Barbara Norris and the General Surgery Unit leadership crisis

Norris Case Analysis

Section 1 – Introduction to the Organization

• Barbara Norris was the new nurse manager at the General Surgery Unit (GSU) of Eastern Massachusetts Medical Center (EMMC).

• She oversaw a unit of 33 staff, including 25 RNs and 8 patient care assistants (PCAs).

• However, in just six months she had lost 5 RNs.

• The EMMC needed to keep costs down and Norris needed to find a way to succeed given limited resources.

• However, the previous nurse manager had done a poor job of record keeping and leadership and multiple issues needed to be addressed (Groysberg et al., 2009).

Section 2 – Leadership Problems/Issues Facing the Organization

• The GSU had a history of poor performance, with high staff turnover and low morale.

• There was a lack of trust between the nursing staff and the previous nurse manager, resulting in poor communication and a lack of accountability.

• The nursing staff was demoralized, with low job satisfaction and a high rate of burnout.

• There was a lack of coordination between the nursing staff and the surgical team, resulting in delays in patient care.

• The GSU was facing increasing pressure to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs (patient satisfaction scores were average but trending downward) (Groysberg et al., 2009).

Section 3 – Recommendations

• Barbara Norris needed to build trust with the nursing staff and establish open lines of communication.

• She needed to develop a clear vision and goals for the unit and involve the nursing staff in the planning process.

• Norris needed to establish a culture of accountability and recognize the achievements of the nursing staff.

• She needed to work closely with the surgical team to improve coordination and reduce delays in patient care.

• Norris needed to implement evidence-based practices to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

Section 4 – Metrics or Indicators of Success

• Increase in nursing staff job satisfaction and decrease in staff turnover.

• Improvement in patient satisfaction scores and reduction in patient complaints (Groysberg et al., 2009).