Assignment Task: Respond to the following:
#1
We have consistently established in the literature that a healthy work environment for nurses positively correlates not only with improved patient outcomes but also with decreased rates of attrition. The two characteristics of a healthy nursing unit that resonate with me the most are safety, both physical and emotional, and high levels of communication and collaboration. As our textbook states, "According to the American Nurses Association, a healthy work environment is safe, empowering, and satisfying" (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2023, p. 104). Emotional safety includes avoiding cliques within the unit and leaders with open-door policies. I worked on a step-down unit that had quite a few senior nurses who had been working in this unit for many years. They had the potential to be a wealth of knowledge and help newer nurses learn and grow in their roles. Our manager at the time gave all of the Charge and Resource nurse shifts to these 5 or 6 nurses and never gave anyone else an opportunity to learn the roles. It created frustration among younger nurses who were a couple of years into their careers and interested in learning new skills and roles, and not being provided with the opportunity to do so. Emotional safety to me is largely knowing that I can trust my leadership to hear me when I need to talk or understand something. One of my favorite leaders I have ever worked for had an open-door policy, and if you walked in to talk, she put her phone in the desk drawer. You had her full attention. She created a safe space for the entire unit. And she did this for everyone; no one was ever excluded. We had a challenging nurse on the unit who could be very unkind to others, and this manager, while still addressing inappropriate treatment of co-workers, gave this nurse the same attention as everyone else. It created even more respect from the staff.
This is one solid way leaders can contribute to a healthy environment-simply being available to staff. Leaders can also contribute to a healthy environment by promoting a sense of belonging and autonomy (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2023).
This ties into high levels of communication. Leadership that is willing and available to talk can make or break a unit. A leader seeking buy-in from staff on new policies or even just the kind of culture they are trying to create needs to be willing to spend time talking with the staff and learning about them. Collaboration is key as well. In his book on leadership, Lee Cockerell emphasizes the importance of remembering that everyone is important. He tells stories of money saved at Disney by allowing employees to design new processes (Cockerell, 2008). True collaboration comes when leadership recognizes the strengths each individual brings to the unit.
One unhealthy work environment situation I have been involved in was opening an ECMO unit as part of our CICU. Now we all have the same manager and are a cohesive unit, but at the start, ECMO had its own manager. About 6 months in, she moved her office to another floor and was rarely seen on the unit. Communication began breaking down almost immediately, and it caused a lot of chaos on the unit. This leader contributed to the unhealthy environment by not being available to the staff. Need Assignment Help?
#2
Based on my nursing experience, team collaboration is a characteristic of a healthy work environment. I feel an overwhelming sense of relieve whenever a colleague of mine comes to me and asks me "Can I do something for you?", at the end of shift when I feel like I'm drowning. One simple way to foster team collaboration is by practicing yourself. Whenever you have downtime yourself, it's always important to check on other nurses who need assistance. This breeds team collaboration and makes it a normal day-to-day characteristic of a healthy work environment. Wintinessing healthcare professionals being cruel to each to each other is a situation I have witnesses too many times. For example, witnessing "nurses eating their young". This form of bullying, intimidation , or lack of support is a real issue that undermine the profession of nursing. It's a very uncomfortable situation whenever this is witnessed, because this form of abuse towards new nurses can lead to the never ending cycle of abuse. This is definitely one of the cons of nursing when it comes to becoming a new nurse or being oriented toma new unit.
Nurse leaders have a strong voice in identifying, preventing, and mitigating factor that contribute to an unhealthy work environment. Nurse leaders play a critical role in shaping the culture of healthcare teams by modeling and reinforcing healthy personal and professional behaviors. One strategy a nurse leader can implement to promote healthy persona and professional behaviors is to create an environment where team members feel safe to speak up, ask questions, and admit mistakes without ear of humiliation or punishment. Psychological safety promotes mental well-being, reduces stress, and fosters collaboration. According to Shirey (2021), psychological safety is essential for team effectiveness and professional growth, as it empowers nurses to engage in problem-solving and innovation without fear of reprisal. Another strategy a nurse leader can use to healthy personal and professional behaviors is by promoting work-life balance through flexible scheduling. Offering flexible scheduling encourages time off which can help prevent burnout and improve job satisfaction.