WK 4 D1 & D2 & Essay
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WK 4 D1 & D2 & Essay
Part 1
Nonetheless, one of the principles of effective teamwork involves effective communication. A team should itemize and consistently improve its communication skills (Griffith & White, 2005). Nonetheless, this communication is evident between Nurse Patterson and the Charge Nurse. Her teamwork with her fellow Charge Nurse enabled her to confront Dr. White regarding his wrong medication and thus facilitated an opportunity of resolving the matter in front of the administrator. In my role as the administrator, my responsibility will involve encouraging the use of conflict resolution in order to solve the issue. As such, in articulating conflict resolution, five strategies will be probable in addressing the situational needs. These strategies comprise Bargaining, Problem solving, Voting, Research and Third-Party Meditation (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011). Bargaining involves promising to perform an obligation with respect to the party. Problem solving includes assessing the options and its implications. Voting entails democratic selection of an option. Research includes conducting a study on the issue for purposes of information. Third-Party Meditation involves the use of an outside party in order to resolve the conflicting issue. Hence, in order to carry out an intelligent dialogue with Dr. White, I will need information regarding the patient, the ailments, the prescription as well as the alternatives regarding the ailments. Nonetheless, an upper-level manager should also be in the dialogue in order to ensure objectivity, as well as decision-making based on the results of the resolution. Hence, one of the strategies that will mostly ensure success is the Third-Party Meditation, which will involve the use of a third party, the upper-level manager, and the inclusion of the listed alternatives, costs and benefits and an evaluation plan for each alternative (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011).
The ramifications for Dr. White involve the manner in which he exuded abrasiveness even after receiving a complaint that his prescription was wrong. Nonetheless, the manner in which Dr. White treated both nurses outlines a larger scope of the treatment nurses face from the physicians within the healthcare environment. In addition, much of the conflict between the nurses and physicians revolves around the assertion that physicians possess a wide experience of physician education compared to Registered Nurses. However, failing to cooperate as a team between physicians and nurses generates considerable problems that possess the capability of increasing mortality costs within the healthcare providers. In this case, Dr. White demonstrated disruptive behavior by being abrasive and refusing to check the unusual nature of the dose. Nonetheless, the ramifications for Dr. White based on his disruptive and harsh behavior towards the nurses involved using strategies such as sessions for counseling. Counseling sessions will provide the physician with the opportunity of undergoing psychotherapy in order to ensure that the physician bears a new attitude regarding the situation. Another ramification that will be more preferable regarding this situation involves the use of disciplinary actions, or even termination on a considerable degree (Buchbinder & Shanks, (2011). Disciplinary actions or terminations will prove fundamental since they will illustrate the stern nature of the organization in taking care of the needs of patients, over the attitudes of the physicians who express disruptive behaviors and endanger their patients’ lives. This is in accordance to the implications that the prescriptions provided for the patient by Dr. White may have on the organization if the patient were to experience further complications resulting from the unusual dose. As such, the ramifications involving the actions of Dr. White based on his rebellious acts towards Patterson’s collaborative efforts are justifiable.
The collaboration of healthcare professionals provides an effective stance towards the facilitation of communication within healthcare organizations. Since the communication between physicians and nurses is usually minimal, nurses possess a communication network that allows them to collaborate effectively and efficiently in the provision of healthcare services, as well as the mitigation of problems. Nonetheless, the notion of collaboration underpins the distinction among healthcare facilities. According to Buchbinder, & Shanks, (2011), “the professional staff needs to work closely and collaboratively to meet patient needs”. Furthermore, the importance of collaboration among healthcare professionals gains illustration from the actions taken by Registered Nurse, Mary Patterson and the Charge Nurse. The collaboration nature between the two nurses provided the opportunity to evoke consideration of the unusual prescription that Dr. White made. Furthermore, the collaborative action between the administrator and Nurse Patterson also encouraged a milieu of interdependency between both personnel irrespective of their different positions within the healthcare organization. Nonetheless, the ramifications arising from the actions of Patterson and the administrator are positive. This is because the action both individuals performed resulting from their collaboration provided them with the opportunity of ensuring the safety of the patient first before the administration of the dose, which would pose direct consequences on the life of the patient, and indirect consequences on the healthcare organization. Furthermore, the effect arising from the collaboration between the nurse and the administrator facilitated the inclusion of different professionals in decision-making with respect to addressing the short-term problem as a team. Additionally, the collaborative efforts of Patterson and the administrator facilitated the mandate for physicians and nurses, which comprises advocacy for patients and their respective families at the personal level.
Indeed, human resources form a fundamental component of healthcare functions to conscript and preserve high standard and habitually, highly expert employees. As such, human resources management constitutes strategic and administrative actions. Regarding strategic actions, human resources management should implement measures that enable them to view their employees as strategic assets especially in competitive advantage (Tseng & Streltzer, 2008). This is because the performance of an organization relies significantly on individual performance. Moreover, healthcare organizations need to identify the needs of the existing and future work force in order to formulate strategies that will focus on achieving the needs of the organization. For instance, the organization, in meeting workforce needs, performs workplace-planning actions such as employee recruitment programs, which focus on selecting employees in order to achieve efficiency within the organizations. On an administrative perspective, healthcare organizations comprise of a variety of particular tasks and action procedures that require application in order to support the management of human resources to guarantee considerable degrees of performance (Knipper, Akinci & Soydan, 2010). Examples of administrative actions comprise activities based on the management of benefits and compensation, which include the provision of employee benefits such as Health and Life Insurance, vacations, sick leaves, holidays and other benefits, which act as motivational strategies for employees and thus positively affect their performance within healthcare organizations. In my vocation as an administrator within a small physician group that lacks a human resource department, my role as an administrator will focus on the combination of both workplace planning and retention of employees. Thus, my administrative duties based on these two aspects of human resources management will involve integrating approaches that will focus on the recruitment, selection, assessing and terminating of workers as well as the performance of non-clinical operations (Fagerstrom, 2009).
As mentioned, human resources management comprises the inculcation of strategic and administrative actions in order to assess the employee needs provide a strategic and competitive edge for the organization and focus on the management of human resources thus encouraging the performance of employees within the organization. Hence, one domain within the category of administrative action involves workplace planning. Usually, workplace planning is common within patient care services. Manpower planning as an administrative function is essential for patient care services (HSOs). Usually, for every position created for the HSOs, there needs to be an approximate of the quantity of faculty members required to perform the respective responsibilities within the current period. In addition, there has to be a forecasted projection of the amount of faculty members required in the future. The identification of existing faculty members illustrates the current performance of the organization with respect to volume statistics (Mannion, Brown, Beck & Lunt, 2011). As such, workplace planning will determine whether the organization needs to increase, downsize, or even create motivational incentive for its current workforce in order to enhance the performance of the organization. This coincides with the strategic action of employee retention and engagement, which focuses on recognizing and tackling the necessities of the current employees in order to ensure satisfaction and a need to stay in the organization. This is in accordance with the assertion that satisfied workers actually perform exceptionally in the provision of services and health care. Therefore, through the administrative function of manpower planning, a HSO can focus on applying employee retention and engagement as a strategic action in order to facilitate the retention of employees and in the event, determine whether it is possible to downsize or add novel employees to the current workforce within the organization. As such, the actions of manpower planning and employee retention facilitate the management of employees and strategic planning of the organization.
An Employee Suggestion Program (ESP) simply involves a platform made specifically for imploring employee suggestions within the organization. Usually, HSOs consider using ESPs in order to endorse creativity among employees and assist in the identification of enhancements within processes, as well as the accomplishment of results within the organization. Typically, an ESP functions simplistically by requesting suggestions from employees in the workplace environment. The objective of the ESP is to allow employees address current situations within their workplace surroundings and offer suggestions that grant the opportunity to achieve organizational goals and thus, facilitate the realization of the suggestions. ESPs usually comprise a formal structure. In addition, these programs undergo broad communication throughout the workplace and management from the human resources faculty. According to Dreachslin, Gilbert, and Malone (2013), existing ESPs embrace modern models of suggestion by incorporating components of electronic compliance and Web-based utilities, as well as official recognition and remuneration (as cited in Shepheard, 2011). Nonetheless, ESPs constitute a fundamental effort by HSOs to encourage originality and ingenuity in the generation of ideas that will assist HSOs. This is due to the assertion that the employees within HSOs, as the main sources of services and tasks, possess full knowledge regarding the matters requiring improvement and as such, may possess innovative ideas regarding the improvement of such ideas. The structure of ESPs integrates the use of a problem-solving approach and thus forms the basis for the solicitation of employee suggestions in assisting the management in rectifying or improving workplace issues. Furthermore, organizational improvements comprise one of the goals for ESPs. Furthermore, through organizational improvements, ESPs provide an environment that facilitates employee satisfaction, which is vital for the successful performance of a HSO or any other healthcare organization.
Part 2
The strategic planning procedure for the Community South Medical Center involves the use of a SWOT Situational Planning Strategy, in order to identify the needs of the organization within its internal and external environment. As such, the Community South Medical Center encompasses objectives aimed at the provision of effectual health services to the members of the population it serves. Nonetheless, the main need of the organization based on its current objective involves the enhancement of health services with respect to the population it serves. Therefore, in order to conduct an environmental scan on Community South Medical Center, it is essential to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and weaknesses concerning the respective need.
Regarding the factor of strengths, one of the strengths of the Community South Medical Center based on its need includes the patient satisfaction rate. Apparently, the satisfaction rate among the organization’s patients averages at 95 percent, which indicates the quality services that the organization provides to its patients. Furthermore, the commendable patient satisfaction rate for Community South Medical Center possesses an unlikely effect on the staff. Since the satisfaction rate attracts further clients towards accessing the services the organization provides, it can be proven that Community South Medical Center indeed experiences a shortage in clinical staff comprising registered nurses, respiratory therapists and medical technologists. As such, in the event that the organization possesses a commendable strength in the provision of services based on the patient satisfaction rate, an identified shortage in clinical staff due to an increase in the number of patients could actually affect the provision of quality services.
Concerning the weaknesses, one weakness of Community South Medical Center involves the decline of the organization’s compliance with the standards of The Joint Commission (TJC). The standards of the TJC conform to the notion of quality management, which illustrates the provision of quality and standard services by a healthcare organization. Furthermore, former compliance with the TJC standards based on quality management illustrates the organization’s possession of the Balridge Award for Excellence and as such, its exceptional reputation. The Balridge Award rewards an organization for excellent performance (Wear & Aultman, 2006). Nonetheless, the organization’s recent performance in complying with TJC standards based on the conduction of internal audits outlines a considerable weakness especially regarding the reputation of Community South Medical Center within its surrounding environs. As such, a decline in compliance with TJC’s standards illustrates the organization’s inferior standards especially in the performance of internal audits.
Nonetheless, the Community South Medical Center possesses an opportunity based on the increase in the rates of Medicaid provided to the organization for medical assistance. In order to cater for the needs of the shifting population, as well as the enhancement in the provision of health services, a considerable increase in the provision of Medicaid by 20% to 25% provides the Community Medical South Center with the opportunity to augment the medical services it provides the shifting population. Furthermore, Medicaid, which focuses on the provision of healthcare coverage to the medically destitute irrespective of age, gender, physical or mental condition, will allow the organization to focus on the needs of the shifting population by ensuring that it covers the financially challenged including the elderly, children and women within the encompassing society (Walker & Carayon, 2009). As such, the organization will be able to provide medical services to other members within the organization’s surroundings and thus imply a shift within its financial mix with an increase towards equity and a decrease towards debt.
Alternatively, the Community South Medical Center faces the threat of the decrease in the provision of Medicare. As indicated, the rate of Medicare support for patients within the organization decreased by 12 percent to 35 percent. This poses a threat for the organization especially in the provision of medical services to the majority of its patients who comprise the elderly. Usually, Medicare reserves cater majorly for the elderly above 65 years of age (Dreachslin, 2008). As such, since the Community South Medical Center is situated in an older neighborhood, it is evident that most of the clients that access its services comprise the elderly. Furthermore, the community encompassing the healthcare organization is shifting towards a predominantly elderly population. Therefore, the Community South Medical Center stands to lose a considerable base of its clients who constitute the elderly based on the effect arising from the provision of Medicare reserves.
The strategic mission of the organization comprises the statement of purpose. It focuses on recognizing the functions and operations of the organization, the client of the organization and the manner in which the organization in recognizing its tasks to the respective customer. In accordance to Community South Medical Center, the strategic mission and plan for the organization does not necessarily require revision. This is because of the change that occurred within the organization’s internal and external environment after the passage of the three years. Nonetheless, Shepherd (2011) acknowledges that the mission, vision and values of an organization require a change with respect to the change in the environment. Regardless, this is not reason enough to facilitate a revision of the organization’s mission and strategic plan based on the various changes that the environment surrounding the Community South Medical Center, as well as its internal environment.
As such, concerning the Community South Medical Center, the CEO should not focus on revising the mission and the strategic plan of the organization based on the issues encompassing the organization within its respective environment. However, what the CEO should consider doing in place of revising the strategic plan is to conduct an extensive market research for the year in order to establish a long-term and potentially successful strategic plan for the Community South Medical Center. As such, instead of investing resources such as time and finances in the deduction of a strategic plan, the CEO can focus on carrying out a yearly assessment that will provide the organization with the necessary information to create an efficient long-term and extensive strategic plan. Conducting a yearly assessment for the Community South Medical Center will provide the organization with the opportunity to appraise and determine the current consistent risks and opportunities that face the organization in its respective environment, and thus allow it to formulate a strategic plan that will cater for the visible essentials.
Furthermore, the yearly assessment will enable the CEO to focus on the issues encompassing the Community South Medical Center rapidly. This is because most of the issues surrounding the organization are short-term, based on their occurrence. For instance, the identified shortage in the clinical staff is not a matter that requires a convoluted process of strategic planning. Such an activity requires the involvement of the administrative staff that will perform administrative actions that will focus mainly on the effective approaches within the management of human resources, which will focus on ensuring the significant satisfaction of employees within Community South Medical Center. Furthermore, changes in financial mix arise from the changing business environment, which is deviating from well paying businesses to small shops and businesses. As such, an annual appraisal of this change will allow the organization to deduce a long-term plan that will focus on determining the actual impact behind the effects of the deviating business environment.
The strategic management team for Community South Medical Center will comprise several leadership positions that play an important role in the dissemination of strategic management. Foremost, one of the positions within the strategic management team will comprise the Chairman of the Strategic Management Committee. Alternatively, the Strategic Management Committee will be the facilitator of functions delving mainly on the tasks involving the strategic management of human resources and assignments that will focus on various objectives regarding the strategic management of the organization. For instance, the Committee will be responsible for the organization of the procedure for performing the annual assessment for the short term. The Committee will also be responsible for performing an organization of the planning process. The Committee will also be responsible for overseeing, scheduling and performing meetings between various departments involved in the administrative and strategic functions within the organization. Furthermore, the Committee will focus on development of strategic plans for the organization as the implementation of community values within the plans, as well.
Furthermore, the Strategic Planning Committee will involve itself in the reviewing of the mission, vision and values statement of the organization as well as the current objectives and goals of the organization. As such, the position tasked with overseeing the Strategic Planning Committee is the Chairperson of the Committee who will also be the chairperson of the organization’s Governing Board. Another position within the strategic management team will also comprise the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The CEO will be responsible for the creation of strategies and the organization of the strategies within long-term and short-term plans for Community South Medical Center. Additionally, the CEO will also be responsible for deriving tactics for competitive advantage and facilitating the deduced tactics within the organization’s internal environment. The strategic management team will also comprise the position of Administrator. The Administrator will be directly under the CEO. The main responsibility of the CEO will entail the organizing the organization departments into implementing the deduced tactics and strategies.
A market trend is an inclination respective of a certain market to locate towards a specific course over time (Khatri, Wells, McKune & Brewer, 2006). With respect to healthcare, market trend involves the movement of the health sector towards a particular direction for a certain period. In this case, the market trends within the environment of Community South Medical Center possess considerable effects on the organization. One market trend that is identifiable within the environment of Community South Medical Center is the change in population demographics. This is evident where the population surrounding the Community South Medical Center is advancing towards a dominant elderly population. This poses an effect on the services provided by the organization because it will not be able to diversify its services towards other constituents of the population such as the youth. Another market trend within the organization’s environment is the shift towards Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This is evident based on the assertion that businesses comprising well paying jobs are undergoing replacements by smaller shops and other small businesses. This will pose a considerable effect on the purchasing power of the consumers. The shift to SMEs implies a need to reduce the costs inherent to capital-intensive businesses. As such, the change is likely to reduce the amount of disposable income among clients and thus lead to a high demand for Medicare reserves in the short-term.
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