Answering the Prompts in Nursing Theories

Nursing Theories: Answering the Prompts- 2

Prompt 4:2

A healthy environment for the nurses is the one that enables them to give their best compassionate patient care with high work morale, low workplace violence, and better retention rates. For this, a healthy environment must have the characteristics such as expert communication, honest collaboration, efficacious decision-making, suitable staffing, considerable recognition, and reliable leadership (Gresh, 2020). As a leader, all the elements could be controlled to provide such a healthy working environment; for example, facilitation of true and honest communication at all levels should describe a working culture reflection of an apt environment. Some of the strategies for the promotion of a healthy environment can encompass allowing personalized workspaces for the employees, offering specialty compensation benefits, encouraging frequent break hours, flexibility for meeting hours with the nurse leader to discuss any work-related problems, and encouraging a work culture where collaboration thrives, and stress is relieved by mingling with each other in the form of clubs and gaming weekends, etc. (MI Blues Perspectives, 2019).

Prompt 5:1

The evidence-based practice for patient safety could be initiated by using the interventions to decrease the numbers of diagnostic errors, efforts for reducing the errors in care transition, and utilizing simulation exercises to improve patient safety (Wachter, Pronovost & Shekelle, 2013). These are considered high-risk patient events that should be avoided along with others mentioned in the evidence-based practice guidelines. It is believed that if small steps are taken to eradicate errors and enhance patient safety, they would help reduce mistakes in the other areas. The effectiveness of these strategies would be naturally observed in other departments with the evidence of strong application enforcements.

Prompt 5:2

The essential characteristics of an effective team inculcate having a clear direction, exhaustive communication channels, encouraging risk-taking features, obvious role determination for the team members, accepting responsibility as a team, team collaboration and trust, having unified goals, and facilitation of differences in opinions (Schoultz, 2017). Teamwork in healthcare is crucial for the expansion of roles of each member and make decisions at each hierarchical level and department-wise that would be beneficial for the provision of quality care (HRH Global Resource Center, n.a.).

Organizational communication occurs within the organization among its employees so that infusion of meanings and verbal expressions could be spread with verbal and nonverbal messages (Geek Tonight, 2021). Interprofessional communication takes place when health professionals communicate with the patients, their families, with each other, and the wider community for transparency in collaboration and delivering quality care service in an accountable way (Cunningham Center, 2019). Intra-professional communication occurs when the communication is between only one type of healthcare professionals, such as nurses with nurses.

Ineffective communication is the one that has barriers to its effectiveness, such as during practice, it was seen that the new nurse was sometimes not confident in expressing her concerns to her supervisors that caused problems for her delivery of quality care. She was confused about certain practice standards that created problems for her. Effective communication took place when the supervisor confronted her as he observed errors in her daily routine. When the supervisor asked her the problem in detail without being hesitant as he ensured her trust and respect, it allowed freeing herself of the fears and open up easily. Moreover, the staff should be coached and trained in the same way and encouraging trust and honesty in their communication for effectiveness in team collaboration.

Prompt 6:2

Self-care for nurses is highly mandatory as it reduces stress and job burnout which is essential for positive patient outcomes (Kelbach, 2021). Incorporating some self-care techniques includes having enough sleep and rest between the shifts, which could be achieved by creating a sleep-friendly environment in the restroom by darkening curtains, earplugs, pillows, etc. (University of Texas Arlington, 2017). Staying away from people who the nurse perceives as toxic should refrain so that stress-induced environments, negativity, and unconstructive communications should be avoided. Adapting to change that reflects personally should be enabled for giving the nurses opportunities for professional development as it is known to provide job engagement, satisfaction, and lower turnover rates.

Prompt 7:1

The institution can choose to chive Magnet status since it is the recognized program by the American Nurses Association for gaining excellence for nurses, formulating positive work environments that trigger improved outcomes for the nurses and the patients (Jones, 2017). The benefits of going through the intensive process entail higher job satisfaction, greater engagement and low turnover rates, advanced cultural competency that allows greater patient satisfaction levels, collaboration chances for teamwork and nursing leadership, better decision-making, and ongoing quality improvement for the entire organization. As I have not been associated with an institution trying to achieve Magnet status, the possible unfavorable effects could be discerned during implementation regarding the costs (Wood, n.a.). Staff timing and documentation require a greater investment of time as expected; however, the results outweigh the costs when observed benefits are gauged.

Prompt 7:2

The nurse leader can ensure that evidence-based practices (EBP) are implemented within the organization by expediting a culture and making available the resources for their application (Kueny et al., 2015). This could be done by transparent communication among all the levels of hierarchy and within all departments. Nurse employees know that they have administrative support for research exploitation, which catalyzes barriers to EBP implementation. The importance of EBP is realized because complex health decisions are made by the nurses in a short period when proper guidelines are accessible to them. The nurse leaders can guarantee that the staff utilizes them by continuous appraisal daily and quarterly. Patient outcomes and clinical audits would also help confirm that the staff is making effective use of EBP guidelines.

Prompt 8:1

The five core professional nursing values- dignity, integrity, autonomy, altruism, and social justice- are consistently required for a caring profession like nursing. As a nurse leader, all of these five elements would be used along the ethnic dimensions since the patients come from diverse backgrounds. The core ethical values should be reflected along the professional lines for a greater cause and the entire global community (Poorchangizi et al., 2019). Moreover, the nurse leaders could use the human and spiritual approaches for achieving enhanced patient outcomes so that the patients are connected with the interventions, therapies, and treatments and the cultural, religious, social values are kept close to the clinical practices.

Prompt 8:2

As a nurse leader, the ethical issues could include withholding information from the patients since the nursing management does not want to hurt the patient or his family’s feelings. However, American Nursing Association (ANA) does not allow this practice, and no matter what the circumstances are, with the right choice of words, the nurse leaders should be able to disseminate the information to the family and patient for the right treatment and precise outcomes (Duquesne University, 2020). In addition to that, the ethical issue of patient autonomy and refusing certain medications should be understood by the nurse leaders. They should also train the staff to know about their diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs about treatments. ANA suggests that it is against the nurse directives to accept their refusal since the nursing profession provides quality care. For that, nurse managers should comprehend patient concerns, cultural and spirituality affiliations through openness, respect, and honest communications.