Professional Issues and Nursing Culture

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Professional Issues and Nursing Culture

Organization Culture Assessment

Culture is a crucial facet of an organization, including healthcare facilities. Culture has a significant impact on clinical processes and, ultimately, patient health and safety (Mannion & Davies, 2018). Culture also influences the leadership and happiness of healthcare personnel. An assessment of culture within the mental health care facility revealed a lack of nursing education programs in using EBP for fall prevention and reduction in Alzheimer’s patients, and a nursing culture is resistant to change(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture). Typically, culture in a healthcare context describes the visible and invisible aspects of health service delivery and their manifestation in patterns of care. Usually, culture in a healthcare institution is tied to the attitudes, behaviours, believes, and expectations, which determines how various aspects of health are delivered.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

Strategic Plan

Problem: Inadequate EBP nursing knowledge of fall prevention and nursing culture that is resistant to changes

Purpose: The nursing intervention aims to prevent and reduce falls among Alzheimer’s patients within the mental healthcare facility.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

Nursing Intervention: Training nurses and educating patients on EBP of preventing and reducing patient falls.

Goals:  

• Equip patients with knowledge of the risks of falls and their contribution to fall prevention.
• Equip the nursing staff with knowledge of the risks of falls and implement EBP strategies.
• Establish a fall prevention strategy for the mental healthcare facility.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

Action Plan:

• Create a fall-prevention education guideline for nurses and patients
• Evaluate patients’ and nurses’ awareness and knowledge of evidence-based fall prevention practices.
• Train nurses and educate patients on evidence-based fall prevention strategies.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)
• Analyze the rate of fall before and after implementation(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

Expected Outcomes: Reduced falls and fall-related clinical outcomes and direct medication cost among geriatric Alzheimer’s patients within the project scope.

References

Mannion, R., & Davies, H. (2018). Understanding organizational culture for healthcare quality improvement. BMJ, 363. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k4907

Professional Issues and Nursing Culture: Shift Patterns(Solution)

Shift patterns often lead to long shifts, night shifts, and working on holidays, and nurses are often not involved in the decision-making process when allocating shifts. Long shifts, night shifts, and working during holidays have been normalized in the healthcare environment despite the evidence indicating the negative effects on nurses and their ability to offer effective and efficient care. Long shifts, night shifts, and working during holidays are experienced at the workplace to cushion staff shortages and increased demand for healthcare services. Normally, nurses work 10- or 12-hour shifts, but the extra tasks like administrative engagements and shift changes for specific procedures frequently make shifts longer than expected. Working for long periods and during non-working hours is physically and mentally taxing, and little has been done to address or reduce shift hours at the workplace.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

Article link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8367008/

Description

Ejebu et al. (2021) explore nurses’ experiences and preferences regarding shift patterns. The authors recognize that nurses are often not involved in the decision-making process around shift patterns. The article’s evidence indicates that nurses strive to offer high-quality care despite the intense and pressuring working conditions and the associated physical and mental fatigue and exhaustion they experience. Per the article, consulting nurses before implementing or giving nurses autonomy to self-roster is key to preferences for or adapting to a particular shift pattern. Additionally, giving nurses off days can help mitigate the adverse effects of long, early or night shifts. Notably, the article identified personal characteristics and circumstances like age, experience years, and caring responsibilities as influencing the impact of shift work and patterns on nurses’ experiences and preferences. The authors conclude that shift patterns’ organization in ways that adversely impact nurses’ health and well-being, job performance, and quality of care provided and recommend involving nurses in planning shift work and patterns.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

Reaction

The article addresses a relatable professional nursing issue in shift patterns. The article reviews evidence regarding nurses’ experience and preferences on shift patterns. It supports my experiences with shift patterns as it recognizes the adversity of long working hours, working holidays, and night shifts on the health and well-being of nurses. It also acknowledges that nurses are not consulted when planning shift work and patterns. Generally, the article covers all details around shift patterns and offers reliable and robust evidence about the issue and how it can be addressed to mitigate the negative effects associated with it.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

Elements of Nursing Culture That Are Identified as Contributors to the Problem

The key elements of nursing culture identified as contributing to the problem are effective communication, nurses’ involvement in decision-making, and a healthy working environment. Nurses feel less involved in the decision-making process when planning work shifts and shift patterns, translating to feelings of their opinions and preferences not being heard or valued. When deciding shift patterns, consulting nurses would help make them feel valued and heard. Consultation is part of effective communication to gather nurses’ preferences and experiences around shift patterns to inform decision-making. A healthy working environment supports nurses and ensures they perform optimally. However, an unhealthy working environment would be marked by developing shift patterns that are detrimental to nurses’ health and well-being, which includes having nurses working for long hours and during non-work hours. Promoting effective communication, consulting nurses in decision-making, and a healthy working environment would help promote nurses’ health and well-being and facilitate optimal performance.(Professional Issues and Nursing Culture)

References

Ejebu, O. Z., Dall’Ora, C., & Griffiths, P. (2021). Nurses’ experiences and preferences around shift patterns: A scoping review. PloS one, 16(8), e0256300. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256300