Outcome 5
Outcome five involves us being able to communicate, collaborate, and negotiate as a member and leader within interdisciplinary health care teams to improve patient health outcomes. I feel that the Nursing and Leadership course and clinical helped me the most to achieve this outcome. A specific discussion that I thought of that helped to achieve this outcome is a discussion that we did in our clinical course on teamwork. We read in our text the definition of teamwork and compared this definition to our work environment. Through this discussion, I learned how to improve my work environment and set an example for the rest of the staff by being a team player and working closely with my coworkers to give the best care that we possibly could.
Another discussion held in our Nursing and Leadership clinical course was one that involved us researching Swanson’s five caring processes and comparing them with our managers at our workplace. The five care processes are maintaining belief, knowing, being with, doing for, and enabling and informing. I learned that a successful manager incorporates these five processes into their lives in order to make a powerful impact on the care being provided. This has stuck with me throughout my nursing career and although I am not a manager, I plan to use this if I ever have the opportunity to lead a unit or facility. I will aslo use this knowledge in my everyday practice as I lead the team of practical nurses and nursing assistants that I am over on each shift.
The last assignment from my Nursing and Leadership course that helped to me achieve outcome five was our chapter five assignment where we were asked to discuss the process of communication. I read the process of communication and described a situation that had occurred at my place of employment as a result of bad communication. Overall, I have learned that communication is an essential part of being able to collaborate and negotiate as a member and leader within interdisciplinary health care teams to improve patient health outcomes and I plan on using these important communication skills in my future nursing practice.
Teamwork Discussion
“Teamwork requires a group of diverse members to focus on a shared purpose and to work together to fulfill that purpose” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 92). The facility that I work for can be very stressful at times. I have the opportunity to work days and nights. I have noticed a big difference in the teamwork on each shift. Our text describes four characteristics that are a foundation for all healthy teams: trust, mutual respect, consistent and visible support, and open and honest communication. I do think that if one of these characteristics is missing, teamwork cannot be accomplished.
I am very grateful for the people that I work with. I have been fortunate to be a part of a team that trusts each other. I can trust that my coworkers will show up for their assigned shifts and will carry out the tasks they are assigned. What a difference this makes in the care being given and happiness of the patients and staff. I feel that we respect each other and treat each others as equals regardless of our position. I know that I can count on the other staff on duty to step in and assist me if there is an issue that occurs. I also feel that there is open and honest communication among the staff. I have however, experienced the opposite of teamwork. When one person is unwilling to put in the work and effort to contribute to the team, it makes a drastic difference in the attitudes of the staff and the quality of care being given. I feel that it makes the shift much more stressful. It is hard to want to help out that person when they are unwilling to help you when needed. Teamwork is crucial in the success of positive patient outcomes.
References
Koloroutis, M. (2004). Relationship-based care: A model for transforming practice. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Health Care Management.
Swanson’s Five Caring Processes Assignment
I decided to compare one of my nurse managers with Swanson’s five caring processes.
The first process is Maintaining Belief.”A caring leader has faith in others to get through difficult or challenging events. A caring leader finds meaning in challenges and participates in solutions” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This particular nurse manager is respectful to all of the staff and patients and has a positive attitude at all times. She will go the extra mile for the patients that she interacts with during her interviews and is prompt at following through with her commitments.
Knowing-“A caring leader strives to understand an event as it has meaning to others” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager does not automatically make assumptions about issues and will assess each situation thoroughly and talk with each person involved to understand where they are coming from. She handles issues using a positive approach while still getting her point across as to what needs to be done.
The third caring process is Being With. “A caring leader is emotionally present and available to another” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager is very good at listening to others without forming judgments. You can tell that she genuinely cares about what you have to say and has put other things on hold to actively listen. She is very good at offering support and I look up to her as a role model.
Doing for-“A caring leader provides help and service to others as appropriate” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager is an active part in positively resolving issues that may occur at the facility. I think that actions speak louder than words; she shows through her actions that she cares and is willing to work the floor if the nurses are overwhelmed with the amount of work required of them. She will put all of her work on hold and tells us that our work is more important than hers at that particular moment. She will help until the nurses are caught up even if that means working later than normal.
The fifth caring process is Enabling and Informing. “A caring leader facilitates another’s development and passage through events and transitions” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager is very good at communicating with the rest of the staff and the patients. I believe that she is very knowledgeable and does well at educating the rest of us so that we can improve the care that we are giving.
Koloroutis states that “When leaders live these processes, they have a powerful impact on the way care is provided. Caring leaders create an environment in which caring relationships happen” (2004, p.57). I believe that this is true. This particular nurse manager stands out to me compared to the other three on the floor because you can tell that she genuinely cares about each of the staff and patients. I look up to her and strive to have the same attributes of caring.
References
Koloroutis, M. (2004). Relationship-based care: A model for transforming practice. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Health Care Management.
Chapter Five Assignment
The objective that I chose to discuss from chapter five is the process of communication. As cited in Patricia Kelly’s work, communication is “an interactive process that occurs when a person (the sender) sends a verbal or nonverbal message to another person (the receiver) and receives feedback” (2010, p. 125). Communication is used frequently in the health care setting to coordinate patient care.
The census has been lower than usual at the rehab facility that I work for. The management decided to move all of the patients to the same floor and has been rotating calling off the nursing staff. There is a unit manager for the first floor and one for the second floor. They have been taking turns rotating days that they are working as well. The unit manager for the second floor happened to be working with me yesterday. It was 08:50am and a call came upstairs from the social worker stating that a new patient would be arriving from the hospital at 09:00am. The unit manager began looking for a chart and paperwork, she knew nothing about the patient scheduled to come in. In further discussion with the social worker, she discovered that the first floor unit manager that was in charge the day before had known about the admit and did not communicate with her that this patient would be coming in early the next day and had not arranged for a chart to be made in advance. The result of this made for a rough transition for everyone involved. The nursing staff had to stop what they were doing to finish the preparations needed for the patient to come, the patient could probably sense that things were unprepared, and the unit manager had to throw a chart together in less than ten minutes. If the process of communication would have been used correctly, all of this could have been avoided, creating a much smoother transition for the patient. It is clear from this example that effective communication is crucial to the success of healthcare as a whole. A lot of communication in health care has shifted to an electronic mode; this can create a negative outcome if not used appropriately. It is important that we understand the most effective and appropriate way to communicate needed information.
The reason that I selected this objective was because as nurses, we are constantly communicating to patients, family members, physicians, social workers, and many other members of the health care team. It is important to understand and use the communication process properly in all situations and circumstances to achieve the best overall care for the patients that we are taking care of. I believe that this is a very important objective in my nursing practice and will use it throughout the rest of my career.
References
Kelley, P. (2010). Essentials of nursing leadership and management (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
Another discussion held in our Nursing and Leadership clinical course was one that involved us researching Swanson’s five caring processes and comparing them with our managers at our workplace. The five care processes are maintaining belief, knowing, being with, doing for, and enabling and informing. I learned that a successful manager incorporates these five processes into their lives in order to make a powerful impact on the care being provided. This has stuck with me throughout my nursing career and although I am not a manager, I plan to use this if I ever have the opportunity to lead a unit or facility. I will aslo use this knowledge in my everyday practice as I lead the team of practical nurses and nursing assistants that I am over on each shift.
The last assignment from my Nursing and Leadership course that helped to me achieve outcome five was our chapter five assignment where we were asked to discuss the process of communication. I read the process of communication and described a situation that had occurred at my place of employment as a result of bad communication. Overall, I have learned that communication is an essential part of being able to collaborate and negotiate as a member and leader within interdisciplinary health care teams to improve patient health outcomes and I plan on using these important communication skills in my future nursing practice.
Teamwork Discussion
“Teamwork requires a group of diverse members to focus on a shared purpose and to work together to fulfill that purpose” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 92). The facility that I work for can be very stressful at times. I have the opportunity to work days and nights. I have noticed a big difference in the teamwork on each shift. Our text describes four characteristics that are a foundation for all healthy teams: trust, mutual respect, consistent and visible support, and open and honest communication. I do think that if one of these characteristics is missing, teamwork cannot be accomplished.
I am very grateful for the people that I work with. I have been fortunate to be a part of a team that trusts each other. I can trust that my coworkers will show up for their assigned shifts and will carry out the tasks they are assigned. What a difference this makes in the care being given and happiness of the patients and staff. I feel that we respect each other and treat each others as equals regardless of our position. I know that I can count on the other staff on duty to step in and assist me if there is an issue that occurs. I also feel that there is open and honest communication among the staff. I have however, experienced the opposite of teamwork. When one person is unwilling to put in the work and effort to contribute to the team, it makes a drastic difference in the attitudes of the staff and the quality of care being given. I feel that it makes the shift much more stressful. It is hard to want to help out that person when they are unwilling to help you when needed. Teamwork is crucial in the success of positive patient outcomes.
References
Koloroutis, M. (2004). Relationship-based care: A model for transforming practice. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Health Care Management.
Swanson’s Five Caring Processes Assignment
I decided to compare one of my nurse managers with Swanson’s five caring processes.
The first process is Maintaining Belief.”A caring leader has faith in others to get through difficult or challenging events. A caring leader finds meaning in challenges and participates in solutions” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This particular nurse manager is respectful to all of the staff and patients and has a positive attitude at all times. She will go the extra mile for the patients that she interacts with during her interviews and is prompt at following through with her commitments.
Knowing-“A caring leader strives to understand an event as it has meaning to others” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager does not automatically make assumptions about issues and will assess each situation thoroughly and talk with each person involved to understand where they are coming from. She handles issues using a positive approach while still getting her point across as to what needs to be done.
The third caring process is Being With. “A caring leader is emotionally present and available to another” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager is very good at listening to others without forming judgments. You can tell that she genuinely cares about what you have to say and has put other things on hold to actively listen. She is very good at offering support and I look up to her as a role model.
Doing for-“A caring leader provides help and service to others as appropriate” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager is an active part in positively resolving issues that may occur at the facility. I think that actions speak louder than words; she shows through her actions that she cares and is willing to work the floor if the nurses are overwhelmed with the amount of work required of them. She will put all of her work on hold and tells us that our work is more important than hers at that particular moment. She will help until the nurses are caught up even if that means working later than normal.
The fifth caring process is Enabling and Informing. “A caring leader facilitates another’s development and passage through events and transitions” (Koloroutis, 2004, p. 57). This nurse manager is very good at communicating with the rest of the staff and the patients. I believe that she is very knowledgeable and does well at educating the rest of us so that we can improve the care that we are giving.
Koloroutis states that “When leaders live these processes, they have a powerful impact on the way care is provided. Caring leaders create an environment in which caring relationships happen” (2004, p.57). I believe that this is true. This particular nurse manager stands out to me compared to the other three on the floor because you can tell that she genuinely cares about each of the staff and patients. I look up to her and strive to have the same attributes of caring.
References
Koloroutis, M. (2004). Relationship-based care: A model for transforming practice. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Health Care Management.
Chapter Five Assignment
The objective that I chose to discuss from chapter five is the process of communication. As cited in Patricia Kelly’s work, communication is “an interactive process that occurs when a person (the sender) sends a verbal or nonverbal message to another person (the receiver) and receives feedback” (2010, p. 125). Communication is used frequently in the health care setting to coordinate patient care.
The census has been lower than usual at the rehab facility that I work for. The management decided to move all of the patients to the same floor and has been rotating calling off the nursing staff. There is a unit manager for the first floor and one for the second floor. They have been taking turns rotating days that they are working as well. The unit manager for the second floor happened to be working with me yesterday. It was 08:50am and a call came upstairs from the social worker stating that a new patient would be arriving from the hospital at 09:00am. The unit manager began looking for a chart and paperwork, she knew nothing about the patient scheduled to come in. In further discussion with the social worker, she discovered that the first floor unit manager that was in charge the day before had known about the admit and did not communicate with her that this patient would be coming in early the next day and had not arranged for a chart to be made in advance. The result of this made for a rough transition for everyone involved. The nursing staff had to stop what they were doing to finish the preparations needed for the patient to come, the patient could probably sense that things were unprepared, and the unit manager had to throw a chart together in less than ten minutes. If the process of communication would have been used correctly, all of this could have been avoided, creating a much smoother transition for the patient. It is clear from this example that effective communication is crucial to the success of healthcare as a whole. A lot of communication in health care has shifted to an electronic mode; this can create a negative outcome if not used appropriately. It is important that we understand the most effective and appropriate way to communicate needed information.
The reason that I selected this objective was because as nurses, we are constantly communicating to patients, family members, physicians, social workers, and many other members of the health care team. It is important to understand and use the communication process properly in all situations and circumstances to achieve the best overall care for the patients that we are taking care of. I believe that this is a very important objective in my nursing practice and will use it throughout the rest of my career.
References
Kelley, P. (2010). Essentials of nursing leadership and management (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.