem. This can easily result in the nurses becoming angry with each other and this can cause serious implications in the health care field. For instance, if a patient is very ill and the nurses are bickering amongst themselves about a schedule problem, will the client get the proper care? This would need to be addressed immediately. What are the goals and values of each of the players? There are two categories of nurses here that have different goals and values. The first category is the nurses who wish to keep their 8 hour shifts, and most of those nurses have worked in the department for 15 years of more. These are the more seasoned, veteran nurses, who have formed their lives around their current schedules, and are very used to eight hour shifts. Thus, they feel most comfortable proceeding where they are at. This group of players thus wants to stay with the 8 hour shift schedule. The second category of nurses are those that wish to work 12 hours shifts and thus have more days off. There is no mention of these nurses’ working records, but it appears that these are the nurses who do not have as much veteran status and probably have more flexible schedules as well. Which strategy will you try for conflict resolution first? I will try a peace negotiation strategy for conflict resolution. My hope would be to attain some type of compromise. I would first approach the veteran nurses and ask them for more information about their planned activities, in order to gage how important the situation is to them. I would ask if they would occasionally be willing to work 12 hour shifts if they were given enough notice, and promise them that we can try to keep their schedule as similar to the current schedule as possible. Next, I would approach the newer nurses, and discuss with them their motives for the 12 hour shift. I would also ask them if they would mind working the occasional 8 hour shift if they were given enough notice. I would remind the nurses as well about the importance of getting along in the workplace for the sake of the patients. What are two different alternatives which might be proposed to solve this problem? My first hope would be to be able to actually form a schedule where some nurses worked 8 hour shifts and some worked 12 hour shifts. I would try to balance this out as much as possible to make everybody happy. However, if this did not work well for the schedule, I would try to stick with the desired shifts as much as possible, but assign different shifts to nurses on occasion when needed, giving them enough notice. My hope would be that this would help to smooth over the situation. Assignment 1 In my opinion, health care is a right, not a privilege. I feel this way because all people should have access to health care, just like all people have access to public education. Like public education, it is something that everybody needs in order to live a healthy, successful, and decent life. Public health care would solve many problems, especially with the issues impacting the economy today. There are many examples in today’s world of sick people who do not have health care. When these people get ill and have to go to the emergency room, they can sometimes wind up with bills that cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Thus, if a person has an accident or gets sick through no fault of his or her own, all of a sudden he or she may have to go bankrupt. This seems like a very unfair concept in a nation that focuses on fairness and equality. It certainly does not improve the status of people’s lives. Taking a closer look at personal cases will present a perspective of this situation. One example comes from an issue with a mother named Sarah, and her young two year old son, Joseph. Joseph had to get respiratory surgery immediately or else he risked possible death. Of course, Sarah approved this, but the medical bills were enormous. She did not have health care. He bill totaled over $30,000. She makes $9 an hour and works a 40 hour work week for a company that may be soon out of business. Therefore, she not only has an uncertain future, but a huge bill that she does not know how to begin to pay. Since she does not earn a lot of money, her finances are already strained. What can individuals like this do in this type of system? The average cost of health care for those who do not qualify for benefits runs between $500-$1000 per month for families. Most people cannot afford this, and thus many individuals, including children like Joseph, do not get health coverage. This demonstrates an overall problem with the system. A country should wish to protect its citizens and keep them healthy, not forego their basic health needs. Doctors have put such a high price on care that their services are nearly impossible for most people to afford. Health insurance is not usually an alternative that can be used because it is so expensive. So, what can people do? The real answer is that the system needs to be fixed, and thankfully, President Obama realizes this. He recently signed an act into law regarding Cobra, stating that any individual terminated from a job may keep his or her health benefits at a reduced cost through the company and Cobra at a reduced fee (8 Questions). This has helped many individuals who have suffered and lost jobs due to the bad economy. However, more steps do need to be taken to overcome this situation. Obama does promise to take more steps in order to help people, and he has a detailed plan for this. (President Obama). Hopefully, we, as a nation, will see these results soon. Works Cited “President Obama Signs Stimulus Plan with COBRA Expansion.” 10 June 2009. http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/index.cfm/fa/news.advisory/item/1817196f-7ff1-451e-aa5f-552910b40a05/President_Obama_Signs_Stimulus_Plan_with_COBRA_Expansion.cfm “8 Questions You May Have About the New COBRA Subsidy. 5 March 2005. 23 June 2009”. http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-health-and-money/2009/03/05/8-questions-you-may-have-about-the-new-cobra-subsidy.html Assignment 2 June 24, 2009 President Obama 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500. Dear President, As a future nurse, I wanted to address some of my own concerns regarding the current health care system. There are a few issues I would like to address here. First, I would like to thank you for your previous work assisting those who need health care. I can tell that you are a caring politician that does want to make a difference in people’s lives, and I have much respect for your plans and decisions. As you are well aware, many individuals are without health care because they are also without work. As a result, these people cannot afford health care. Health care is ourtrageously expensive, and doctors are charging patients far too much for their services. One example I can provide is my own trip to the ER for a fainting spell, which amounted to nothing, but the cost of the visit was $5,000. Thankfully I did not have to spend the night, but I can only imagine how large the bills are of those that actually do. Having recently undergone this and having had the health care issue affect myself so personally, I can only feel sympathy for those without work, and those who have children that may be ill. We provide public education, so why do we not provide public health care? It seems to be a basic human right, especially in a company that prides itself on equality. Therefore, my hope is to allow you to understand my opinion after reading this letter, and to inspire you to continue on the correct path to health care reform. I feel that this is one of the biggest concerns in the nation today, especially with the ongoing economic problems. If health care issues can be addressed, I am sure many people would be very thankful to you, and this would result in a very happy nation. Thank You, Sign Name Read More