Objective of Carol Greely
After discovering that the nurses in her department are composed mainly of marginal employees, the initial reaction was actually anger . Afterwards, the objective of Carol Greely was to “do everything in her power to turn the hot seat into a real nursing unit” .
Plan of Action to Accomplish Objective
Meet the nurses in the unit and communicate her plan to turn the unit into a productive nursing unit;
Discuss the apparent sentiments and concerns of the nurses for having exhibiting such unprofessional behavior;
Solicit the nurses’ reaction and response on how they could contribute to the productivity of the nursing unit;
Elevate the suggestions, including one’s professional proposal to the human resources department, which includes the following:
Given the six (6) months that transpired as a nurse manager of the medical-surgical unit, I would suggest conducting a performance evaluation of nursing staff in the unit, with the purpose of measuring current skills as well as requirements for training and also promotion opportunities for those nurses who exhibited good performance;
Moreover, the hospital’s code of conduct as well as policies for rewards and punishments should also be reviewed to enable consistent application through all nursing units, including the medical-surgical unit;
An incorporation of a proposed policy of nurse rotation should also be enforced to avoid confining ‘marginal’ nurses in one unit and enable these nurses to gain advanced and professional experiences working in other units;
In addition, enforcement of the code of conduct, in conjunction with the rewards and punishments policies, should provide all nurses across all units with appropriate sanctions for not following dress codes, frequent absenteeism, and schedule juggling.
Steps where Human Resources Department can Provide Positive Assistance
The Human Resources Department (HRD) can definitely provide assistance in the plan to transform the unit into a real nursing unit. It is evident from the behavior of the nurses from the medical-surgical unit that they could actually perceive that they are pegged as marginal and are placed in that unit so that their behavior could not affect the productivity of other nursing units. Insodoing, the nurses in the medical-surgical unit could have exhibited low morale and low productivity through the behavior that has been manifested all along . As such, the expectations of others apparently define the way these nurses behave. To transform this stereotyped belief and mindset, HRD should be the first one to transform current policies and procedures to be applied in a consistent manner across all nursing units, including the medical-surgical unit. Based on the proposed plan of action, HRD should assist by undertaking the following steps:
Recommend undertaking of performance evaluation across all nursing units, including the medical-surgical unit to gauge the current performance level of nurses based on the hospital’s standard of performance and performance matrix.
Depending on the results of the performance evaluation in the medical-surgical unit, provide training for nurses that need to improve marginalized performance, promote those who exhibit exemplary performance, and recommend courses of action for improving marginal behavior (according to the hospital’s code of conduct).
Enforce rotation of all nurses across all nursing units, including the medical-surgical unit to help learn through the professional experiences of others and to dismantle the marginalized and notorious image of the medical-surgical nurses as unprofessional.
Clearly communicate updates in policies and procedures, especially for enforcing a system of rewards and punishments, to all nursing units, according to the hospital’s code of conduct. Motivate nurses by giving them opportunities for promotion and rewarding them with bonuses, acknowledgement and recognition for exemplary performance, as well as more chances for professional growth (providing leadership training and sponsoring pursuing higher education, to name a few).
Look into a more effective manner to schedule nurses to avoid schedule juggling and requests for changes in schedules at the last moment.
Nature of Human Resources Involvement
References
Best, R. J. (2008). Employee Satisfaction, Firm Value and Firm Productivity. Warrensburg, MO: University of Central Missouri.
Liebler, J., & McConnell, C. (2004). Management Principles for Health Professionals. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
