Perinatal Safety: From Concept to Nursing Practice, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The healthcare system empowers nurses to optimize their value and contributions to an organization through their actions and their decision-making authority. It is necessary for nurses to be mindful of how their decisions affect others and to determine what steps are required to ensure that patient care outcomes are achieved at their full and optimal potential. One area of consideration is collaboration between nurses and across other disciplines in order to provide patients with the best possible conditions under which to heal and to thrive, and this is best achieved with a dynamic that is grounded in idea sharing and an understanding of the different areas where communication and collaboration are essential to improving patient care quality. This process also demonstrates the importance of enabling nurses to express their views regarding comprehensive care and to recognize their value in supporting patient needs. In particular, nurses working in the field of obstetrics must collaborate with other disciplines to ensure that women receive the care and knowledge that they deserve to enhance their level of care and treatment. One area of consideration is perinatal safety, as it is important for safety concerns to be addressed by nursing staff members in a timely manner in collaboration with other areas in order to prevent adverse events or outcomes (Lyndon & Kennedy, 2010).

Description of the Power Dynamic

Promoting patient safety in the obstetrics unit requires an understanding of the dynamics of patient care and what is required to ensure that patients receive the best possible care and treatment under these conditions. Therefore, protecting patients from adverse events and other risks must be addressed and managed through collaboration among nurses in order to provide consistent care and treatment at all times (Lyndon & Kennedy, 2010). There must be a greater emphasis on establishing a supportive environment that will enable nurses to share ideas in an effort to prevent risk and harm for patients, while also demonstrating an ability to work cohesively in a continuous manner. It is important for nurses to work well together and across the aisle with other disciplines with the primary objective to achieve greater continuity of care in treating obstetric patients effectively. They must also demonstrate an ability to compromise and to put patient needs above all else, rather than to solely consider their own needs, as compromise and discussion will elevate their power and strength within this type of environment.

An interdisciplinary approach to obstetrics care will also emphasize the significance of a collaborative approach to treatment in order to achieve the desired outcomes for patients, facilitating an environment of trust and support to engage patients in achieving successful results (McDonald, Jayasuriya, & Harris, 2012). It should be noted that “trust and respect can be fostered through a mix of interventions aimed at building personal relationships and establishing agreed rules that govern collaborative care and that are perceived as fair (McDonald et.al, 2012). This reflects a need to further examine the type of relationships that exist within these collaborations and to determine what is required to ensure that patients receive the best possible care and treatment under the circumstances (McDonald et.al, 2012). There must be a greater emphasis on the development of core principles that will positively influence patient care and demonstrate the value of achieving successful relationships between nurses, other staff members across different disciplines, and with patients (McDonald et.al, 2012).

The power dynamic between nurses, professionals from other disciplines, and patients requires a delicate balance of personality characteristics and an ability to recognize how to integrate these characteristics in a positive manner to support patient care quality and to minimize safety risks. This process is ongoing and requires nurses to openly and actively communicate with their colleagues in an effort to balance the power that is required to accommodate patients and support their needs on many levels. This process also requires nurses to be mindful of the challenges associated with patient care and treatment and how their decisions may directly impact patients; as a result, they must be able to exercise sound judgment and flexibility in working to achieve a balance of power with their colleagues to place patient needs above all else.

Reflection on the Power Dynamic

The power dynamic in obstetrics must emphasize nurses’ potential to work well with others and to recognize their value in a collaborative setting. They must be able to recognize the value of advancing quality of care in their activities and determine what steps are required to facilitate a positive and meaningful experience for patients at all times. There must be a greater emphasis on continuity of care and in not using power as a weapon in nurse-led communication, as this will only serve to alienate colleagues and perhaps patients when plans of care are addressed. This process is complex in many ways, yet it also demonstrates the importance of balance and collaboration in order to ensure that patients receive a much-needed boost in care and treatment when decision-making is conflicted. It is important for nurses to be mindful of the issues that they might experience as they work with patients and to be warm and engaging with their colleagues as they communicate, rather than to be confrontational or less than supportive in these conversations. These behaviors will go a long way in supporting nurses’ primary objectives to advance patient care outcomes to the next level and to encourage positive and meaningful relationships with other colleagues that are consistent, timely, and essential to the patient care and treatment experience.

Nurses must often be creative in working with their colleagues because it requires an emphasis on flexibility and the development of an encouraging environment that emphasizes support and guidance in a multidisciplinary manner. Nurses must be able to communicate with patients and with parents in a desirable manner that will encourage flexibility, minimize stress and worry, and emphasize the importance of advancing objectives through a learning curve that supports these communications (Weis, Zoffman, & Egerod, 2014). This process is instrumental in determining how to work effectively with patients and in determining what steps are required to ensure that patients receive optimal conditions of care and treatment at all times (Weis et.al, 2014). This requires nurses to exercise authority over their patients but to also balance this authority with other principles in order to mandate compliance with nurse-based directives; at the same time, nurses must be able to communicate openly and honestly regarding patient care needs, given the context of the obstetrics setting and what is required to achieve the desired results (Weis et.al, 2014). Nurses must embody a powerful and controlled approach to their work in this unit without becoming too authoritative in their efforts to exercise control and leadership within these situations.

Conclusion

The power dynamic for nurses in the obstetrics setting requires a delicate balance between competing forces and an ability to facilitate effective communication across different areas. This is an important step towards the discovery of new ideas and techniques that will accommodate patient care needs, while also supporting an environment that is collaborative and multidisciplinary in nature. Nurses must be able to work collaboratively with the patient’s best interests in mind and must be able to cooperate and share knowledge so that patients are not at risk of harm or further decline. This is a challenging situation for all nurses that requires patience, support, enthusiasm, motivation, and strong communication skills in order to achieve the desired level of success in this regard.

References

Lyndon, A., & Kennedy, H.P. (2010). Perinatal safety: from concept to nursing practice. Journal of Perinatal Neonatal Nursing, 24(1), 22-31.

McDonald, J., Jayasuriya, R., & Harris, M.F. (2012). The influence of power dynamics and trust on multidisciplinary collaboration: a qualitative case study of type 2 diabetes mellitus. BMC Health Services Research, 12, 63. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/12/63

Weis, J., Zoffmann, V., & Egerod, I. (2014). Improved nurse–parent communication in neonatal intensive care unit: evaluation and adjustment of an implementation strategy. Journal of clinical nursing, 23(23-24), 3478-3489.