To Prepare:

Review the Resources and identify one change that you believe is called for in your organization/workplace.
This may be a change necessary to effectively address one or more of the issues you addressed in the Workplace Environment Assessment you submitted in Module 4. It may also be a change in response to something not addressed in your previous efforts. It may be beneficial to discuss your ideas with your organizational leadership and/or colleagues to help identify and vet these ideas.
Reflect on how you might implement this change and how you might communicate this change to organizational leadership.

Work Environment Assessment

Anna Lizza Pascual

Walden University

Interprofessional Organizational and Systems Leadership

Work Environment Assessment

Workplace incivility is considered as repeated offensive, discouraging behavior, unfair punishment, and misuse of power that makes another person feel ashamed and distressed, creating strain and lowering the employee’s self-esteem (Clark et al., 2011). Workplace incivility has been prevalent in clinical and nursing practice. Considerably, in civil behaviors and practices appear in different forms that may lead to profound effects. This paper will discuss the work environment assessment results of Baptist Health, South Florida. This will explain a theory that is linked to the outcomes of the workplace assessment as well as recommends strategies that will address the strengths and deficiencies of the organization. Workplace incivility can impact the productivity of the staff, satisfaction, as well as the commitment of the employees. Thus, having an appropriate workplace assessment within the organization is essential in improving the shortcomings as well as enhance the satisfaction and efficiency of employees.

The workplace assessment results showed that BHSF scored 85. Considerably, with reference to Clark Healthy Workplace inventory, a score between 80-89 shows that there is a moderately healthy work environment. BHSF has strict rules that facilitate strict adherence to the mission and vision of the organization, which is to offer high-level and quality patient care as well as promote career growth for the staff (Baptist Health South Florida, 2019). The organization scored highest on the statements that were stated by the members concerning the shared vision and mission and that the members were engaged actively in decision making.

The most surprising things were the vision and mission statement. The mission statement focused on employee satisfaction, morale, and engagement, while the vision statement stated that the organization retains the brightest and the best. The department scored low on the statement, which is surprising since the organization is focusing on employee retention and satisfaction.

The idea that was anticipated was reviewing policies since many hospitals have wide committees that are in charge of reviewing and developing new policies. BHSF policies have incorporated the vision and mission of the organization, and all the leaders have ensured that the employees adhere to the set policies. The policies are reviewed and renewed monthly by various committees that ensure quality care is offered to the patients through better policies and that the employees accomplish professional growth.

The results of the workplace assessment are high in majority despite the fact that they are low in a certain statement in the survey making the workplace assessment score higher.

There are factors that influence the organization that cannot be controlled, thus contributing to low employee retention and employee satisfaction scores. For instance, due to the increase in the number of patients due to the growth of real estate within the area, the facility could not accommodate the increase in terms of human resources and space, leading to incivility. Having a moderate score shows that the employees within the organization are valued as important members within the organization.

The oppressional theory

The oppressional theory explains the lateral and horizontal violence at the workplace. The theory explains the cultural and mental behaviors that oppressed workers manifest, and these are governed by other staff who are seen to be more powerful in the organization (Clark et al., 2011). The Oppressional theory discusses the lack of influences and control of nurses in the workplace and dehumanization in the workplace that results from negative power. For instance, at BHSF, a physician verbally abused a nurse for not notifying the physician about the deteriorating state of the patient. The nurse filed an incident report to inform the management after the incident become a big issue in the hospital. The organization has a strict no-tolerance policy for aggressive behaviors and workplace violence. The ethics committee within the organization reviewed the case and gave the doctor a corresponding sanction. This incident offered the strength of the organization in offering employee satisfaction, as shown in the workplace assessment result.

The theory can help build a strong health work team by encouraging respect and effective communication between one another. To create a strong work team, there is a need to focus on professional communication and respect within the healthcare organization. This will improve health outcomes and employee satisfaction and civil workers. Having various committees and meetings to discuss how to improve communication will decrease incivility and boost the healthcare work environment. According to the American Nurse Association (2015), workplace incivility exists where there are disrespectful behaviors and violation of work standards. The theory clearly shows the behaviors of oppressors and how control can influence the workplace environment.

Strategies to Create High-Performance Inter-Professional Teams

High-performance inter-professional teamwork refers to the coordination, cooperation, and collaboration among team members to collectively offer patient-centered care. Getting the team members on the same page has been challenging for organizations due to day to day conflicts, communication issues, and breakdown among members. Ideally, an ineffective inter-professional work team jeopardizes the health outcomes and patient safety. In many healthcare organizations, high-performance inter-professional teams do not occur naturally. They need to be established and managed to achieve healthcare goals in a consistently high level.

To create a high-performance inter-professional team, there is a need for strategies to improve the work environment safety. One of the most effective strategies is a cognitive rehearsal, a technique where the nurses imagine situations that lead to the unhealthy work environment and rehearse more appropriate behaviors to build an effective environment (Griffin and Clark, 2014). This is an effective tool in practicing intervention techniques that foster a safe environment addressing incivility within the organization.

Mandatory healthcare workplace safety classes where various professionals learn effective methods of handling workplace violence and conflict resolution will help build an effective team. Effective conflict resolution skills promote collaboration and understanding among the interprofessional team (Clark et al., 2011). This way, the staff will communicate effectively to each other under challenging circumstances, especially where interpersonal conflicts exist. This strategy can effectively improve communication among nurses and doctors.

Deliberate, repetitive practices will bolster successful practices among the team of professionals since the employees know and understand their skills through three steps: Learning, refining, and practicing to become automatic (Warrner, Sommers, Zappa and Thornlow, 2016). This will improve the practices of nurses and physicians after they have received the workplace safety class. Considerably, the repeated practices are essential since the nurses and physicians will not forget how they ought to conduct themselves in case an actual encounter occurs. To build on communication skills among the physicians, the DESC model (describe, express state alternatives, and consequences) will foster respectful and transparent communication. The model will help the employees to be respectful and transparent in their communication fostering employee satisfaction in the healthcare setting.

In summation, workplace incivility has been a common problem in the nursing practice. Incivility has greatly impacted employee collaboration, retention, and satisfaction within healthcare organizations. The oppression theory has stated on the influence of negative power and lack of control in the healthcare setting.  Strategies to improve interprofessional team performance include cognitive rehearsal, mandatory workplace safety classes, DESC model, and deliberate, repetitive practices. Therefore, organizations that nurture a culture of collaboration and communication will synthesize the strength of healthcare outcomes and reduce incivility in the workplace.

References

American Nurses Association. (2015). American Nurses Association position statement on incivility, bullying, and workplace violence. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/~49d6e3/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/nursing-excellence/incivility-bullying-and-workplace-violence–ana-position-statement.pdf

Baptist Health, South Florida. (2019). Fulfilling our mission. Retrieved from https://baptisthealth.net/en/about-baptist-health/pages/fulfilling-our-mission.aspx

Clark, C. M., Olender, L., Cardoni, C., & Kenski, D. (2011). Fostering civility in nursing education and practice: Nurse leaders’ perspective. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(7/8), 324-330.

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.

Warrner, J., Sommers, K., Zappa, M., & Thornlow, D. (2016). Decreasing workplace incivility. Nursing Management, 47(1), 22-30.

The Assignment (5-6-minute PowerPoint presentation):

Change Implementation and Management Plan

Create a narrated PowerPoint presentation of 5 or 6 slides with video that presents a comprehensive plan to implement the change you propose.

Your presentation should be 5–6 minutes in length and should include a video .

Your Change Implementation and Management Plan should include the following:

1. An executive summary of the issues that are currently affecting your organization/workplace (This can include the work you completed in your Workplace Environment Assessment previously submitted, if relevant.)
2. A description of the change being proposed
3. Justifications for the change, including why addressing it will have a positive impact on your organization/workplace
4. Details about the type and scope of the proposed change
5. Identification of the stakeholders impacted by the change
6. Identification of a change management team (by title/role)
7. A plan for communicating the change you propose
8. A description of risk mitigation plans you would recommend to address the risks anticipated by the change you propose