Short-Range Goal: Appoint persons who are responsible for retrieving and providing information.

One challenge that night personnel in a hospital face is the fact that technical and information personnel, along with the resources that they provide, are only available during daytime hours. In order to handle the issue, the first step will be to determine the extent of the problem.

During the first three days of the two-week period, interviews will therefore be conducted with night staff to determine their information and resource needs. The findings will then be compared with the availability of resources to the day staff to determine what can realistically be accomplished to reach the long-range goal.

On the first day, applications will be invited from the night staff for the position of information assistant at each particular floor. Such persons will have to have a proven record of reliability and ethics, as well as at least 5 consistent years of work on their particular floor.

During Day 5 of the 14 day period, at least three persons from the night staff will then be appointed for each floor of the hospital in order to help night staff with their resource and information needs. These persons will undergo training for 2-3 days in order to familiarize them with the hospital's information systems. The most promising applicant will be the information manager, with the other two being on standby if the manager is...

One of these assistants will be required to be available for the needs of staff at all times. Information and resources are at least as important to night nursing staff as for the daytime staff. Therefore it should be a priority to ensure that these professionals have everything they need to help them accomplish excellent patient care.
In conclusion, the role of the nursing educator is vital in terms of optimizing patient care. In terms of the above goal, the nursing educator can facilitate the duties of nurses to their patients by ensuring that the professionals have all the information they need. A lack of adequate information could lead to a dangerous lack of excellence in patient care. Through regular training sessions, it will be ensured that all nurses receive the information and training they required.

Through interviews and regular monitoring and testing, the educator can also identify problems in the quality of nursing work, which will lead to the further identification and implementation of the staff's educational needs. By filling these needs, the role of the educator is to ensure excellence of care for patients and excellent knowledge for nurses.

Source

Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow. (2010). Nurse Educator. http://www.nursesource.org/nurse_educator.html