Performance Plan for a Nursing Faculty - Essay Example

? Performance Plan for a Nursing Faculty Performance Plan for a Nursing Faculty Introduction Performance planning is an essential step in teaching preparedness regardless of one’s area of interest or discipline. An effective panning can ensure a planned approach to the attainment of the preferred level of performance both for individuals and groups. A nursing faculty should operate with such a work plan in place for each and every one of his/her team, specifically in order to keep the whole group motivated. The most notable element that can make a faculty exceptional is nothing but his/her work plan. So as to get the performance plan running, the faculty should work closely with the members ensuring their active involvement in various performance-related objectives. The planning involves both an initial performance plan and a performance improvement plan. The faculty not only sets objectives but also fixes target dates for achieving them by defining time limit of the entire work plan. Throughout the planning process, the entire crew must be covered and all must be encouraged to see themselves through thriving conclusions. If the plan is solely for the faculty’s own improvement purpose, it should consider all aspects of the person’s poor performance and weakness. The performance plan, both for the individual and the team must align with the overall objectives of the organization as well. The absence of a performance plan can surely affect the competency levels of the faculty and the team they lead. To be specific, performance plan is vital to enhance personal productivity, team efficiency, cohesiveness, and work satisfaction. In this context, it is vital for a faculty (who has not been meeting expectations) to develop a well defined performance plan. Why Performance Plan? Absenteeism in higher education is a bone of contention among university lecturers. To illustrate, some scholars argue that attendance should be mandated whereas some others condemn enforced attendance in higher education. According to Lipscomb and Snelling (2010), enforcing attendance runs counter to important pedagogic (humanistic and androgogic) principles” and hence, “lecturers should refrain from associating non-attendance with unprofessional behavior and poor professionalization”. Although researchers are deeply at odds regarding enforced attendance in higher education, they all converge at the point that absenteeism can cause adverse effects on student performance. If this is the case, the effects of faculty absenteeism can be much more intense. The faculty who has been missing classes tends not to focus properly on materials and thereby fails to incorporate necessary curriculum changes and technology in the teaching materials. This will not only affect the integrity of the person as a teaching professional but also adversely affect the learners’ academic future. In other words, only a faculty having well prepared performance plan can succeed in his/her profession in the long run. A nursing faculty will; create a feasible learning environment in which a variety of appropriate teaching strategies are incorporated to achieve desired learner outcomes ensure continued learning and self assessment to improve the quality of the teaching process utilize IT related facilities to enhance both learning and teaching identify the desired level of performance in teaching define how the desired level of performance could be achieved always maintain a focused level of scholarly activity that mainly involves research and development of better guidelines “participate in professional development activities” (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 2008) identify appropriate resources and make them easily accessible to students identify good practices that can reduce faculty absenteeism make sure that he/she has “the appropriate education and experience to achieve the mission, goals, and expected program outcomes” (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 2008) review information regarding poor performance identify relevant members to discuss the issue develop strategies to correct inappropriate behavior “keep their roles and responsibilities with respect to the program” (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 2008) The faculty who has been not meeting expectations must; Set a time frame for covering the assignments and classes they have been missing Collect feedback, error rates, and performance statistics to identify the areas of poor performance Discuss the issue with responsible people to bridge the gap identified Develop a performance improvement plan to pace with changes and to meet expected standards and behavior. Identify clearly the actions required to improve performance Set a time frame for achieving the improvement specified Identify the new skills or competency that are to be attained within the stipulated time Measure continually the progress towards the desired levels Performance Plan Performance Indicator Skill Required Action Timeframe Evaluation 1. Participate actively in the Faculty Mentoring Program. 2. Get familiar with contemporary nursing practice 3. Initiate constructive self and peer evaluation 4. Use communication technologies to integrate and coordinate curriculum 5. Pay higher attention to the quality of the materials & resources Critical & reflective thinking. Various teaching styles and effective interpersonal interactions Experience and quality in leadership Knowledge in Informatics and Healthcare Technologies Ability to organize, prioritize, and delegate care Show enthusiasm for teaching, learning, and nursing. Continued learning activities, evidence-based assessment and evaluation practices Involve actively in community groups Maintain a defined and regular practice to enhance IT skills Become aware of the changes & requirements in the industry 20/11/2013 Lifelong activity 30/12/2013 Continued practice Continued practice Evaluate personal attributes that facilitates better learning. Review the curriculum based on assessment of learning outcomes Assess the extent for being a role model of professional nursing Evaluate the use of patient-care technologies to deliver and enhance care Assess learners’ ability to delegate patient care functions & plan additional learning activities (Gaberson & Oermann, 2010, p. 68). Conclusion Performance planning plays an important role in the professional life of a nursing faculty. A faculty having missed continued learning tends to lack skills, knowledge, professionalism, and thereby loyalty. Unusual level of absenteeism will prevent the person from keeping pace with the modern technology and knowledge acquiring process. Altogether, it is vital for such a faculty to develop his/her performance plan so as to compensate the absenteeism and negligence. The planning process extends from initial performance planning to performance improvement plan that ought to cover quality and relevance of course materials, curriculum, level of competency and many more. References Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. (2008). Standards for Accreditation of Post-Baccalaureate Nurse residency Programs. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ccne-accreditation/resstandards08.pdf Gaberson, K & Oermann, M. (2010). Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. NY: Springer Publishing Company. Lipscomb, M & Snelling, P. C. (2010). Student nurse absenteeism in higher education: An argument against enforced attendance. Nurse Education Today, (6):573-8. Read More