Conflict Resolution Example

This example is not related to the healthcare field, because I have very little experience working in the healthcare field. This is an example of a time when I was working in a restaurant. The restaurant had been going through a lot of changes, and we had just gotten a new general manager. Our team was really close, and we all worked well together, but this general manager had a few ideas that we did not really agree with. A group of managers, myself included, got together to discuss what was going on, and we decided we thought the way things were already being done was the most efficient way of doing things. So we stuck with what we had been doing. I feel that we did not handle this situation in the best way. I think a more effective way of doing things would have been to address our concerns with the new general manager, rather than going behind his back and deciding we were right. The manager did not stick around long, and I really do not blame him for leaving, but I feel like if we had listened and tried to incorporated his ideas we may have been a stronger team, and maybe would have done things more efficiently. One thing I learned from looking back on this situation is that just because people do not think the way I do, that does not mean they are wrong in their thinking. There is always something to learn. Maybe we would have learned that we really were right, but even if that were the case, this could have turned into a learning experience for the general manager. In conflict situations there is not always a right and a wrong, but there is usually someone who learns something they did not already know.

Quality Improvement (class)

There is so much that goes into quality improvement. There is always something that needs needs to be reviewed and changed in order for it to be the best. Quality improvement is a very important aspect of healthcare. Three questions that will help determine what change needs to be made and if the changes made were a change for the good are. What are we trying to accomplish? How will we know that a change is an improvement? What changes can we make that will result in an improvement? Another thing that can be helpful in quality improvement is the PDSA cycle. PDSA stands for plan, do, study, and act. This means that when implementing a change you will make a plan, implement it on a small scale, study the results, and then implement on a larger scale if the results are the intended results.
Something I liked from the discussion in class was the "Swiss Cheese" model that was brought up in class. Often there are different safety checks that have to be bypassed or a few different things that have to go wrong in order for an event to be completely catastrophic, but there are times when this does happen, and it is something that has to be learned from and improved so it it does not happen again.

Quality Control

• What do you consider elements of quality care when receiving healthcare services? 

          Elements of quality care include knowledgeable, caring staff; proper, working equipment to be able to diagnose and treat problems in a timely manor; and the ability and know how to keep patients safe from injury.

• What do you consider elements of quality care as a professional nurse? 

          Elements of quality care as a professional nurse include knowledge to keep patients safe from medication errors, and from other injuries; the ability to admit when they do not know something and the humility to ask for help to avoid causing harm; hard working and willing to do the jobs that need to be done even if they are not pleasant jobs!

• Are the two similar or different? 

          I believe the two are very similar. The patient is not going to receive quality care if the nurse does not posses the qualities listed above.

Motivation (class)

I enjoyed our class discussion on motivation. It was interesting to hear everyone's input about what motivates them. One thing I hadn't thought about before was the point brought up about when bring food to motivate or praise someone, make sure it is not something simple. This could make them feel not valued. I also thought the discussion about money was interesting. People are never going to be satisfied with what they are making, and if you start paying them more to motivate them, they are just going to want to make more. I think that maybe just giving them a bonus would be better that giving them pay raises. Another thing that was interesting is the point that was brought up about the movie ticket, and other things that are handed out to staff, and how it is counted towards their annual income. I did not know that this was happening, and I think it is kind of sneaky, however, it is still nice to get things like that. Although, the money would probably be nice, it is nice to receive things like movie tickets because many times if people are given money they will not use it to do something fun, so giving these movie tickets allows employees to do something fun at no cost to them. Overall I thought this was a fun topic to discuss.

motivation

Motivating employees is very important if you want to get things done correctly. An employee might be willing to get things done, but if they are poorly motivated, they probably will not put a lot of thought and effort into it. There are a few things I have noticed that motivate me, and also some things that do the opposite of motivate me.
A couple examples of things that have motivated me in the past are: when I had a regional manager compliment me on a job well done when I was just a new employee. I worked hard, and I felt it paid off when someone noticed my work and said something about it. Another example is a time when I had a manager sit down and talk and work with me. This made me feel like she realized the job I was doing was important, and I was important as an employee.
Some example of times when i have been unmotivated by a managers actions are: when I had a manager who worked with me almost daily, but he never bothered to remember my name. To me this not only meant that he didn't really care about me, but he also didn't recognize the work I had done. Another time is when I had a manager criticize the team I was working with, but he was never there to help us or teach us how we could do a better job. I felt like we were really on our own, and we had to teach ourselves. He wanted us to do everything his way, but he never taught us what his way was.
Motivating employees can be very tricky. It is important to help them and teach them, but they also need to learn somethings on their own, and they need to use and develop their own critical thinking skills. It is also important that the employees don't feel like they are being nagged, or constantly criticized. They need to know that you recognize the things they are doing well.

Hiring, Team Building & Staffing, and Career Development

I have really enjoyed the two weeks of class that we discussed hiring, team building and staffing, and career development. We discussed a lot of things that I felt could help me obtain a job. I felt that discussing different interview questions got me thinking, and helped me feel more prepared for future interviews. I especially liked meeting with Sue in the career development center. I learned so much from her, and I left her office feeling even more confident and ready for interviews. 

Team building is obviously something very important, but I feel it is sometimes overlooked, by candidates, during the hiring process. Some people may feel that they are the most qualified candidate for a position, but it is also important to realize that the person that will be hired also needs to fit in with the team in order for things to flow smoothly on the unit.

I am kind of a nerd, but I kind of enjoyed talking about scheduling, and answering the scheduling question on the test. One thing I found interesting about scheduling though was the amount of time that is actually spent doing scheduling, and it makes me wonder why more organizations do not have set schedules, it seems to make most employees happy, and it saves a lot of time. 

Budgeting

Budgeting is such a huge responsibility for a hospital. I cannot imagine having that responsibility. Budgeting for a household is complicated enough! There is a lot to consider when preparing a budget for a hospital. You have to consider the cost of personnel, housekeeping, medical supplies, cleaning supplies, utilities, water, insurance, food, emergencies and so much more. It was interesting to see in class how much that specific hospital lost, and how hard it was to decide where to cut back.