Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management, Essay Example

Introduction

This essay outlines the different approaches nursing leaders and managers take resolving issues in the clinical setting. The issue identified relates to ‘Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Satisfaction.’ This is a benchmark for achieving exceptional performance in any health care organizations. Experts contend that quality improvement (QI) embodies systematic persistent actions leading to measureable development in health care services as well as enhancement of the health status within targeted patient populations (Quality Improvement, 2011).

Further, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), an expert representative organization on quality improvement in the nation’s healthcare delivery services, advances that healthcare quality is directly correlated within the framework of enhanced healthcare services and achieving favorable outcomes. These features must be identifiable at both the individual and populations level (Quality Improvement, 2011).

Patient satisfaction is a very reliable means of assessing care quality delivered by a healthcare organization. Suggestions have been offered by experts regarding accelerating patient satisfaction. The involve healthcare providers giving patients/ clients  full attention when being seen; designing patient centered care; focusing on the purpose of care and not merely the provider’s functions and performing courtesies when interacting with patients/clients by using the words,  thank you, sorry, good day when appropriate. Others are tactfully and immediately resolving patients’/family’s complaints; creating blame – free environment; patient improvement essentially is about designing systems as well as delivering smiles and avoid comparison with other healthcare institutions trying to creative and unique (Morton, Brekhus,  Reynolds  & Dykes, 2014).

As such, a comparison and contrast between leaders and managers approaches to quality improvement and patient satisfaction in their organizations will be undertaken as it relates to my expectations. Finally after investigating their practice interventions a personal preference style will be presented.

Comparison and contrast regarding –

My expectations of leaders and managers

My expectation of leaders and managers in their accomplishment of continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction is to employ valid evidence-based principles and practices.  Experts further contend that in achieving continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction specific principles must be followed. For example, the focus is on quality. How is this perceived by managers and leaders is the first question, which must be considered. When taken from the perspectives offered by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) organizations through ledaders and mangers have a sacred responsibility of ensuring that principles are aligned towards obtaining the desired outcomes (Quality Improvement, 2011).

Essential execution features embody identifying how the organization functions presently. Secondly, it is the health care performance level. Is the organization efficient in its health care delivery process ro produce patient satisfaction? As such, quality is associated with the organization’s service delivery techniques along with the systems being utilized to arrive at decried outcomes  (Quality Improvement, 2011).

The understanding, therefore, is that in creating continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction leaders and managers must focus on revolutionizing current systems. Four key principles have been advanced by experts in accomplishing quality improvement with maximum patient satisfaction can be obtained. They encompass engaging tasks from a systems and process perspective systems, being how the organization functions and process what it delivers to patients/customers/clients (Quality Improvement, 2011).

Precisely, the focus is shifted to the consumer, which is the patient, client or customer. Securing data is another essential feature undertaken by organizations through leaders and managers in the execution of continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction. Manageraccomplishing expected outcomes (Quality Improvement, 2011).

In the nursing discipline of healthcare service delivery both nurse leaders and managers  are in the forefront of the care intervention service. They offer specific treatments order by doctors and are the direct contact between the system and service. Therefore, the expectation is that their performance be so exemplary that nurses aspiring to become leaders and managers could emulate. While they have dual responsibilities for continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction their functions and roles are distinct (Hassmiller &Truelove, 2014).

Nurse Managers are expected to routinely monitor the daily demands of unit operations. At the same time he/she is expected create a environment fostering nursing excellence.  It is also their responsibility to promote a nursing staff culture, which is fully engaged in patients’ care personally. Besides, they are a very important connection between senior executives and direct care nurses. Hence, the task of maintain continuous quality care improvement an d patient satisfaction is a mandatory role (Huber, 2014).

According to the American Nurses’ Association the clinical nurse leader’s   role and responsibility is one of support to nursing staff. It is enabling nurses on the team to function at their maximum potential in producing continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction. Further, it is collaborating with other leaders in the healthcare environment in accomplishing desired outcomes. Essentially, he/she is a leader among several health care settings while functioning as a nursing leader in a specific clinical area (Huber, 2014).

The nurse manager’s roles and responsibilities conflict with respect to delivery of continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction conflict. They can, however, be considered combined when the focus is on building and strengthened teams in executing of care. While  nurse managers  are the  link between healthcare administration and actual delivery of the service clinical leaders serve as a catalysts for enhancing care through executing leadership across different healthcare settings within and without the service institution. Leaders and managers synchronize as providers of appropriate guidance pertaining to maintaining excellent care services (Huber, 2014).

Identification of best resolution according to personal leadership style

As a pediatric oncology nurse the best resolution to achieving continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction according to my personal leadership style pertain towards adapting the four key principles espoused by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Working as systems and processes is a strategy used by me daily when tasks seem overwhelming. It is my perception that there must be an available system /process through which the situation could be resolved and task accomplishment achieved.

My attention is then focused on my patients articulating my presence in my team environment. It is important at this stage to realize that my  full participation is paramount in enhancing patient care quality. Further, the experience could be offered as valuable data regarding continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction in the future.

Conclusions

Continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction are two major twenty-first healthcare interventions as conscientious efforts are made towards consistency in the health care delivery process. Nurse leaders and managers despite their intense training  and  wide experience still struggle with the most appropriate approaches towards evaluating and implementing sytems in this regard (Hassmiller  &Truelove, 2014). This essay provided a framework of interventions utilizing Institute of Medicine (IMO) four key principles in guiding the discussion.

References

Hassmiller, S., & Truelove, J. (2014). Are You the Best Leader You Can Be? AJN, American Journal of Nursing:  114(1) ; 61

Huber, D. (2014). Leadership and Nursing Care Mismanagement (5th ed). Saunders

Morton, J. Brekhus, J. Reynolds, M., & Dykes, A. (2014) Improving the patient experience through nurse leader rounds. Patient Experience Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 2, Article 10.

Quality Improvement (2011). U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)