The Ways of Empowering the Nurses - Case Study Example

Library Assignment - Case Scenario Answer Number a. What issues could be present in a unit that would create feelings of powerlessness among the staff?  Power is essential for influencing a group or an individual. Being empowered is important for nurses as they need to influence the physicians as well as the patients on an everyday basis. Powerless nurses are often more ineffective and are less satisfied from the present status of their job. There are various issues that may create the feeling of powerlessness among the staff. Not getting respect and motivation from the management of the hospital, the physician and other health care staff is one of the reasons that may make the nursing staff may feel powerless. Usually the management of a majority of health care institutions does not allow the nursing staff to take part in the important decision or in almost all the decisions. These decisions usually have significant impact on the future of nursing staff as well as the health care institutions. Under such circumstances when the nursing staff does not have power for contributing to the decisions that are related to them and their future, they usually end up feeling powerless. b. What are some of the sources of power that might be found? There are various sources from which nurses may obtain their power. First one is the requisite structure of the workplace that helps in supporting empowerment. The second source through which power can be found is by believing in ourselves and in our ability to get empowered. The third one is when the management makes nurses realize about the power that this occupation holds and relationship through which they provide care and affection to their patients. The research present on nursing demonstrates the relationship between two of the discussed sources of power. Yet there is still the need for conducting more research which discusses the ways of empowering the nurses. Granting the nursing staff the responsibilities of a decision maker may also make them empowered and as a result they may effectively identify the course of action and then take measures accordingly (Heathfield, 2013). c. How might Nancy encourage the staff to become empowered as well as defuse some of the behaviors of others contributing to the staff’s feelings of powerlessness?  There are several ways through which Nancy can make the staff to become empowered. Nancy must make the nursing staff feel that they are valued. Her intentions for the staff must be demonstrated through her word as well as her actions. Nancy should appreciate the hard work of the staff and share her leadership vision with them. Another action that Nancy must take to empower the employees is that they she should encourage them to contribute new ideas for the development of the hospital. For example, she may discuss with the staff the area of weakness that she has been noticing lately and then ask them to contribute their opinion for solving the issue. Dividing the nursing staff into teams and electing a team leader will not only help the staff to be empowered but it will also help them to feel valued. In order to eradicate the feeling of powerlessness, Nancy must trust the intention of the staff that they will do the right thing and will perform the assigned tasks effectively. She should learn to take decisions which are favorable for the whole staff and they should be for the greater benefit of the hospital. When the nursing staff would be clear about her expectations it is then that they will start feeling relaxed and will trust Nancy for all her decisions. The nursing staff will then start to focus their energy more on accomplishing their job tasks rather than on second guessing, wondering and worrying. Nancy should make sure that the staff has all the relevant information available before they take part in the decision making so that the result of the decisions turn out to be more effective. This will also help the nursing staff feel more empowered (Milisa, 2007). Answer Number 2 a. What information should you obtain from the staff on your unit prior to attending the meeting?  Before attending the meeting, Nancy should conduct a little session with the nursing staff in which she could discuss about all their views on the issues that will be under discussion in the meeting. She should ask the opinions of almost every member of the nursing staff present in the session so that she may come up with a decision that they all agree to. As the decision will have an impact on the job routine of the nursing staff so therefore it is important that Nancy along with the staff analyzes all the aspects of the proposed idea and then come up with a decision to which the majority of the nursing staff agrees. Nancy must keep in mind all the reasoning that she should present in front of the council in the support of the decision that she has come up with after a serious discussion with the nursing staff. b. What other information would you gather about returning to 8-hour shifts prior to attending the meeting?  It is important to make sure that all of the nursing staff agrees to the decision of returning to the 8 hours shift. Prior to attending the meeting all the pros and cons related to the decisions must be studied in detail. Although there are many advantages related to the 8-hours shift such as the increase productivity and effectiveness of the nursing staff or the boost in the revenue of the hospital, there are also many pros and cons related to the decision, such as the nursing staff may have greater sleep loss as the result of which their performance may be effective. So it is better that prior to the meeting the nursing staff must be interviewed and their views must be collected on the proposal. c. How will you assist your team members in understanding the role of shared governance in bringing about policy change? As discussed above, Nancy needs to make the staff trust her for all the decisions that she makes. She needs to make the staff realize that the policy change will work in the favor of the staff and in case if after the implementation of the policies does not work in their favor so they do have the power of changing it. Nancy should make the staff feel valued. She should make them realize that the policies that the council will come up with will work in the favor of the staff as well as the overall hospital. Summary Asking the permission of management for performing unimportant tasks may also affect the morale of the nurses and makes them feel powerless. In many health care institutions, nursing staff is not allowed to work independently or they are not provided autonomy to carry out responsibilities. Management of the hospital may allow nurses to work more autonomously as it is only then that they will be able to raise the status of their occupation and then define their area of expertise more clearly. They should be allowed to take part in decision making as it will make them feel valued and in return they will be more dedicated towards their work. Conclusion Providing professional autonomy to the nursing staff helps them to be empowered and it eventually eradicates the feeling of being powerless. It will also boost their motivation and will help in developing leadership qualities in them. References Heathfield, S. M. (2013). Top 10 Principles of Employee Empowerment. Retrieved Febuary 27, 2014, from About: http://humanresources.about.com/od/managementandleadership/tp/empowerment.htm Manojlovich, M. (2007). Power and Empowerment in Nursing: Looking Backward to Inform the Future. The Online Journal of Issues of Nursing. Read More