Introduction
Vitas Hospice, the agency where I undertook my practicum, has a strong organizational culture based on collaboration among the nursing personnel, patients and the patients’ families to deliver the best, patience-centered, evidence-based nursing care for the terminally ill patients (Maria et al., 2013), as discussed in this write-up.
Organizational Culture
The Florida-based institution prioritizes patient safety and, accordingly, has strong policies to ensure delivery of optimal care to the patients suffering from life limiting illnesses (Fernandez et al., 2012; Vitas, 2013). To this end, there are interdisciplinary nursing teams whose leaders report to a superior nurse leader. The teams comprise professionals drawn from diverse fields such as pharmacists, dieticians and counselors (Vitas, 2013). The hospice realizes the cultural diversity of its nursing personnel and patients and their families, and this is reflected in its policies regarding patient-centered care that puts into consideration the clients’ specific cultural needs, making appropriate adjustments to accommodate them (Fernandez et al., 2012). The agency’s policies on cultural diversity and delivery of patient-centered care are designed to ensure achievement of the company’s missions, ‘to preserve the quality of life for those who have a limited time to live’.
The high quality nursing care offered by Vitas is founded on the philosophy of facilitating the dying process by minimizing pain, upholding integrity for terminally ill patients and helping the families and friends of the sick to handle the trauma and bad feelings experienced when a loved one is terminally ill, or up on bereavement (Fernandez et al., 2012).The institution’s organizational culture, mission and philosophy comprise a strong culture which prioritizes the patients’ safety by implementing patient-centered, evidence-based nursing care (Maria et al., 2013).
Conclusion
All in all, Vitas has a strong organizational culture which emphasizes optimal nursing outcomes and patient safety, which is achieved through collaborative nursing care (Maria et al., 2013). In the institution, a nurse leader coordinates an interdisciplinary team to deliver the best nursing care to the terminally ill patients.
References
Fernandez, R., Braun, K., Ozawa, J., Comptom, M., Guzman, C., & Somogy-Zaludi, E. (2012).
Home-based Palliative Care Services for Underserved Populations. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 13(4): 413-419.
Maria, R.M., Lidon, L.I., Teresa, M.C. & Manuel, M.T. (2013). Development and Validation of
The Competence in Evidence-based Practice Questionnaire (EBP-COQ) among Nursing Students. BMC Medical Education, 13: 19.
Vitas. 2013. Hospice Care and Services. Retrieved 15 November, 2013 from
http://www.vitas.com/
