Leadership is an important construct in all sectors of the economy. In each industry, there seems to be an emphasis of the critical role played by leaders in the quest to achieve success. As a result, leaders bear the burden of blame for the failures that may be experienced in a team set-up. More often than not the administrative personnel will be relieved of their duties following significant failure rather than the subordinates who work for them. The same case is evident in the health sector where leaders in different departments must develop effective practices that will help empower their followers as they tackle the daily operations. Nursing leadership in healthcare has become increasingly important in the quest for improved patient care. These individuals will require a unique set of skills that associate with organizational performance and healthcare as they continue to experience the changes and reforms of the industry. The following research paper evaluates concepts and practices that nurse leaders should be accustomed to when dealing with multiple teams and seeking effective measures to engage staff members while ensuring significant improvement of the patient outcomes.
A. Create a performance data scorecard you could use to focus on outcome measures in your healthcare organization in which you do the following:
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1. Identify the patient population being addressed.
The Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City, MO is one of the nationally ranked institutions in its provision of pediatric care. The organization includes a Level 1 Trauma center and Level IV intensive care nursery among other specialty care services offered. They include nephrology, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, gastroenterology and GI surgery, pulmonology, urology, cancer, diabetes & endocrinology, and cardiology & heart surgery. There are multiple subspecialties that the institution provides which are a basic means of ensuring that the children who visit receive the highest quality of care. The pediatric cardiology & heart surgery department is one of the most important sectors of the hospital. This unit provides care to children who suffer from diverse forms of cardiovascular diseases and conditions. It is important that critical care is taken by the medical workers as they undertake their daily operations. The medical workers are expected to demonstrate high levels of enthusiasm and dedication to their roles as they embark on the difficult tasks associated with care for these ailing children.
The pediatric cardiology & heart surgery department usually referred to as the Ward Family Heart Center at the Children’s Mercy Hospital is one of the pediatric heart centers in the US that serves a high volume of patients. Over the course of the year ended June 2016, the staff in this sector cared for 155 patients who had undergone major procedures. Additionally, over a 4-year period ended June 2016 the department served 675 patients with similar major heart procedures. It is important to note that the organization has achieved high survival rates compared to the nation’s benchmark. To continue with this trend, it is important to achieve high levels of employee engagement such that they are capable of undertaking their tasks with a clear mind and understanding of the conditions that patients and the families are experiencing. The nursing professionals in this department should be empowered to demonstrate high levels of concern, compassion, and attention to detail as they serve the patients. This practice is likely to result in a high degree of positive outcomes.
2. Identify at least one outcome measure related to the population identified in part A1 for each of the following indicators:
The Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City will incorporate the outcome measure of mortality rates as the significant indicator of performance when serving pediatric cardiology patients. Recent studies have shown that the parents of the children who have diverse heart conditions will usually want to know the number of survivors that the organization experiences after major procedures (Laschinger, Wong, Cummings, & Grau, 2014). The pre-and post-surgery care provided is usually the critical areas where nurses employ their skills and competencies to ensure the survival of the patient. The data should demonstrate how care provided by these clinicians helps improve the state of well-being.
The quality of care is another critical indicator that the patients are concerned with. In this practice, the nurse leader is able to identify that through the care provided in the institution the patients are not readmitted. Readmission is an important measure of the quality of care in the hospital. In many cases, the use of technology has become a necessity towards the achievement of these goals. The incorporation of evidence-based practice guidelines has been a critical indicator of the organization’s ability to achieve high quality outcomes for the patient.
Patient safety is a critical indicator of the performance of the hospital as it regards the undertaking of tasks as per the requirements and expertise of the medical workers. The outcome measures in this case include the medical errors and hospital acquired conditions (Bulkapuram, Wundavalli, & Avula, 2015). It is evident that the pediatric patients served by the Ward Family Heart Center are already experiencing diverse critical conditions hence the need for the medical workers to demonstrate increased care. The clinicians are seen as negligent if their performance of tasks results in significant medical errors or hospital acquired infections.
The engagement of the employees to dedicate their time and efforts to the patient is integral to the overall outcome of the patient. The hospital like many other organizations has noted that employee engagement is a prerequisite of high performance and positive outcomes. The outcome measure of engagement looks into three major aspects of the employee experience; emotional, rational, and behavioral. The emotional factor looks at how the worker feels when associated to the organization, the rational factor recognizes the satisfaction of working at the hospital by providing overall rating, and the behavioral is evident by the cases of absenteeism and how much one looks forward to going to work.
B. Discuss the necessary processes that drive each outcome measure.
There are various processes that influence the incidence of the outcomes identified above for instance, in achieving high survival rates, the organization incorporates the highly component medical workers in various fields. The expertise of these individuals is critical to the achievement of low mortality rates (Laschinger et al., 2014). It is evident that the use of evidence-based research is critical to the implementation of the skills, knowledge, and competencies of this workforce. The experts in this field will be driven to pay close attention to detail in delivery of care.
The issue of quality of care has been identified to closely associate with readmission to the hospital. The ability of the organization to prevent such incidences involves the close monitoring of patients even after discharge. In this case, technology has been incorporated to provide real-time data on the progress made in recovery (Bulkapuram, Wundavalli, & Avula, 2015). Medical workers may participate in active communication with the patient and their families such that advice can be given even when the individual is recuperating from home.
The indicator of patient safety is a critical factor to consider in the practices of the nursing professionals. It is evident that the use of evidence-based research can help prevent medical errors and development of conditions drawn from the hospital environment (Sherwood, 2013). The research will help the nurse leader to make changes to electronic health records that may give outdated commands when dealing with vulnerable patients (Bulkapuram, Wundavalli, & Avula, 2015). The enterprise data warehouse (EDW) will help the medical practitioners and the institution at large to ensure compliance with best practice guidelines.
Employee engagement is an indicator that the organization has adequate human resources to provide its patients with the necessary care required to alleviate the risks involved with a particular illness. Leadership, objective goals, balance of stress, supervision, and career development are some of the factors that drive the incidence of employee engagement. In this practice, leadership is depicted by a clear presentation of the well-being of the employee through trust and confidence in the task at hand (Laschinger et al., 2014). The employees can also understand the organizational goals and steps involved believing their role is critical to the attainment of such factors. The same is evident for other measures which lead to its incidence.
1. Discuss at least one additional indicator that would be important for a nurse leader to monitor on a regular basis to drive outcomes as part of the performance data scorecard.
Nurse leaders should also monitor the timeliness of care as an indicator of the quality of care in the institution. The importance of timeliness has been emphasized in the recent times as providers are becoming increasingly aware of the significant impact it has on the care delivery. Emotional distress is a result of delayed delivery of care whereby, the patients and their families may begin to get worried once the clinicians do not arrive early enough to attend to their needs (Grossmeier et al., 2016). The hospital setting incorporates a significant change in the shifts of the practicing nurses. It is important that the parties signing in and off respectively should communicate effectively and give updates to the individual. Timely arrival is of grave concern particularly due to the physical harm it may cause the patient. Tardiness on the part of the medical practitioner in delivery of care is unacceptable (Grossmeier et al., 2016). It is evident that the patient is likely to face potential physical harm if medication is not offered immediately it is demanded.
The modern society has raised significant issues regarding the healthcare sector. The community as major stakeholders of the services received demand deductions are made in the cost of care. The recent research has shown that failure to provide patients with immediate treatment will cause a significant increase in the care costs. It is evident that increased complications and the severity of the conditions that the patient is suffering from will result in a rapid rise in the cost of care (Bulkapuram, Wundavalli, & Avula, 2015). This practice is noted by the number of days that the patient will stay at the institution. The delayed treatment is depicted as a medical error on the part of medical workers. This factor also encompasses the issue of delayed provision of medication. The nurses are responsible for the provision of the prescribed drugs which may include antibiotics (Bulkapuram, Wundavalli, & Avula, 2015). In the case of a delay in the administration of the same, it likely that the body may develop significant resistance to the drugs in future which in turn increases risk of lengthy stay in the hospital.
C. Discuss at least three advantages of the performance data scorecard created in part A.
The scorecard encourages balanced performance of the organization whereby the implemented aspects of the strategy helps prepare the organization for future practices. In this case, the scorecard is intended to act as a futuristic tool where the current performances are guided to suit the environmental conditions of the future. The modern demands of the health sector have been include increased use of technology in the treatment of the patients (Grossmeier et al., 2016). However, it is only until recently that majority of the health providers adopted the practice seeking to earn a share of the incentives involved. The proper scorecard design keeps the right balance of operational and strategic factors on your radar screen (Sherwood, 2013).
The performance data scorecard helps recognize the missing aspects of performance because it is designed to offer a comprehensive view of how the organization is doing and where it’s going, the scorecard will help you see if any key factors are missing—the gaps stand out (Thokala et al., 2016). Those who use unstructured measures without an underlying performance model have no way of knowing what may be missing. The performance data scorecard will reveal instances of significant gaps that the organization currently experiences as it demonstrates an area that it could make improvements (Sherwood, 2013). The corporations that do not use a structured measure for analysis of their performance are less likely to identify the critical substances missed that may be the cause of their failure to achieve particular targets.
The scorecard is an effective measure for ensuring that the organizations achieve appropriate management. This monitoring tool allows the administrative team of the firm to develop effective performance indicators that are used for strategic objectives (Sherwood, 2013). In this regard, the hospital can conduct more thorough and frequent reviews of the performance issues that it experiences (Thokala et al., 2016). It is possible that failures will become evident at the top-level of the scorecard and through the gathered information over a particular period the management officials can better understand the problem. The underlying cause of the issue can easily be identified giving the hospital administration with adequate data to eliminate the threat posed in ensuring high quality of care.
D. Analyze at least two current trends in healthcare that are related specifically to employee engagement.
The practice of employee engagement has been a critical factor in the development of high level of performance in the healthcare industry. It has become evident that employees are an important part of the institution. The pressure and demanding nature of the industry has prompted hospitals and other similar enterprises to demonstrate their level of engagement with employees (Lowe, 2012). Continuous feedback is major trend in such organizations where the employees receive regular reports so that they can know whether their doing things right or wrong and the improvement that should be noted. Over this practice, the clinicians are well aware that their practices are integral to the outcomes realized by the hospital (Lowe, 2012). Employee rounding or providing moments to teach the worker are some of the ways that the leader may be able to provide feedback. The former case involves the case where the leader speaks to all the employees as a group, while the latter may require separating a particular worker from the rest and provides some advice on ways to improve.
The nurse leaders in the modern hospital setting are also developing significant measures of developing the skills, knowledge, and competence of their followers. In this case, employee development has become an effective measure in the modern workplace of implementing engagement practices (Lowe, 2012). The organizational leaders will undertake actions that will help these workers achieve their highest potential on each day that they are working. This practice is not enough on its own as it requires the creation of opportunities that allow for growth to take place (Lowe, 2012). Any efforts made to develop the employee should be planned for early and regularly be reviewed with the employer seeking to identify whether the new value to the organization is earned by the organization. The hospital may choose to develop employees in areas that are particularly insufficient within the firm and those that will lead to high levels of benefit to the organization. The practice will help boost successful outcomes due to the high engagement.
1. Explain the relationship between employee engagement and healthcare quality.
Employee engagement and healthcare quality are two major factors that are closely associated with the potential for determining the outcome for the organization. The engagement of nurses in a hospital will effectively improve the relationship between the frontline workers and the administrative team. In most cases, the two parties will barely see eye to eye with the senior leaders perceived as acting in contrast to the needs and desires of the workers. However, engagement will help in the recognition of employees who have done exceptionally in the observation of tasks. The practice will help reduce stress in the workplace enabling the performance of tasks in a clear mind (Thokala et al., 2016). It is unlikely that low stress levels among employees helps improve productivity and quality of work done. The workers will be recognized as future leaders in the company hence they may be retained in the long run.
The practice that is becoming more common among modern businesses and organizations, engagement will help increase the rate of retention. The nursing profession is believed to be experiencing a significant decline in the number of health workers and threatens the quality of the task at hand (Bulkapuram, Wundavalli, & Avula, 2015). Over the past few years, there has been a shortage of the professionals in the discipline and losing any more of them to alternative vocations could be detrimental to the quest of improving healthcare. The significant increase in the retention of talented individuals is a measure that could be potentially beneficial to the institution. The workers who are less stressed at the workplace are also capable of staying with the hospital for a longer period (Bulkapuram, Wundavalli, & Avula, 2015). These workers understand that the relief they have helps them work better and make appropriate critical decisions. The ability to work well with others in the organization and the use available research to the benefit of the consumer is critical to ensuring positive outcomes for the patient.
2. Discuss whether current tools in your organization adequately provide nurse leadership with data regarding employee engagement.
The Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City, MO has the appropriate tools required for the participation of nursing leadership enabling employee engagement. The research conducted by the Quantum Workplace has been a critical provider of the Best Work Place to Work contest based on the organization’s ability to ensure employee engagement. According to its recent reports in the 2017 awards, Children’s Mercy Hospital is one of the large corporations to be recognized for this quality (Banks, 2017). In fact, the health institution is one of the best places to work in Kansas City and across the country. The hospital through the services provided by Quantum Workplace conducts annual surveys on engagement, action-planning tools, assessment of leadership, employee recognition, performance evaluations, and tracking of goals among other practices (Breevaart, Bakker, Demerouti, & Derks, 2016). The awarding company can help identify areas where the organization can improve while developing effective plans to make improvements on the employees such that they are of benefit to the hospital.
Nurse leadership and any other form of supervisory role in the health institution is a key focus area at the workplace. The Children’s Mercy Hospital provides a clear depiction of the goals and objective of these individuals, a practice that enables the development and accomplishment of measurable strategies. The organization has been able to employ a workforce that complements with competent skills and ability to maintain positive relationships with their colleagues (Banks, 2017). The high levels of diversity in the institution in terms of ethnicity and sexual orientation have been critical in promoting a positive workplace environment. Children’s Mercy Hospital also provides its employees with tuition assistance which is critical to employee engagement and provision of care to spouses, and child care
E. Create a plan to improve employee engagement based on the performance data scorecard.
The Children’s Mercy Hospital is a diverse workforce that has may have different views on future practices. This multilevel diversity may prove to be a challenge to the organization during employee engagement. However, the simplest solution could be providing a different approach for each worker (Lytle, 2016). Giving individual attention is a practice that may be help in achieving effective acknowledgement by the organization. For instance, there are staff members who may prefer public recognition while others do not like speaking in large groups. The nursing leader may incorporate tests that analyze individual tendencies so as to identify methods that will be used to appreciate work well-done (Lytle, 2016). The analysis tests can also be incorporated in the hiring process to ensure that appropriate applicants are hired to suit the requirements of their roles.
The hospital should have a culture that demonstrates its unrelenting desire to ensure continuous development of its workforce. The health institution works on building the skills of the staff while also communicating that they are valued members of the organization (Lytle, 2016). Providing training and coaching will make the workers feel that the health institution is going to great lengths to make an investment in their future. It is not always that the training should cost the organization a huge chunk of its financial budget. For a non-profit organization such as this one particular focus should be on cross-training where an individual can learn what another usually does (Lytle, 2016). Coaching can work well where the leaders in place can help workers in the developmental process of reinventing themselves by elevating their skills, and contributions to the firm.
Listening to the employees is a critical factor to improving employee engagement. The hospital is depicted to maintain the annual performance evaluation surveys and tracking of goals which are not popular among employees (Lytle, 2016). The practice has been shown to fail in providing an overall view of the performance of the worker. In most cases, the results are heavily biased either consciously or unconsciously (Lytle, 2016). The employee surveys are augmented by quarterly or monthly surveys which give more accurate findings. Leaders will realize that paying close attention to the views of these followers will enhance ability to pinpoint concerns and make the people feel valued by helping them make improvements.
1. Discuss leadership best practices that improve employee engagement.
It is evident that the most highly engaged workers are those that have an emotional connection with their roles or functions at the workplace. Therefore, in an attempt to create such an outcome is by developing close connections with the colleagues. Healthy personal relationships experienced during the formation of teams are an important aspect that will lead to such developments. The HR department can develop numerous events that can help realize these positive outcomes (Grossmeier et al., 2016). The individual workers look into different ways they can participate and progress with the culture of togetherness and assurance of a stronger bond. Communication is a critical factor of ensuring employee engagement. In this practice, leaders will usually define a clear and realistic goal for engagement that employees can associate with (Lytle, 2016). The practice of the employees must be meaningful on a daily basis with is only possible through describing successful outcomes using powerful portrayal and striking the emotions of the employees (Grossmeier et al., 2016). The managers should ensure that employee engagement becomes a daily interaction when at weekly meetings, action-planning, and one-on-one sessions with the workers.
References
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