Professional Roles and Values

Professional Roles Running head: Professional Roles and Values 1 Professional Roles and Values Jennifer Kelso, RN Western Governor’s University Professional Roles 2 Professional Roles and Values The nurse supervisor has the responsibility of coaching all of her staff members in the importance of utilizing her team members to provide the most holistic care for patients. As a nurse supervisor it is important to recognize when a team member is struggling with this concept and to provide the proper leadership and mentoring so that the most best possible patient outcomes can be consistently realized.The nurse supervisor must provider leadership and confidence to try to guide her staff in utilizing available resources to achieve the goal of optimal patient care and outcomes. Promoting Interdisciplinary Care To promote interdisciplinary care the nurse supervisor must find a way to engage her staff in the concepts of team building and how to utilize each member of the healthcare team and the unique contributions that they bring to patient care. One effective way that I have experienced this personally is with team building exercises. In the clinic where I work as a registered nurse we have weekly team building exercises.These exercises provide a regular opportunity to further get to know one’s co-workers outside of the daily rigors of patient care. At my current job I have participated in races, games and scavenger hunts, among other activities. These activities bring an element of fun and stress relief to what might otherwise be another mundane meeting, while at the same time promoting team cohesiveness and friendship. I would recommend that the nurse supervisor provide time in the weekly or monthly schedule for her healthcare teams to meet together to discuss and participate in team building exercises.Setting aside time for all of the staff in the clinic to meet come together and engage in team building activities will help improve cohesion of the staff , improve communication and help to build comradery. Professional Roles Another technique that the nurse supervisor can use to promote the advantages of interdisciplinary care is to discuss with and demonstrate to her staff how team based healthcare achieves better patient outcomes. The nurse supervisor can present case studies during team meetings and ask staff to problem solve how different members of the team can be utilized to address the patients’ needs.These types of exercises can be used to remind staff of the resources that are available to them in the clinic. All the members of the team, from the nutritionist to the 3 social worker, bring their talents and strengths to the table. Being able to help staff recognize the value in utilizing their fellow team members and to appreciate what those team members offer in the way of enhancing patient care is vitally important. Another approach to try in engaging Ms. W in interdislipnary care is to spend some time mentoring her . The nurse supervisor can set aside time dedicated to coaching Ms.W regarding the benefits of a team-based approach to patient care and how to implement this concept in her own practice. Some of the benefits of interdisciplinary care include improved patient health outcomes and overall patient satisfaction in the quality of the healthcare received (Mitchell, Hall & Gaines, 2012). One way she could mentor Ms. W is to shadow her in some of her appointments and provide support and guidance to her as she learns how to utilize the resources available at the clinic. The nurse supervisor could also involve Ms.W’s colleagues by having her shadow another provider and observe a few appointments where the provider utilizes the other team members and to provide concrete examples of how this practice benefits the patient. It is important that the nurse supervisor address these issues with Ms. W in a caring and supportive fashion with the intention of improving the quality of healthcare a nd continuity of care that each patient receives. Professional Roles Delegation and Teamwork To promote delegation and teamwork within the clinic, the nurse supervisor must ensure 4 hat her staff recognizes how vitally important these are to the patient care that they provide. The nurse supervisor needs to promote these practices in the functioning of the clinic every day. Weekly staff meetings are a place where everyone can come together and discuss what did and did not work well in the clinic for that particular week. This is one way to increase communication between staff members. Fostering open communication and providing an environment where everyone’s voice can be heard is very important during these meetings and could be considered one of the major responsibilities of the nurse supervisor.When employees can begin to appreciate the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach and can recognize the potential of such an approach for improving patient outcomes then it will be natural that they would want to continue using this approach. A nurse supervisor must be present to answer staff questions and to help guide them in this process while taking advantage of opportunities to help staff recognize that the interdisciplinary approach is improving patient care. When the nurse supervisor approaches Ms. W regarding delegation and team work, it is important that she utilizes the concepts mentioned above.The nurse supervisor can begin the conversation by recognizing and affirming the difficulties that Ms. W must be having with trying to provide healthcare for Ms. R, who presents with many barriers to care. Inquire of Ms. W what she sees as the barriers that Ms. R has to being compliant with her plan of care. Problem solve with Ms. W in a supportive and open-minded manner regarding various resources the clinic has available to help this patient. Arrange to have a clinic meeting with the other members of the staff and discuss Ms. R’s circumstances and ha ve each team member discuss what they bring to the table to help this patient.It is important that the nurse supervisor try to help Ms. W Professional Roles understand that there is support available to help her care for Ms. R and that acknowledging and utilizing the other team members in the clinic will not only help lessen the load on Ms. W, but will also provide more comprehensive care to Ms. R. Responsibility Ms. W has a responsibility to understand that when she delegates tasks to other staff in the clinic that she is doing so appropriately and safely. When Ms. W delegates any form of the patient’s care it is important that Ms.W recognize that she is legally responsible to ensure that the person that she delegated the task to is competent. Ms. W must make sure that she is delegating the right task, under the right circumstances, to the right person under the right directions with the right supervision (Anthony & Vidal, 2010). It is important that Ms. W consider the finan cial implications of delegation and whether she is being a good steward of clinic resources (Weydt, 2010). A nurse needs to be aware of the cost of services and supplies and to always strive to not be wasteful with healthcare resources.One way a nurse does this is through delegating work to a qualified staff member who can safely do the task and still achieve desired patient outcomes (Weydt, 2010). It is very important to recognize that there are limited healthcare resources and the nurse must be able to efficiently coordinate patient care in an effective and responsible way that maximizes patient outcomes (Weydt, 2010). Trust and open communication are the landmarks of all good relationships and it is no different in a professional relationship. Open communication and trust are vitally important for Ms. W and the staff to have to be able to work effectively as a team.The nurse and the 5 supporting staff must work together and have respect for and trust in each other and what unique contributions that they bring to the patient’s care. Professional Roles To properly delegate the right task to the appropriate supportive staff, Ms. W must consider if the person that she is delegating to is qualified and has the appropriate skill set to perform the task. It is important that Ms. W consider whether the task requires any nursing judgment, assessment, or licensure to be safely carried out, as these kinds of tasks cannot be 6 delegated to supportive staff (Weydt, 2010). Ms.W must be able to trust and have confidence in the skills of the supportive staff (Weydt, 2010). Different resources that Ms. W can use in the clinic to help with the delegation process is to ask to see the job descriptions of supportive staff to see if the task she is asking the staff member to perform fits in the job description. She can also accompany the support staff when they are helping patients to ensure that she is comfortable with their skills. She can also look up her nurse practic e act of her state and review the legal and ethical implications of delegation to ensure she is upholding the standards.Ms. W must ensure that the care she is delegating to another team member is under the right circumstances. It is imperative that Ms. W consider the current circumstances that the patient is in. Ms. W must assess the patient’s current health situation and then decide if it is safe, appropriate, a good use of clinic resources and in the patient’s best interest to delegate a task to a supportive staff (Weydt, 2010). To delegate to the right person Mrs. W must consider the qualifications of the supportive staff that she is delegating to. Points that Ms.W must consider include the job description, experience, years of practice and competency of supportive staff (Weydt, 2010). If the supportive staff is inexperienced or has not proven that he or she can safely perform the assigned task then Ms. W should not delegate as it would not be safe. When Ms. W does deem that the task that she would like the supportive staff to do is safe she must also provide adequate supervision. Ms. W must be available and accessible to support staff that she delegates to in case there are any issues that may come up (Weydt, 2010). Ms. W must continueProfessional Roles to assess the patient’s response to care provided by supportive staff and be prepared to intervene appropriately if needed. Ms. W must consider and implement the principles mentioned above if she is to delegate patient care to supportive staff in a safe, effective and appropriate manner. Referrals. Ms. W needs to also take into account the above principles when making referrals to other health care providers. When making referrals, Ms. W must ensure that she is referring to a provider that has the skills and appropriate experience to care for Ms.R’s needs (Maji, 2009). Ms. W will need to consider what care that the patient needs from the referral to another health care provider a nd then monitor Ms. W’s response to the treatment. It is Ms. W’s responsibility to ensure that she is following Ms. R closely and to ensure that she is benefiting 7 medically from being referred outside of clinic (Maji, 2009). It is Ms. W’s ultimate responsibility to provide safe and competent care to the patient and delegating or making referrals is never something to be taken lightly; it must be done in a safe and effective manner. Resources.As a nursing supervisor it is imperative to support providers and staff with learning resources that are available to find out more information that will aid them in their jobs. Ms. W would benefit from going to her state board of nursing to find out more information regarding delegation. Another readily-available resource is the American Nursing Association’s website, which contains articles regarding delegation and how to implement it into her practice. Every state also has a Nurse Practice Act and Ms. W should be very familiar with and quite capable of following the standards put forth by this act.Delegation opportunities. In the assigned case study there were many support staff that Ms. W could utilize to provide optimal patient care. Ms. R has many barriers to care that make it more difficult for her to be compliant with her plan of care. Ms. R is a Latina and would benefit greatly from having someone communicate with her who is familiar with her culture. It would Professional Roles 8 benefit Ms. R to work with the Latina social worker on staff at the clinic to help this patient with transportation issues and also to help find additional resources in the community that could help this patient once the baby is born.As the patient is not responding when Ms. W is speaking with her, it must be considered that this patient does not understand English very well and possibly cannot read English. As the patient is developmentally delayed it may be more difficult for this patient to have a full un derstanding of her plan of care and be able to follow her provider’s recommendations. Again, Ms. W would be wise in utilizing the Latina social worker who can speak Spanish and also write detailed instructions in Spanish.In order to help this patient prepare for labor, delivery and postpartum care, Ms. W can have the LVN on staff with training in labor and delivery, prenatal care, parenting and infant care to aid this patient in preparing for the birth and infant care of her baby. In providing continued care and support for this patient, the nurse who specializes in community health nursing would be ideal to work with this patient in ensuring that she is taking advantage of any community resources that are available to help this patient and her newborn infant.It would be important to ensure this patient has an understanding of how to properly care for herself and her baby since she is developmentally delayed. Utilizing all support staff and the different services that they of fer can ensure that this patient is receiving culturally appropriate, comprehensive, and excellent interdisciplinary care. Professional Roles References Anthony, M. , & Vidal, K. (2010). Mindful communication: a novel approach to improving delegation and improve patient care. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2), Retrieved from 9 http://www. ursingworld. org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJI N/TableofContents/Vol152010/No2May2010/Mindful-Communication-andDelegation. html Maji, A. (2009, June 30). Referrals, consultations & collaboration in nursing care. Retrieved from http://voices. yahoo. com/referrals-consultations-collaboration-nursing-care3665053. html? cat=4 Mitchell, P. , Hall, L. , & Gaines, M. (2012). A social compact for advancing team based highvalue healthcare. Health Affairs Blog, Retrieved from http://healthaffairs. org/blog/2012/05/04/a-social-compact-for-advancing-team-