Discussion: NURS 4221 Applying Performance Improvement Tools

Discussion: NURS 4221 Applying Performance Improvement Tools

Imagine that, for about a year, your nursing unit has been involved in an intensive campaign to improve patient satisfaction scores with pain management. You are getting good data from your patients, as the length of stay on this inpatient geriatric medical nursing unit is only about 6 days. Your hospital does 100% survey to inpatients, and the response rate is about 25%, which is higher than it has been. This notwithstanding, the percent of “patient very satisfied” (top box), with a score of 5, has been in the low 70s. The national benchmark for medical surgical units like yours is about 85% very satisfied. Of all the units in your hospital, your unit is the lowest scoring on this HCAPHS survey. But as your unit is the only geriatric medical nursing unit in the hospital, you’d always thought it was the nature of the patient population.

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You have been the day shift representative to the QI team, and the scores on your unit are posted monthly. Here are the numerous strategies that have been tried on your unit and the timeframes.

For this Discussion, examine the strategies and interventions tried in your unit and consider the following questions: a) Were the strategies effective in creating a sustainable change on your nursing unit, and b) To what extent can your nurse manager and CNO count on your unit eclipsing the national benchmark in the next quarter, the next year? That is, does this run chart have some predictive ability? Does the run chart support the nursing unit’s decision to celebrate? To what extent can the leadership be confident that the trend will continue?

Finding and hiring great talent is one of the number one most important things managers do. However, as important as the hiring process is, it is only the beginning. Once someone is added to the team, the manager’s job shifts to getting the most out of each resource.

Every individual is unique, with different motivations, but there are some fundamental things that organizations can do to achieve company-wide employee performance improvement.

1 – Increase Employee Engagement
Engaged employees are the hidden treasure of successful organizations. These employees contribute beyond their job description to achieve more than what is expected. Employees become engaged when they believe company leaders are open to their ideas and they feel connected to the success of the organization.

 

2 – Foster Collaboration
When people are working together on something, not letting the team down is powerful motivation. Bringing together people from different parts of the organization also helps expand knowledge and creates opportunities to look at problems with a fresh perspective.

 

3 – Share the Vision
Employees who understand the company’s strategic goals and objectives are in a better position to make good decisions on a daily basis. They also feel empowered by knowing how their role and duties contribute to the success of the organization as a whole.

 

4 – Practice Continuous Learning
Continuous learning goes hand in hand with continuous improvement. Employees should be given frequent opportunities to learn something new, even if it is not directly related to their current role. Investing in employee education is an important signal that the organization is committed to the personal growth of everyone on the team.

 

5 – Give (and Receive) Frequent Feedback
Managers should have a constant dialogue with each team member rather than waiting for periodic performance reviews to provide and solicit feedback about individual performance. Open communication is essential to capitalizing on individual strengths and improving on weaknesses.

 

6 – Recognize Achievement
Employees who contribute to organizational improvement by solving problems, delighting customers, resolving inefficiencies, and actively helping colleagues should be publicly recognized. Not only is this gratifying for the individual, but it also communicates the behavior that should be emulated to the rest of the staff.