Interdisciplinary Plan Proposal Introduction
This interdisciplinary plan proposal is developed for the intensive care unit of a local hospital. One of the burning issues, as seen by some members of the staff, is the absence of a sound safety culture in the department. This plan is aimed at improving the quality of provided services by reducing the rate of medical errors, so the desired outcome is a reduced number of medical errors in the unit.
Plan Objective
The project will result in the development of a set of effective safety policies that are followed and appreciated by the staff of the unit. The creation of safety culture will be instrumental in reducing the medical error rate, improving the quality of care and will lead to improved performance of the department, higher patient satisfaction, and higher employee motivation.
Interdisciplinary Care Plan Questions and Predictions
How much time will the development of the policies take?
The development of the guidelines and protocols will last for approximately two weeks since the process will involve discussions and the incorporation of different people’s views.
How much time will be needed to implement the new safety culture?
The implementation period will take up to three months and will require strong leadership and involvement of major stakeholders.
What healthcare professionals will make up the team working on the policies?
A physician, a nurse, a pharmacist, an administrator, a patient representative will become members of the interdisciplinary team.
How will the team’s work be arranged?
The interdisciplinary team will meet two times a week during the working day, which will require additional staff for the meeting hours. The team members will be paid their usual hourly payment and will receive bonuses for their involvement in the process. The use of resources (stationery and office equipment) will be limited so no considerable investment in this area will be needed. The discussion involving other members of the staff will take place during regular meetings of the corresponding staff, as well as through the information system utilized in the hospital.
Change Theories and Leadership Strategies
In order to implement the project, it is suggested to employ the Five As Behavior Change Model. This change framework implies undertaking the following steps: assess, advise, agree, assist, and arrange (Lopez-Jeng & Eberth, 2019). This model will help team members to remain focused, engage other stakeholders effectively, and collaborate successfully. When following the stages of assessing and advising, the team members will build a sense of urgency, facilitate the discussion of existing problems related to safety and ways to eliminate them.
Team members will complete the stage of agreeing by developing and introducing policies aimed at improving safety to other staff members. During the assisting step, the staff and the team members will discuss possible barriers to the successful implementation of new policies. The arranging phase will include the development of improved policies and their implementation. If necessary, the discussion of barriers that actually occur can be carried out, and the corresponding changes can be made.
The most appropriate leadership strategy for this project is transformational leadership due to its focus on the transformation of people’s behaviors and perspectives. Kagan, Porat, and Barnoy (2019) note that guidance and mentorship are critical for changing employees’ behavioral patterns. The team members will not simply introduce their ideas and make others follow the developed guidelines.
Every team member will encourage peers to share ideas and concerns, as well as generate specific guidelines. The members of the team will pay more attention to the areas of their concern, which will be beneficial for the overall safety culture as all major aspects of care will be covered (Tetuan et al., 2017). The primary idea linked to the project will be the need for changes that will make each person’s life better and more comfortable.
Team Collaboration Strategy
- The administrator will take up the role of the leader in the team and will ensure the active participation of other team members by guiding and inspiring.
- All team members will work on the guidelines to improve care quality and reduce medical errors in their professional areas. Each team member will also discuss the created policies with their peers and articulate their ideas and concerns during the team discussions. Each team member will also become a transformational leader for their peers when implementing the new safety culture.
The major objective of this project is the creation and establishment of safety culture that will be adopted by all employees. In order to achieve this goal, the peer-to-peer feedback collaboration approach will be utilized. Under this model, healthcare professionals receive and provide feedback to their peers (LeClair-Smith et al., 2016). This process is facilitated by leaders who may introduce some rewards for active participation (such as recognition, an additional day off, lottery, a bonus).
Required Organizational Resources
If the project is not implemented or if it fails, the financial and reputational losses will be considerable. The rate of medical errors is likely to increase, which will lead to financial losses, possible legal issues, patient dissatisfaction, high turnover, employee low morale, and motivation. Therefore, it is critical to make sure that this project will be realized successfully.
References
Kagan, I., Porat, N., & Barnoy, S. (2019). The quality and safety culture in general hospitals: Patients’, physicians’ and nurses’ evaluation of its effect on patient satisfaction. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 31(4), 261-268. Web.
LeClair-Smith, C., Branum, B., Bryant, L., Cornell, B., Martinez, H., Nash, E., & Phillips, L. (2016). Peer-to-peer feedback: A novel approach to nursing quality, collaboration, and peer review. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 46(6), 321-328. Web.
Lopez-Jeng, C., & Eberth, S. D. (2019). Improving hospital safety culture for falls prevention through interdisciplinary health education. Health Promotion Practice. Web.
Tetuan, T., Ohm, R., Kinzie, L., McMaster, S., Moffitt, B., & Mosier, M. (2017). Does systems thinking improve the perception of safety culture and patient safety? Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(2), 31-39. Web.