Posted: October 6th, 2022
Developing an Intervention and Determining the Impact
Developing an Intervention and Determining the Impact
Introduction
Unhealthy workplaces in the healthcare sector can jeopardize nurse satisfaction and patient outcomes. Healthcare facilities should embrace various interventions to promote better outcomes. The interventions include improving communication with the employees, developing policies and adhering to them, and hold regular meetings to listen to the complaints. An unhealthy working environment can result due to long working shifts and minimal breaks (Arnetz et al., 2019). Case-control studies demonstrate the factors that increase satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the healthcare workers. Management teams of healthcare workers have a responsibility of generating solutions for the factors that cause unhealthy workplaces. Communication allows the employees to freely exchange information to promote work efficiency. The purpose of the essay is to examine the intervention strategies and the impact of the interventions to alleviate unhealthy workplaces in the healthcare sector.
Section 3: The Intervention
Unhealthy workplaces require professional interventions to boost the quality of outcomes. One of the interventions is to improve communication with the employees. Studies show that communication enhances the knowledge of the prevalent issues in an organization (Arnetz et al., 2019). When the management takes time to listen to the workers, they get practical feedback on what workplaces look like. Unhealthy and unconducive workplaces are a result of poor communication between the workers and the management (Carte & Williams, 2017). For example, an unconducive work environment can result in poor job satisfaction and complaints. Communication allows the employees to express their complaints to the management. When the management learns about the challenges, there is a high possibility of resolving the issue.
The management should receive the complaints from the employees and develop policies. Policies are effective in ensuring a safe and healthy environment for all employees. Managers have a responsibility to ensure the successful implementation of the policies and adhering to the set rules (Carte & Williams, 2017). For example, poor communication contributes to unhealthy workplaces. When employees do not receive clear instructions about their projects, they are likely to face confusion. Confusion can lead to disagreement and slow completion of projects (Pickering et al., 2017). Studies show that employees enjoy when they receive clear information about their tasks.
One of the policies that management should establish is to hold regular meetings to listen to the complaints. The management should allow the management to express themselves freely. Opening up will help the nurses in the healthcare environment to understand that their opinion matters in the decision-making process (Pickering et al., 2017). The management should not neglect the ideas and preferences of the nurses and other healthcare workers. Another strategy of receiving complaints is establishing online surveys to allow employees to post anonymous complaints (Pickering et al., 2017). The option of giving the healthcare workers the ability to participate in the policy development will improve their confidence in the management.
An unhealthy working environment can result due to long working shifts and minimal breaks. Hospitals that minimize their staff to maximize their profits end up with a dissatisfied workforce (Crawford et al., 2019). Forcing nurses to take care of a large number of patients and working long hours contributes to an unhealthy workplace. The management has a responsibility of identifying the challenges of work shifts and resolve them effectively. The friendly shifts will ensure that the workers are doing their work effectively to prevent the shortfalls that occur when the healthcare workers are discouraged (Crawford et al., 2019). The interventions will eliminate the inherent challenges of an unhealthy workplace.
Section 4: The Impact
Case-control studies demonstrate the factors that increase satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the healthcare workers. The purpose of the case controls is to compare two groups of people working in healthy and unhealthy workplaces. Studies in various places show that employees who are engaged in decision-making are more satisfied with their jobs (Crawford et al., 2019). Researchers should engage in additional case-control research to provide additional details about the scope of unhealthy workplaces. Case controls would provide information on the impact of unhealthy workplaces on both the healthcare workers and patients. The studies would be effective in providing insights into the efforts that healthcare organizations should take to improve the workplaces (Wilkinson et al., 2017). Additional research is necessary to improve the current condition in healthcare workplaces.
Improving communication has an impact on workplaces. Communication allows the employees to freely exchange information to promote work efficiency. Lack of clarity can lead to frustrations which can undermine workplace friendliness (Wilkinson et al., 2017). For example, employees should receive clear instructions about their duties to reduce the errors that occur in workplaces. When the management fails to alert the employees about the precautions they should take, they are likely to experience harm (Wilkinson et al., 2017). For example, during the pandemic, health organizations are required to take precautions to improve the safety of the workers. Communicating the precautions employees should take is crucial in preventing frustrations.
Developing friendly policies is an effective method to improve work safety. The policies should prioritize the safety of the workers to boost their motivation (Arnetz et al., 2019). For example, some hospitals have proposed to provide extra allowances to the healthcare workers taking care of patients with infectious diseases. Another support for the healthcare workers during the pandemic is to provide emotional support such as counseling (Arnetz et al., 2019). When the nurses experience horrific events in the event of massive death, they require emotional support. The focus is to ensure the workers appreciate the support of the management. When employees fail to realize the management is supporting them, they are at risk of mental illness or quitting their jobs. Studies show that healthcare workers are at risk of mental illness if they experience unsafe workplaces (Carte & Williams, 2017). The policies to support the nurses are necessary to enhance the development of a healthy working environment.
Studies show that places of work that provide open communication can reduce the factors that undermine the satisfaction of the workers. The management should receive diverse views of the workers (Pickering et al., 2017). Diverse views will promote continuous improvement of the working practices. Communication can comprise practices that improve social events. For example, workers should find time to socialize or share ideas about their life outside the working environment. The sharing helps them to reduce stress and prevent toxic workplaces (Pickering et al., 2017). The management has a responsibility of encouraging the employees to communicate their problems. The approach would limit the high turnover rate among healthcare workers and boost work satisfaction.
Patient Outcomes
The positive impact of the interventions will affect employee satisfaction and patient outcomes. When the employees are not satisfied with their jobs, they are at risk of committing medical errors (Crawford et al., 2019). For example, statistics indicate that nurses who work for long hours at risk of committing medical errors. Some of the common medical errors include administering the wrong dosage or high dosage (Crawford et al., 2019). In some cases, surgeons have operated on the wrong patients or the wrong parts of the body due to exhaustion. A healthcare organization has a responsibility to improve the quality of the workflows to minimize exhaustion which can lead to medical errors.
Communication is one of the strategies that can improve the quality of patient outcomes. When healthcare workers communicate effectively they can reduce the rate of medical errors (Wilkinson et al., 2017). Sharing information across various platforms can reduce the severity of unhealthy workplaces. For example, when nurses do not communicate effectively they risk wrong drug prescription. The wrong prescription can trigger tension and dissatisfaction in the workplace. The management has a responsibility of ensuring that the nurses are communicating effectively (Wilkinson et al., 2017). One of the strategies of achieving quality outcomes is training the employees to embrace healthy relationships. Healthy relationships will foster quality satisfaction and better professional engagement.
Conclusion
Healthcare workers have a responsibility of maintaining a healthy workplace to promote quality patient outcomes. Unhealthy workplaces require professional interventions to boost the quality of outcomes. Unhealthy and unconducive workplaces are a result of poor communication between the workers and the management. When employees do not receive clear instructions about their projects, they are likely to face confusion. The management has a responsibility of identifying the challenges of work shifts and resolve them effectively. Case controls provide information on the impact of unhealthy workplaces on both healthcare workers and patients. Researchers should carry out additional studies to ensure they understand the dynamics related to improving the workplace environment.
References
Arnetz, J. E., Sudan, S., Fitzpatrick, L., Cotten, S. R., Jodoin, C., Chang, C. H., & Arnetz, B. B. (2019). Organizational determinants of bullying and work disengagement among hospital nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(6), 1229-1238.
Carte, N. S., & Williams, C. (2017). Role strain among male RNs in the critical care setting: Perceptions of an unfriendly workplace. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 43, 81-86.
Crawford, C. L., Chu, F., Judson, L. H., Cuenca, E., Jadalla, A. A., Tze-Polo, L., … & Garvida Jr, R. (2019). An integrative review of nurse-to-nurse incivility, hostility, and workplace violence: a GPS for nurse leaders. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 43(2), 138-156.
Pickering, C. E., Nurenberg, K., & Schiamberg, L. (2017). Recognizing and responding to the “toxic” work environment: Worker safety, patient safety, and abuse/neglect in nursing homes. Qualitative Health Research, 27(12), 1870-1881.
Wilkinson, H., Whittington, R., Perry, L., & Eames, C. (2017). Examining the relationship between burnout and empathy in healthcare professionals: A systematic review. Burnout Research, 6, 18-29.
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Developing an Intervention and Determining the Impact