Discussion: Workplace Environment Assessment

How healthy is your workplace?

You may think your current organization operates seamlessly, or you may feel it has many issues. You may experience or even observe things that give you pause. Yet, much as you wouldn’t try to determine the health of a patient through mere observation, you should not attempt to gauge the health of your work environment based on observation and opinion. Often, there are issues you perceive as problems that others do not; similarly, issues may run much deeper than leadership recognizes.

There are many factors and measures that may impact organizational health. Among these is civility. While an organization can institute policies designed to promote such things as civility, how can it be sure these are managed effectively? In this Discussion, you will examine the use of tools in measuring workplace civility.

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and examine the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, found on page 20 of Clark (2015).
• Review and complete the Work Environment Assessment Template in the Resources.

By Day 3 of Week 7

Post a brief description of the results of your Work Environment Assessment. Based on the results, how civil is your workplace? Explain why your workplace is or is not civil. Then, describe a situation where you have experienced incivility in the workplace. How was this addressed? Be specific and provide examples.

3 sources for this discussion

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) has captured the attention of healthcare providers, healthcare organizations, and consumers to positively influence patient outcomes. However, confusion abounds about how evidence-based practice differs from research and quality improvement.

1-Select either EBP, research, or QI and identify how the selected approach is implemented to improve outcomes at your workplace.

2-How do you know this approach is utilized?

3-Is this selected approach used apart from or in conjunction with the other approaches?

4-Can one approach be effectively applied without the others? Why or why not?

Please Answer each question separated and use APA form and sources no later than 5 years.

Essay: Answer each prompt using at least 400 words.

1. Describe an experience that directly affected you or that you observed where someone was treated as an “O”. What did you, or could you have done to minimize this experience?
2. Think of 3 different ages or points in your life, for example, ages 6, 12, and 18.
   • What racial identity development stage would you say you were in for each of these stages and why? 
   • What factors can you think of that may have impacted any changes in your racial identity development stages from one age to another?
   • Do you feel that each of these stages could have been better supported by the caregivers, educators, peers, or colleagues around you?
3. Reflecting on the McNickles section, what explains the perception gap that exists between whites and African Americans when it comes to matters of race and racism? Do you agree with McNickles?
4. The ability to communicate in English is important for many jobs and therefore some companies offer ESL (English as a Second Language) courses to their non-English-speaking employees. One alternative to requiring company-sponsored ESL instruction is to require that all potential employees meet an English language proficiency standard before they may be hired. Compare and contrast these two alternatives in terms of advantages and disadvantages to the company.

Assignment Expectations:

• Length:
  • 1600-1750 words (5-7 pages); answers must thoroughly address the questions in a clear, concise manner
• Structure:
  • Include a title page and reference page in APA style

1. Identify your message. Develop the key message(s) (part one research) you want the audience to absorb. Specify what action you want viewers to take after seeing the PSA.  ( I have attached the part one file)

2. Identify your audience. Clarify whom the PSA’s main message is intended. Your research from part one of the project will help you understand what this audience cares about can help target your message and final product. 

3. Determine the “hook.” A hook is a message that grabs someone’s attention. A powerful hook will substantially increase the number of people who do what you ask them to do. 

Overview

Deliver a 5–7-page analysis of an existing quality improvement initiative at your workplace. The QI initiative you choose to analyze should be related to specific disease, condition, or public health issue of personal or professional interest to you.

Too often, discussions about quality health care, care costs, and outcome measures take place in isolation—each group talking among themselves about results and enhancements. Because nurses are critical to the delivery of high-quality, efficient health care, it is essential that they develop the proficiency to review, evaluate performance reports, and be able to effectively communicate outcome measures related to quality initiatives. The nursing staff’s perspective and the need to collaborate on quality care initiatives are fundamental to patient safety and positive institutional health care outcomes.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 2: Plan quality improvement initiatives in response to routine data surveillance.
  • Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand quality outcomes of a quality initiative.
• Competency 3: Evaluate quality improvement initiatives using sensitive and sound outcome measures.
  • Analyze a current quality improvement initiative in a health care setting.
  • Evaluate the success of a current quality improvement initiative through recognized benchmarks and outcome measures.
• Competency 4: Integrate interprofessional perspectives to lead quality improvements in patient safety, cost effectiveness, and work-life quality
  • Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to initiative functionality and outcomes.
• Competency 5: Apply effective communication strategies to promote quality improvement of interprofessional care.
  • Communicate evaluation and analysis in a professional and effective manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
  • Integrate relevant sources to support arguments, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.

Assessment Instructions

Preparation

You have been asked to prepare and deliver an analysis of an existing quality improvement initiative at your workplace. The QI initiative you choose to analyze should be related to a specific disease, condition, or public health issue of personal or professional interest to you. The purpose of the report is to assess whether specific quality indicators point to improved patient safety, quality of care, cost and efficiency goals, and other desired metrics.

Your target audience consists of nurses and other health professionals with specializations or interest in your selected condition, disease, or issue. In your report, you will define the disease, analyze how the condition is managed, identify the core performance measurements used to treat or manage the condition, and evaluate the impact of the quality indicators on the health care facility:

Note: Remember, you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version of your analysis for this assessment. However, be mindful of the turnaround time for receiving feedback, if you plan on using this free service.

The numbered points below correspond to grading criteria in the scoring guide. The bullets below each grading criterion further delineate tasks to fulfill the assessment requirements. Be sure that your Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation addresses all of the content below. You may also want to read the scoring guide to better understand the performance levels that relate to each grading criterion.

1. Analyze a current quality improvement initiative in a health care setting.
   • Evaluate a QI initiative and explain what prompted the implementation. Detail problems that were not addressed and any issues that arose from the initiative.
2. Evaluate the success of a current quality improvement initiative through recognized benchmarks and outcome measures.
   • Analyze the benchmarks that were used to evaluate success. Detail what was the most successful, as well as what outcome measures are missing or could be added.
3. Incorporate interprofessional perspectives related to initiative functionality and outcomes.
   • Integrate the perspectives of interprofessional team members involved in the initiative. Detail who you talked to, their professions, and the impact of their perspectives on your analysis.
4. Recommend additional indicators and protocols to improve and expand quality outcomes of a quality initiative.
   • Recommend specific process or protocol changes as well as added technologies that would improve quality outcomes.
5. Communicate evaluation and analysis in a professional and effective manner, writing content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
6. Integrate relevant sources to support arguments, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.

Submission Requirements

• Length of submission: A minimum of five but no more than seven double-spaced, typed pages.
• Number of references: Cite a minimum of four sources (no older than seven years, unless seminal work) of scholarly peer reviewed or professional evidence that support your interpretation and analysis.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting.

Note: Faculty may use the Writing Feedback Tool when grading this assessment. The Writing Feedback Tool is designed to provide you with guidance and resources to develop your writing based on five core skills. You will find writing feedback in the Scoring Guide for the assessment, once your work has been evaluated.

Delegation in Practice

What does your State Board of Nursing (MA) say about Unlicensed Assistive Personnel and their role, and the role of the Registered Nurse? Describe the responsibilities of the Registered Nurse when delegating patient care tasks.

How does the ICU environment differ from a general medical-surgical unit as far as assigned responsibilities for Unlicensed Assistive Personnel?

Assignment Expectations:

Length: 750 to 1000 words

Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA format. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Your essay must include an introduction and a conclusion.

References: Use appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Please include at least two references

Cultural competence is “a process for addressing disparities, based on race, ethnicity, and culture” (Isaacs et al., 2005, p. 5). Nurses must be culturally competent to provide effective and therapeutic care for patients.  It is part of a holistic treatment process.  

• How does culture shape an individual’s view of mental health?
• Discuss why culture competence is      important to nursing.
• What steps can a nurse take to be culturally competent? 

Isaacs, M.R., Nahme-Huang, L., Hernandez, M., & Echo-Hawk, H. (2005).

    The road to evidence:  The intersection of evidence-based practices and

    cultural competence in children’s mental health. National Alliance of

    Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Associations. Retrieved from

 http://www.multiculturalmentalhealth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Isaacs-RoadtoEvidence-93006.pdf

APA STYLE at least 3 references and citations

1. Try taking a different route to class the next time it meets. Before you do this, think about how many changes, large and small, you will have to make to do this.

a-Will you have to leave earlier to be in class on time? 

b-Will you meet different people on your way to class?

c-See different sights?

d-Would you change your route to class on the day of the final exam? 

e-Why or why not? Summarize the positives and negatives of this small change. Relate your responses to this change to the way staff nurses feel when an administrator makes what he or she thinks is a “minor” change. 

2. Think about a change that has occurred in your life. Some examples may be a change of role, a move, a marriage, a birth, a divorce, or a death. 

a-How did you react to the change? 

b-Would you have reacted differently if you had had more information?

c-Using Lewin’s model, describe the basic elements in the situation and how you eventually achieved a comfortable outcome. 

Evaluate and Discuss the key Features, differences and disadvantages between MCOs, HMOs, PPOs, POSs and ACOs.

Need a comparison chart

Introduction and conclusion

Select two clients you observed or counseled this week during a group therapy session. Note: The two clients you select must have attended the same group session.

Then, in your Practicum Journal, address the following:

• Using the Group Therapy Progress Note in this week’s Learning Resources, document the group session.
• Describe each client (without violating HIPAA regulations), and identify any pertinent history or medical information, including prescribed medications.
• Using the DSM-5, explain and justify your diagnosis for each client.
• Explain whether cognitive behavioral therapy would be effective with this group. Include expected outcomes based on this therapeutic approach.
• Explain any legal and/or ethical implications related to counseling each client.
• Support your approach with evidence-based literature.