ANSWER DISCUSSION…AT LEAST 2 REFERENTS AND NOT 5 YEARS PASS ..THANK YOU
Workplace Environment Assessment
The results from the Clark Healthy Workplace inventory revealed that the organization that I work for is a moderately healthy workplace with a score of 86. This inventory evaluation was impressive and based on these results the organization is recognized as a moderately healthy environment.
I have had a positive experience working in the population health department over the past four years, prior to that, working in the operating room in the same institution was completely the opposite. The two departments are completely different viewpoints of the organization. While in the OR there were many cases of incivility and workplace bullying. In my current position, there is constant communication and teamwork. There have been a lot of changes made to the organization within the past ten years including moving to become a highly reliable organization, that has developed many shared governing bodies, professional growth, and effective communication with transparency of the organization. There is a strong emphasis on self-care and wellness and there are many holistic certified nurses. Even during transition periods with upgrades to electronic health records, the management staff continues to work with employees and offers a teamwork strategy and patient safety is at the core.
What surprised me from the results? I did not think that the organization was as healthy as it is. I had not realized how far it has come over the few past years. In my previous role as an OR nurse, I was often caught off guard by the way people communicated to each other and how rude and obnoxious doctors could be in an operating room while the patient was fast asleep, this affected morale and new management was working to improve overall workplace environment safety. As cited by Griffin and Clark (2014), the TeamSTEPPS approach provides a framework to improve patient safety, this program was very successful in our organization, and CUS- Concerned, Uncomfortable, and Safety is the acronym our organization uses when there is something related to patient safety that needs to be addressed. Prior to conducting this assessment, I believed that the organization was heading towards healthier practices and that the work environment had become safer.
The results suggest that the health of the organization is moderately healthy with room for growth, yet with a score of 86 on the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, this does explain civility, which I do believe can be siloed. Every department has different personalities and cultures, within the past five years a new Chief Safety Officer took his role to the utmost seriousness of making the hospital a safe and secure location, with his leadership, many changes have been made to improve the overall health of the organization. Collaboration and communication amongst all departments have improved with daily safety huddles. Respect and trust must be established by leadership to create healthy environments (Broome & Marshall, 2021).
Theory from Article
Cognitive rehearsal theory as discussed by Griffin & Clark (2014) empowers nurses to address behaviors that are uncivil. This tool can be applied to all disciplines in the healthcare environment. Nurses that are educated about such behaviors and ways of dealing with them properly have a positive sense of self. Any work environment that is uncivil draws negative attention and poor morale, which can affect patient care. With the use of cognitive rehearsal, nurses are prepared to deal with these unfortunate circumstances. Nurse leaders have a responsibility to create civil environments (Broome & Marshall, 2021).
Our organization would benefit from a program for new nurses during our onboarding orientation to help impact the workplace environment with the proper education about lateral violence. TeamSTEPPS program was beneficial and could be of use within the organization again. Continuing education should be a part of annual mandatory education for all nurses about workplace violence and there is a crisis intervention team that could be utilized if necessary and leaders can promote open-mindedness and acceptance to provide ways to deal with incivility.
References:
Broome, M., & Marshall, E.S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). Springer.
Griffin, M., & Clark, C. M. (2014). Revisiting cognitive rehearsal as an intervention against incivility and lateral violence in nursing; 10 years later. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 45(12), 535-542.
