Free «Nursing Leadership and Governance» Essay

Summary

The paper will seek to study the nature of improving the motivation of the staff within the emergency units. It will examine the issues, which lead to the powerlessness of the employees in the organization. To enhance the motivation of the workers, the nursing manager should consider the various sources of encouraging including the delegation of duties. In addition, the paper will examine the relevant information needed to make a decision on the return of the 8 hours shift in the hospital. Some information to be collected includes the obtaining of the reports on the amount of medication errors that occurred after the extended 8 hours shift. Other data includes the meal and rest time, consent from the employees to work overtime, vacation of the nurses, and number of the employees exempted from overtime. It is also important to understand the nature of shared governance to enhance cooperation and collaboration of the workers in order to implement policy change.

1. A)

Two main issues, which could be associated with the low morale in the emergency units, include the relationship between the doctors and the nurses and the high rates of turnover of the new personnel. When there exists the adverse relationship between the nurses and the doctors, the staff is highly likely to feel discouraged in the hospital. For instance, the doctors might not be valuing and appreciating the contributions and work the subordinates do within the unit. The high level of turnover would demotivate the existing staff making them powerless. It summarizes the sources of powerlessness among the workers in the emergency institution.

B)

One of the functions of the manager is to promote the operations of the department including handling the abilities and personalities of each employee. By sharing her enthusiasm with the staff, Nancy would empower them to work harder in the unit. The sharing of power enables the workers to take part in the decision-making process through exchanging information and makes the staff accountable for the outcomes. It also enhances the creativity and risk-taking of the employee, which promotes personal and professional growth (Kear, Duncan, Fansler, & Hunt, 2012). Apart from sharing energy, the delegation of duties and assignments is a source of power for the workers. The delegation of the tasks and obligations would provide strength and authority and would make the staff accountable for their results. Additional training and the better understanding of each of the employees is another source of encouragement. It fosters the motivation and improves the relationships among the coworkers.

C)

For Nancy to encourage the staff to become empowered, she should use various approaches to instill a sense of enthusiasm as well as reduce the staff’s feelings of powerlessness. Firstly, Nancy should hearten the employees through her actions and communication. It includes continuous interactions and communication with the staff to ensure that their needs are handled. Interactive and constant intercourse with the staff makes them feel important in the organization. Secondly, Nancy should develop various committees and sensitize the workers on the importance of their actions and the activities undertaken in the committees. The committee would help to improve the visibility of the nurses in the workplace making them motivated.

Most importantly, Nancy should encourage the staff to take on tasks and responsibilities that would result in the specific individual becoming aware of the outcomes. Such step motivates the employees to continue improving their contribution in order to promote the overall nursing outcomes. Nancy should also conduct training forums and conferences to provide additional skills strengthening the existing nursing skills and knowledge (Kelly, 2011). When the staff obtains new proficiency and experience, they will feel motivated to work harder using the new information. Training and learning the new tricks also empowers the workers to accomplish complex tasks in the organization. Therefore, Nancy can empower the staff through the identified approaches including training and interaction with the employees among others.

2. A)

While attending the council meeting, it would be important to collect data from the staff within the unit. Firstly, it is necessary to get information on the amount of medical errors that occurred after the 8 hours shift was extended. This report would help in understanding the consequences of the extra hours in the institution. The complaints from patients are also important as they should be collected to understand the problem of medical errors. If the number of complaints is high, I would recommend the council to return the 8 hours shift. Most importantly, the views and opinions of the nurses about this issue are also significant. I would collect the ideas of the employees who support the extended 8 hours shift and then those who advocate the return of the 8 hours shift. The information about the workers who are affected by the night shifts would be important as well. Finally, I would obtain data on the overtime costs incurred by the unit because of the extended shift. If the extended shift leads to increased costs of salaries and operations than the 8 hours shift, the information will help to recommend the return of the latter one.

B)

Other information I would obtain before attending the meeting includes the meal and the rest time, consent from the employees to work overtime, vacation of the nurses, and the number of the workers exempted from overtime. The additional information is important in getting adequate data to decide whether it is reasonable to return to 8-hour shift. For example, the meal and rest time information would assist in understanding the amount of time spent on resting and eating. The vacation of the nurses would aid to understand the availability of the staff to meet the demands of the night shifts. As a result, before attending the meeting the additional information should be gathered to help in the decision of whether to return to 8-hour shifts.