Nurse Engagement and Patient Outcomes - Essay Example

Organizational Values Presentation (PowerPoint outline) al Affiliation Organizational Values Presentation (PowerPoint outline) Alignment between the values of an organization and the values of the nurse affects nurse engagement and patient outcomes. Impact on nurse engagement Increases efficiency in nurse engagement Creates confidence for nurses thereby encouraging them to work with confidence Brings about harmony encouraging peace and teamwork in the work environment Creates trust which enables nurses work comfortably It creates boundaries to behavior and leads to commitment (Butts, 2013). All positive employment relationships are built on psychological contracts between the employers and employees and define the expectations that employers have on the employees and vice-versa. It also ensures that employees understand what is expected of them. The psychological contract defines what employers and employees consider as their values. This happens between organizations and nurses, and the manner in which they align their values. Aligning these values affects the nurse engagement (Petrova, Dale & Fulford, 2006). First, it increases nurse efficiency because they understand what the organization needs of them and what they should not do. Secondly, it encourages nurses to work with confidence because the alignment assures them that the organization has confidence in them. Thirdly, the alignment creates harmony within the nursing team and develops peace within the workplace creating an environment where nurses can work in teams thereby improving their output. It also creates trust between the organization and the nurses that enables nurses to work comfortably without disturbance. This prevents misunderstandings and increases their work rate and output. The alignment also ensures that boundaries on behavior and ensures that nurses are responsible and that they are committed to their work (Butts, 2013). Impact on patient outcomes Promotes fast healing Ensures the provision of a good healing environment for the patient Creates an assurance for better services to the patient Nurses as well as organizations are committed to and are responsible for patient outcomes Aligning organizational values with the values of nurses has a benefit for patients in terms of patient outcomes. The alignment results to fast healing for patients because nurses understand their roles and the organization understands what they should provide for nurses to fasten the healing process. This is advantageous for patients. The alignment enables the organization with the help of the nurses to provide an environment that supports patient healing. This is an environment where patient needs come first, nurses collaborate as a team with other medical practitioners and patients can feel comfortable to share their feelings and needs with nurses who act as their healthcare advocates. Patients are assured of better services because the institution and nurses understand their obligations to patients and try as much to ensure patients receive better care. Patients benefit from the alignment because both the organization and nurses work for one course of action because of their commitment and responsibility to patient outcomes. Using effective communication techniques to:- Overcome Workplace challenges State the challenges openly Being open minded Engaging in regular communication Addressing the challenges to the relevant authority (Hughes & Seago, 2008). Stating the challenges openly ensures that those responsible understand them clearly and that there is no confusion. This enables people to understand what has been done wrong and that it should not occur again. To overcome workplace challenges, communication is important but only when one is open-minded because it helps one consider different viewpoints especially when engaging different people. This helps in solving challenges. Engaging in regular conversation will help overcome challenges because it enables individuals understand the challenges, solve them bit-by-bit, and avoid rushing through the process of overcoming challenges (Hughes & Seago, 2008). Addressing the challenges to the relevant authority helps in overcoming challenges because it helps all those involved to understand the part they play in causing the challenge or their roles in helping solve the challenges. This also helps in case an employee (nurse) requires an institution to help address the challenge Encourage collaboration across groups Use a two-way communication strategy State the roles, goals and the importance of the whole team clearly Listening and being open Encouraging teamwork (Stokols, Misra, Moser, Hall & Taylor, 2008). Using a two-way communication helps groups to discuss and understand each other thereby ensuring a good working relationship. Using communication to state the roles of the groups and the roles of each member of those groups helps all the members and groups work in harmony thereby promoting collaboration. Communication also helps members to understand the goals and importance of the team and collaboration and constantly reminds them of that (Stokols, Misra, Moser, Hall & Taylor, 2008). Listening and open mindedness are aspects of communication that help foster collaboration because they enable members understand their roles clearly and fosters understanding between the collaborating members. Communication can be used to promote teamwork because it enables the members to talk, discuss, argue and come up with solutions to problems thereby promoting teamwork. Promote effective problem solving Point out the problem clearly Consider a mediator Admit mistakes when in the wrong Avoiding generalizations Showing a willingness to correct mistakes (LaSala & Bjarnason, 2010). Communication should be used to state the problem clearly as the first step towards solving the problem because it brings the troubling issues to the open. Mediators are important in solving a problem because it enables the conflicting parties to communicate and engage in the process of reaching a consensus. Therefore, this is important in problem solving. Communication should also be used to clearly state the facts and avoid generalizations because without clarifications, problems will reoccur. Therefore, avoiding generalizations enables people to solve problems with finality (Stokols, Misra, Moser, Hall & Taylor, 2008). Communication can be used to show a willingness to solve the problem. It is easier to solve a problem when the conflicting parties are in communication compared to when they are not. Conflicting organizational and individual nurse values Organizational values Patients are only allowed to engage in their spiritual practices in the provided times and should not interfere with the work of the medical personnel The institution had a rule that all patients should engage in their spiritual practice including prayer time only between 7.00-8.00 a.m., 12.00-1.00 p.m. and 6.00-7.00 p.m. This did not go well with the patient and the nurse who vowed to break the rule Nurse values The time for patients’ spiritual practice while in the institution should be decided with the help of the individual patient. The nurse believed that individual patients have the right to choose their prayer time and the institution should respect patients’ decisions by planning for medical attention before or after the time decided on by the patient. Impact The patient turned down medical attention The nurse refused to give medications when the patient stated it was his prayer time. The patient refused to be attended to during the times he had set for his prayers arguing that his religion could not allow him to skip prayer at those specific times. The nurse also supported the patient by stating that she would not attend to the patient during his prayer time. This brought a conflict between the institution and the nurse affecting the medical care for the patient. The patient did not receive the care he deserved because of the misunderstanding. References Butts, J. B. (2013). Ethics in professional nursing practice. Nursing ethics: Across the curriculum and into practice, 81-93. Hughes, R. G., & Seago, J. A. (2008). Professional Communication. Retrieved September 24, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2679/?report=printable LaSala, C. A., & Bjarnason, D. (2010). Creating workplace environments that support moral courage. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15(3). Petrova, M., Dale, J., & Fulford, B. K. (2006). Values-based practice in primary care: easing the tensions between individual values, ethical principles and best evidence. British Journal of General Practice, 56(530), 703-709. Stokols, D., Misra, S., Moser, R. P., Hall, K. L., & Taylor, B. K. (2008). The ecology of team science: understanding contextual influences on transdisciplinary collaboration. American journal of preventive medicine, 35(2), S96-S115. Read More