The practice of nurses and other healthcare professionals being sexually harassed by patients is a significant problem to many healthcare organizations across the world. Given that it has been a longstanding problem in this sector, it has become a major area of focus, while attracting both nation al and international attention. Sexual harassment is a major phenomenon that is based in cultures of upholding gender inequality, in justice, and unfair practices in organizations and cultures. There have been reports of nurses being exposed to physical, as well as nonphysical violence, sexual harassment, and bullying in healthcare settings. Furthermore, sexual harassment of nurses by patients has significant negative impacts on the victims. Some of the outcomes are mainly related to negative effects on the recipients’ health and employment. For instance, the resultant physical and mental health effects are mainly linked to signs of post-traumatic stress. It also leads to reduced job satisfaction and commitment, ultimately lowering the productivity of the affected nurses. While the impacts of sexual harassment on nurses have been identified, it has become paramount to develop ways through which the recipients can be helped to cope with the effects, as well as ways of mitigating these and other associated practices in the healthcare settings. The Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) model applied in this context will involve using training programs and coming up with the best evidence that can help achieve the best option towards solving the problem of sexual harassment.
Solution
The implementation plan will entail developing a strategy through which the problem of sexual harassment on nurses will be resolved effectively (Kloppenborg, 2015). The recommended solution will be to conduct training programs among nurses to equip them with knowledge and skills about sexual harassment and ways of reporting suspicious actions that might be related to it. Nurses will be trained on behavior and actions that might amount to sexual harassment, while encouraging them to report to the relevant authorities. The healthcare organization might be encouraged to conduct yearly training programs that will entail engaging nurses to help in the prevention and control of the problem of sexual harassment.
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Intended Outcomes and their Measures
Implementing the training program will have a variety of intended outcomes, including reducing the number of sexual harassment complaints made by the nurses. It will also have the improvement goal of enabling nurses to give positive feedback that the program helped in improving the knowledge and skills that they possess on sexual harassment. It will also be aimed at achieving the participants’ acknowledgement that sexual harassment is indeed a problem in the organizations. The change brought about by the implementation of the solution will be measured to deter mine if the improvement goal has been reached (Katsioloudes & Abouhanian, 2016). The change will be measured through recording the number of complaints of sexual harassment that will be reported by the nurses on an annual basis. A simple survey will also be conducted at the end of the year to record the level of assurance among the nurses that sexual harassment has been taken under control and that it is a problem that could impact individual and overall organization’s productivity. The survey can be conducted by randomly asking nurses if they are satisfied with the level to which sexual harassment has been controlled in their healthcare settings.
Reaching the goal of the training program will require the achievement of a variety of outcomes as outlined below:
To reduce sexual harassment complaints to below 5 cases reported annually.
100% of nurses to acknowledge that sexual harassment is a problem impacting individual and organizational performance.
More than 90% of the nurses should be assured that sexual harassment has been controlled in the healthcare settings following the training program.
Furthermore, achieving each of the outcomes will require different stakeholders to participate in the performance of different actions that will work towards the achievement of each of the provided goals.
Action Plan
The action plan for the implementation of the solution to control and prevent the problem of sexual harassment of nurses by patients will involve different actions. Each of the outcomes will require unique actions that will be assigned to a team member who is motivated to achieve the successful implementation of the plan (Katsioloudes & Abouhanian, 2016).
Stakeholders and Assigned Actions
The main stakeholder will be the human resource department. It handles issues concerning the welfare of the nurses. The human resource manager will act as the coordinator of the training program. They will be responsible for overseeing the conduction of the training program. The human resource e manager will also ensure that the healthcare organization provides the resources that will be used to con duct the training program.
A team of staff members from the human resource e department will help in conducting the training. They will search information about sexual harassment from the internet and compile notes that they will use to train nurses during the training program. They will equip nurses with knowledge and skills about what entails sexual harassment, while highlighting the impacts associated with the vice. They will also train nurses about ways of preventing sexual harassment in their healthcare settings and d the mode of reporting any suspicious actions and behaviors that might be linked to the practice. The staff members will also conduct the survey to engage nurses on their views of the training program and the role of the organization in the prevention and control of sexual harassment practices in the workplace.
Nurses will also be stakeholders in the training program, especially because they are the targeted participants in the training program. They will act as the main audience and will be equipped with information about sexual harassment. They might be required to con tribute to the training, for instance by giving their experiences. They will also play a key role in providing responses to the survey questions that will be used to determine the level to which the organization is committed to controlling and mitigating sexual harassment.
Resources, Budget, and Timeframe
The training program will require a variety of supplies and equipment. They will include notebooks and pens for the participants to use in taking notes during the training. A LCD projector and a laptop will also be required to make the presentation. Other equipment that will be required will include tables and chairs, which will be provided by the organization. Furthermore, the training will be conducted on an annual basis. It will be conducted for 3 days with the participation in the program taking sessions of 5 hours each day. The total forecasted budget for the training program will be $5,000, which will be used to buy the supplies and equipment and give the trainers an allowance.
Potential Setbacks
There are a variety of setbacks that need to be planned for before the conduction of the training program. One of these setbacks is resistance, where it might be opposed by some of the workers in the healthcare organization. Such a limitation might be avoided by conducting prior preparation of the participants by telling them the importance of the training program. Additionally, there might be a setback in terms of disruption of more essential operations in the organization. The normal schedule in the organization might be interrupted. Conducting the training at the end of the year will ensure that it does not interrupt essential and normal routine.
Evaluation Plan
The standard of measurement for progress will include the number of sexual harassment complaints reported on a yearly basis. It will be measured by recording any reports and com plaints filed by nurses with the relevant administrative departments. Additionally, the number of nurses assured that sexual harassment has been well controlled will be measured. It will be determined by conducting a survey among the participating nurses to determine their knowledge of the topic and their level of assurance on the control of sexual harassment in the organization.
References
Katsioloudes, M., & Abouhanian, A. (2016). The Strategic Planning Process: Understanding Strategy in Global Markets. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
Kloppenborg, T. (2015). Contemporary project management . Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Lindstrom, D. (2014). Procurement Project Management Success: Achieving a Higher Level of Effectiveness. J. Ross Publishing.
