Assessment Traits
Benchmark
Requires Lopeswrite
Assessment Description
In this assignment, you will be writing a 1,000-1,250 word paper describing the differing approaches of nursing leaders and managers to issues in practice. To complete this assignment, do the following:
Select an issue from the following list: bullying, unit closers and restructuring, floating, nurse turnover, nurse staffing ratios, use of contract employees (i.e., registry and travel nurses), or magnet designation.
Describe the selected issue. Discuss how it impacts quality of care and patient safety in the setting in which it occurs.
Discuss how professional standards of practice should be demonstrated in this situation to help rectify the issue or maintain professional conduct.
Explain the differing roles of nursing leaders and nursing managers in this instance and discuss the different approaches they take to address the selected issue and promote patient safety and quality care. Support your rationale by using the theories, principles, skills, and roles of the leader versus manager described in your readings.
Discuss what additional aspects managers and leaders would need to initiate in order to ensure professionalism throughout diverse health care settings while addressing the selected issue.
Describe a leadership style that would best address the chosen issue. Explain why this style could be successful in this setting.
Use at least three peer-reviewed journal articles other than those presented in your text or provided in the course.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
RN to BSN
1.1: Exemplify professionalism in diverse health care settings.
1.3: Exercise professional nursing leadership and management roles in the promotion of patient safety and quality care.
3.4: Demonstrate professional standards of practice.
Bullying in Nursing Practice
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Bullying in Nursing Practice
Introduction
Nursing has become essential in patient care everywhere in the world. Nurses’ roles have evolved over the years, and today they perform most of the work in every health care setting (Lúanaigh, 2017). Although nursing can be a rewarding and lucrative career, it has some challenges that may hinder quality care delivery and positive patient outcomes. Bullying in nursing practice among a common and popular nurses’ experience. These issues must be addressed to ensure nurses perform their duties effectively (Lúanaigh, 2017). The purpose of this paper is to discuss an issue in practice (bullying) and nurse leaders’ roles in addressing the issue.
Bullying in Nursing
The selected healthcare issue is bullying in nursing practice, which is considered a serious issue and a significant hindrance to quality care delivery and positive patient outcomes. Bullying can be defined as verbal or physical actions that undermine other persons by hurting them mentally or physically or separating them from the group (Ciocco, 2018). Actions that are identified with bullying include intimidation, offense, humiliation, and other negative activities directed at the victims. The actions of bullying can be more painful and diminishing than one may think. Name-calling and insults against other people are the most common form of bullying nurses are experiencing (Ciocco, 2018). Bullying may include backstabbing, refusing to help without reason, threatening, sabotaging, unfair assignments, gossiping, withholding information critical to the job, eye-rolling and other demeaning non-verbal behaviors, innuendo, and others.
Impact of Bullying on Quality of Care and Patient Safety
Bullying tends to interfere with the nurse’s effort to provide quality health care services. Bullying has a negative influence on collaboration and coordination of health care services, which are essential to provide more efficient and effective care (Ciocco, 2018). Bullying among nurses disrupts communication and causes delays in the provision of nursing care. Nurses experiencing bullying are most likely to cause medical errors due to anxiety, stress, frustration, and low self-esteem. If a nurse experiences these issues, then that nurse cannot guarantee the best practice in everything they do. Nurses perform a critical job in the workplace, they deserve motivation and happiness while at work. Bullying denies nurses all the happiness they need to work effectively. Bullying may also lead to nurse turnover (Ciocco, 2018). Nurses are likely to leave work when frustrated due to bullying, leading to nursing shortages and hence affecting the quality of care.
Demonstration of professional standards of practice in this situation to help rectify the issue or maintain professional conduct
Like any other discipline, nursing has particular professional standards that govern its practice. Professional standards in nursing are part and parcel of nursing practice and are meant to improve competence (Lúanaigh, 2017). The nursing professional standards are aimed at eliminating negative energy and behavior that often lead to bullying. The nursing professional standards play an important role in preventing and rectifying bullying incidences in different healthcare settings. Processional standards in nursing practice create conducive environments for nurses to practice (Lúanaigh, 2017). Nurse leaders should take the lead in leading by example in implementing the professional standards in nursing practice. Nursing professional standards are also used to provide a framework for developing clinical competency checklist or proficiency evaluations for a specific clinical unit or employer. Professional standards are used to identify areas for improvement in a clinical setting (Lúanaigh, 2017). For instance, it can be used to identify and correct issues that foster bullying in nursing practice.
The Role of Nursing Leaders and Nursing Managers in this situation and the Different approaches they may take to address the issue
Nursing leaders and nursing managers have a critical role to play in addressing bullying instances in nursing practice. Collaboration is essential among nurses when it comes to dealing with incivility at the workplace. Nurse managers or leaders have a role to promote and maintain civility in the healthcare setting (Lúanaigh, 2017). Nursing managers and leaders can create national, local, or organizational policies that can prevent or resolve issues related to bullying in health care. For instance, they can formulate a policy that confers disciplinary action so that all nurses and other care providers can understand that bullying is prohibited and regarded as an offense (Lúanaigh, 2017). These leaders can also advocate for bullying victims to get justice and punish perpetrators. The leaders will also try and detect elements of bullying and whether a safe environment is created for new nurses (Lúanaigh, 2017). Novice nurses tend to experience most bullying in the nursing practice, hence, the need to be vigilant to ensure they do not experience the same.
Additional Aspects Managers and Leaders Would Need to Initiate to Ensure Professionalism Throughout Diverse Health Care Settings While Addressing Bullying
There are some additional areas in health care that nurse leaders together with nursing leaders and managers can explore to ensure professionalism while addressing bullying. One important area or aspect that nurse leaders can focus on is the missing link between leaders, departments, and nursing managers (Lúanaigh, 2017). The educational aspect is also important in this situation. Nursing leaders and managers can go through some special training to gain skills on how to promote cohesion and correction of bullying within the working environment (Ciocco, 2018). Leaders should be able to use legal channels for solving issues related to bullying in nursing practice.
A Leadership Style that Would Best Address the Chosen Issue
Nursing leaders can adopt various leadership styles to help them address the issue. Democratic leadership is the best style to effectively address bullying in nursing practice Al (Khajeh, 2018). Democratic leadership involves members of the group participating in a decision-making process, therefore, it is a shared leadership style. Through this leadership style, leaders can form a board comprised of skilled and experienced nurses (Khajeh, 2018). The board should be able to listen to every claim of bullying from both sides. The issue should be investigated thoroughly before making any verdict. Democratic leadership allows for open communication, hence, can help identify the root cause of the problem and possible remedies to avoid future occurrences of bullying (Khajeh, 2018). This leadership style is selected because it will include fairness while effectively addressing the issue.
Conclusion
Nursing has a significant role to play in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Bullying in nursing practice is one of the challenges nurses face to hinder their effort to deliver quality care services. Bullying may include backstabbing, refusing to help without reason, threatening, sabotaging, unfair assignments, gossiping, and others. Bullying endangers the quality of care and patient safety. Bullying leads to frustration and anxiety that compromises nurses’ ability to deliver quality care. Professional nursing standards promote civility in health care, hence, preventing bullying and other negative behaviors at workplace. Nursing leaders and managers play important role in addressing bullying behaviors by imposing laws to prevent such actions. Democratic leadership can help address the issue effectively.
References
Ciocco, M. C. (2018). Fast facts on combating nurse bullying, incivility, and workplace violence: What nurses need to know in a nutshell. Springer Publishing Company.
Khajeh, E. H. (2018). Impact of leadership styles on organizational performance. Journal of Human Resources Management Research, 2018, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.5171/2018.687849
Lúanaigh, P. Ó. (Ed.). (2017). Nurses and nursing: The person and the profession. Taylor & Francis.