Assignment; NUR 6053 Workplace Environment Assessment

Assignment; NUR 6053 Workplace Environment Assessment

Assignment; NUR 6053 Workplace Environment Assessment

The assessment of workplace environment is essential in nursing and healthcare because of the increasing levels of incivility, violence, and bullying that occur among nurses and patients and impact their safety and quality of care delivered. Civility comprise being authentic, polite, respectful and actively engaging and listening to others’ perspectives and generating a common ground in addressing differences using dialogue and effective communication. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of the work environment assessment for my workplace and its suggestion concerning civility and heath of the practice setting (Huang et al., 2022). The paper also explores an appropriate theory related to the results and its use in the organization to establish stronger teams and improve its health. The paper also describes strategies to bolster successful practices and addresses revealed weaknesses in the assessment.

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Part 1: Work Environment Assessment

The work environment assessment template provides a means through which an organization can evaluate the health of its workplace based on feedback from employees. The template identifies several aspects as part of the criteria to evaluate the health of the workplace. These include shared vision, effective communication, trust between staff and the management, and employees’ engagement in policy making (Clark, 2018). The highest score based on the template is above 90% meaning that the workplace is healthy while scores between 50 and 89 indicate different aspects like barely healthy, mildly healthy, and moderately healthy.

In this case, the assessment showed that my organization’s workplace score was 59 meaning that it was barely healthy. Most of the answers based on the questions were in the “somewhat and untrue” categories with communication to staff and their involvement in policymaking being significant areas. Again, the scores showed that the facility does not attract and retain the best and the brightest because of high stress levels and no retention programs. Further, most of the employees asserted that they cannot suggest and recommend the workplace as a great place to work due to some of the reasons highlighted before.

While I knew that the workplace was not a great place for nurses, I was surprised by the low score that it attained. Secondly, the realization that most employees agreed with the findings was also a surprise since I thought that some will have a contrary perspective. I would have thought that the workplace may get a score of relatively health implying that it is between mild and moderate. However, this score was so surprising. These results confirmed one belief that I had before the survey; that a majority of the employees or nurses in the organization were not happy. Most of the employees remained in the organization because of the benefits and competitive compensation that they were getting. However, a majority expressed their desire to leave and get a friendlier workplace environment, even without a competitive compensation package.

The results of this assessment are categorical that my workplace is not conducive or friendly because of the low score. The results show that the workplace is unhealthy because of ineffective communication and limited engagement of nurses in health policymaking. The low scores on trust between the staff and the management, engagement of employees, and reduced morale as well as satisfaction levels demonstrated that many cannot join the organization despite vacancies emerging across different areas of care. The management does not seem to have the best interest of the staff as nurses have huge workloads and experience altercations sometimes from patients and even their colleagues. Nurses feel never appreciated and being overworked (Shoorideh et al., 2021). Cases of bullying and violent confrontations between them and patients that are never addressed also influenced the low scores from the assessment of the workplace environment. Incivility in workplace can result in increased rates of turnover, nursing shortage and burnout, and reduced job satisfaction levels.

Part 2: Reviewing the Literature

Many studies and existing literature have explored the issue of incivility and how to address it because of its negative effects on nurses, and other healthcare providers like physicians. The American Nurses Association (ANA)(n.d.) asserts that nurses are at increased risk for assault and violence in their workplace because of their close proximity to patients. The association advances that recent evidence shows that two nurses experience assault every hour in acute care setting. Incivility, bullying, and violence in the workplace are critical issues in nursing, with incivility and bullying being prevalent in all settings with between 27%-85% of nurses experiencing some form of incivility.

In her article, Clark (2018) explores the combined use of cognitive rehearsal, simulation, and evidence-based scripting to encounter incivility. The author asserts that cognitive rehearsal is evidence-based approach where professionals like nurses practice ways to deal with workplace incivility in a better ways using skilled facilitator. The article advances that repeated dosing through deliberate practice and skillful debriefing based on cognitive rehearsal (CR) with simulation and evidence-based scripting allows nursing students to attain skills and strategies to address incivility. The implication is that these skills and competencies are critical in protection of patient safety and increasing overall environment’s safety of the workplace setting.

Cognitive rehearsal enables nurses to transition the training they get concerning effective communication approaches into acquired and practiced behaviors that they can use in the workplace. In their study, Kousha et al. (2022) assert that cognitive rehearsal enables nurses to deal incivility in a practical manner and should be integrated by healthcare organizations’ management to improve communication aspects. Workplace incivility leads to nurse turnover and lose of morale and lowered job satisfaction levels for nurses and other healthcare providers.

Incivility is linked to complications, medication and medical errors, mortality and comprises overall patient safety (Lewis, 2023). Uncivil behavior like verbal altercations with patients and colleagues influences poor patient outcomes and increased desire to leave an organization.

The concept presented in the articles, especially by Clark (2018) relates to the outcomes of the work environment assessment since the setting is barely healthy or civil. This implies that nurses in the facility experience increased incidences of uncivil happenings that impact the employees’ morale and dedication. For instance, one of the issues raised through the assessment is ineffective communication and lack of engagement between employees and the management. The use of cognitive rehearsal as advanced by the article is related to the assessment as communication is part of the elements that organizational leaders should consider to create better workplace environments. The implication is that cognitive rehearsal enables nurses to combine other strategies like simulation and evidence-based scripting to develop effective approaches when dealing with colleagues and the management (Clark, 2018). The author also advances the use of cognitive rehearsal in beginning conversations aimed at addressing incivility.

The organization can apply this concept to enhance organizational health and create stronger work teams by implementing the suggested approaches. This means that it should integrate the different components of cognitive rehearsal based on its attributes to improve interactions among employees. Further, through this model, the organization can begin addressing incivility related to ineffective communication that leads to misunderstanding. Through using the combined approach as suggested by the author, nurses in the organization can gain necessary skills to address incivility. These include deliberate practice and skilful debriefing for nurses (Huang et al., 2022). Additionally, the concept also highlights the need for organizational managers to identify effective ways to reduce misunderstandings among employees and the management.

Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies for High-Performance Inter-professional Teams

a). Addressing Shortcomings in the Environment Assessment

The assessment of the workplace showed that the organization was barely healthy meaning that there is a lot that the management must do to improve the overall environment. As posited by Huang et al. (2022), implementing effective communication strategies can increase the engagement between nurses and the management within the organization. These strategies are also important when engaging patients who may be difficult to deal with the nursing practice. Again, effective communication strategies like active listening, and courtesy foster a civil work environment, and improves teamwork. Again, in most cases, addressing incivility by deliberate practices like speaking up when it happens can be the most appropriate way to stop this negative habit or occurrence.

Healthy work environments require a shared organizational vision, values, and team norms. These environments also require the creation and sustenance of high level of individuals, team and organizational civility, effective leadership, and civility conversations at all levels among staff and the management. Therefore, engaging in such practices ensures that the staff acquires effective skills through training, practicing, and education (Pearson, 2020). Describing, expressing, and stating the consequences (DESC) approach is a deliberate practice that will allow organizations to create and sustain a conducive workplace environment for nurses and other providers that will lead to better patient safety and outcomes while also improving the satisfaction levels of nursing staff.

b). Bolstering Successful Practices in the Workplace

The assessment showed areas where the organization was successful; provision of competitive compensation package that includes benefits and salaries. Imperatively, bolstering this practice will require engagement and involvement of all stakeholders, especially nurses and their managers as well as leaders, in decision making processes of the facility (Shoorideh et al., 2021). The organization should incorporate all teams based on the care levels or units in developing and sharing the goals, values, and mission. Employees feel happy and appreciated when their personal values and visions align with the organization’s mission and objectives. All people in the organization should share goals, values and mission based on mutual respect and recognition of each one’s duties and obligations to attain a common vision (Huang et al., 2022). The management should involve all nursing staff as part of the organization so that they can align their behavior to the shared goals and objectives.

The second strategy is to clarify expectations concerning clinical practice and behavior to improve workplace autonomy and delivery of anticipated outcomes. This approach is essential for nurses to organize their work and effectively communicate with different stakeholders to promote sound clinical decisions and approaches (Pearson, 2020). Effective communication is essential to attain clarity and focus on attainment of set goals. Communication will ensure that nurses and the management understand the core mission of care provision and attain patient-centered care.

Conclusion

Incivility in the workplace has negative effects on employees and the overall delivery of care services to different patient populations. Existing studies show various evidence-based strategies that organizations can employ to reduce, prevent and even eliminate incivility including cognitive rehearsal in combination with simulation and evidence-based scripting. Best strategies to address incivility problems and successful practices are also essential in attaining expected goals of civility in the workplace.

References

American Nurses Association (n.d.). Protect Yourselves, Protect Your Patients.

https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/work-environment/end-nurse-abuse/

Huang, Q., & Pun, J. (2022). Views of Hospital Nurses and Nursing Students on Nursing

Engagement—Bridging the Gap Through Communication Courses. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 915147. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.915147

Lewis, C. (2023). The impact of inter-professional incivility on medical performance, service

and patient care: a systematic review. Future Healthcare Journal. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7861/fhj.2022-0092

Kousha, S., Shahrami, A., Forouzanfar, M. M., Sanaie, N., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., &

Skerrett, V. (2022). Effectiveness of educational intervention and cognitive rehearsal on perceived incivility among emergency nurses: a randomized controlled trial. BMC nursing, 21(1), 1-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-00930-1

Pearson, M. M. (2020). Transformational leadership principles and tactics for the nurse executive

to shift nursing culture. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 50(3), 142-151. DOI: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000858.

Roselle Ann, S.-M., Claudette R., C., Mary K., C., & Tony, U. (2019). Where Do You Think

You Are? A Grounded Theory Study of the Critical Factors Triggering the Existence and

Fueling the Persistence of Incivility in Nursing. Nursing Education Perspectives, (3),

133.

https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000397

Shoorideh, F. A., Moosavi, S., & Balouchi, A. (2021). Incivility toward nurses: a systematic

review and meta-analysis. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 14. DOI: 10.18502/jmehm.v14i15.7670

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To Prepare:

Review the Resources and examine the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, found on page 20 of Clark (2015).
Review the Work Environment Assessment Template*.
Reflect on the output of your Discussion post regarding your evaluation of workplace civility and the feedback received from colleagues.
Select and review one or more of the following articles found in the Resources:
Clark (2018)********* *Template completed in the Week 7 discussion should not be submitted with this assignment.

The Assignment (3-6 pages total):

Part 1: Work Environment Assessment (1-2 pages)

Review the Work Environment Assessment Template you completed for this Module’s Discussion.
Describe the results of the Work Environment Assessment you completed on your workplace.
Identify two things that surprised you about the results and one idea you believed prior to conducting the Assessment that was confirmed.
Explain what the results of the Assessment suggest about the health and civility of your workplace.
Part 2: Reviewing the Literature (1-2 pages)

Briefly describe the theory or concept presented in the article(s) you selected.
Explain how the theory or concept presented in the article(s) relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment.
Explain how your organization could apply the theory highlighted in your selected article(s) to improve organizational health and/or create stronger work teams. Be specific and provide examples.
Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams (1–2 pages)

Recommend at least two strategies, supported in the literature, that can be implemented to address any shortcomings revealed in your Work Environment Assessment.
Recommend at least two strategies that can be implemented to bolster successful practices revealed in your Work Environment Assessment.

READING RESOURCES:
Clark, C. M. (2018). Combining cognitive rehearsal, simulation, and evidence-based scripting to address incivility. Nurse Educator

5 references