Quality Caring in Nursing and Health Systems

Organization’s Values

• Organizational values reflect the culture of institutions;
• They drive the conduct of employees;
• One of the main values is caring;
• It centers on the promotion of health;
• It encourages respect for a person’s dignity;
• Integrity and diversity are also crucial values;
• They ensure that all differences in people are respected.

In general, the main organizational values are caring, social and cultural diversity, and excellence (Duffy, 2013). All healthcare institutions share similar humanistic values. However, each organization can outline them differently.

Nursing Values

• Nursing values drive specialist’s conduct and decision-making;
• The main values are human dignity and integrity;
• They ensure that all individuals are valued;
• Other significant domains are autonomy and altruism;
• Nurses should be able to act independently;
• They need to be advocates for their patients (Duffy, 2013);
• Social justice is also essential for all nurses.

The main nursing values that all specialists share in their practice are dignity and integrity. They are fundamental for all specialists, and they push the promotion of further values as well (Duffy, 2013). All nurses should be able to execute autonomous decision-making from which patients will benefit in the first place. In addition, altruism and social justice should be the guiding principles that stimulate nurses to advocate for their clients and reach the best patient outcomes.

Impact of Values on Nurse Engagement

• Alignment between organizational and nurse values is crucial;
• Ensures institution’s desired outcomes will be achieved;
• Ensures nurses exhibit increased productivity (Duffy, 2013);
• Nurses will prioritize key tasks and meet expectations;
• Specialists will manage their time more effectively;
• Their main goal will be to furnish superior customer service;
• Nurses will have a more positive outlook.

In general, nurse’s views should coincide with the company’s values. It is crucial for both job satisfaction and better nursing outcomes. If values in both instances are similar, the company and its employees will benefit mutually from the collaboration (Duffy, 2013).

Impact of Values on Patient Outcomes

• Patient outcomes depend on the alignment between values;
• Nurses exhibit greater enthusiasm to achieve positive results;
• Nurse engagement affects the quality of care;
• It results in increased patient satisfaction (Armstrong Persily, 2013);
• Specialists meet patients’ behavioral expectations as well;
• They conduct more careful observations;
• It reduces the number of medical mistakes.

Sharing common values results in positive patient outcomes since nurses feel greater commitment (Armstrong Persily, 2013). They are prepared to take on responsibility and act autonomously. It influences their morale and comprehension of liability, which has an impact on their patients.

Effective Communication Techniques

• Effective communication techniques help to build trust;
• Nurses can use them to manage conflicts constructively;
• They enable to determine priorities through discussions;
• Effective communication ensures that all perspectives are clear;
• The solutions can be assessed and chosen (Armstrong Persily, 2013);
• Efficient techniques imply that everyone exhibits respect;
• The consensus will appear from the mutual agreement.

Overall, effective communication is the key to constructive agreement and resolution of workplace challenges. It implies that all parties have mutual trust and respect for each other and that all alternative opinions are understood. Intentional use of communication techniques provides nurses with an opportunity to make informed decisions through interaction (Armstrong Persily, 2013).

Communication and Collaboration Across Groups

• Proper communication is the key to interprofessional collaborations;
• Constant interaction makes joint decision-making the norm;
• It establishes an environment for various specialists to partner (Armstrong Persily, 2013);
• Skilled communication establishes trust and joint liability;
• In addition, it ensures that all processes are coordinated.

Nurses should use their communication skills to make decisions that would be more objective. It can be achieved through constant interaction with other specialists in a respectful and productive environment (Armstrong Persily, 2013). Such practices make multidisciplinary teams the norm.

Communication and Effective Problem Solving

• To solve problems effectively, nurses need to state the problem clearly;
• They should be able to comprehend alternative positions;
• Interaction is essential for understanding the situation better (Adams, 2014);
• Both parties should restate the issue until the solution is evident;
• Effective problem solving implies alterations in behavioral terms.

Nurses play a central role in resolving complex issues. Therefore, they need to know how to interact effectively while supporting their position (Duffy, 2013). Apart from that, they should be able to comprehend the alternative solutions to choose the most suitable one.

Professional Experience

• Example: The organization had a nursing shortage;
• The hospital did not have enough resources to hire more staff;
• The existing workforce had to overwork;
• It resulted in moral distress (Adams, 2014);
• Nevertheless, the nurses shared the values promoted by the organization;
• They started collaborating with other specialists.

An example from my professional experience was when the nurses had to collaborate with other specialists to avoid negative consequences to patients’ health (Adams, 2014). Nurses interacted with physicians to produce better nursing outcomes. It became possible since both the organization and its nurses promoted the health of patients as their top priority.

Impact on Nurse Engagement and Patient Outcomes

• The nurse-physician collaboration had a positive impact on the setting;
• Nurses felt more empowered and were ready to exhibit autonomy;
• The consultations they received assisted them in making informed decisions;
• Despite the high workload, nurses met patients’ needs;
• Nevertheless, the workforce was distressed.

The positive outcomes of such collaborations were reflected in the fact that patients’ needs were addressed, and nurses could share the responsibility with other specialists. In addition, they were empowered to execute autonomy and act independently, which contributed to their job satisfaction. Nonetheless, the workload was immense, which inevitably led to high moral distress.

References

Adams, L. Y. (2014). Workplace mental health manual for nurse managers. New York, NY: Springer.

Armstrong Persily, C. (2013). Team leadership and partnering in nursing and health care. New York, NY: Springer.

Duffy, J. R. (2013). Quality caring in nursing and health systems: Implications for clinicians, educators, and leaders (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.