As A Nurse You Serve An Important Role In Identifying Strategies To E ✓ Solved
As a nurse, you serve an important role in identifying strategies to effectively manage health care resources and in leading health care quality improvement. You must be able to decide what leadership style or strategy to apply in a given situation to achieve an effective resolution of the issue. Read the following two scenarios and select one to focus on in this Discussion. Consider the leadership style or strategy that might be most effective in the scenario you selected. Scenario 1 You work in a for-profit nursing home, with about 100 beds, on a 20-bed unit that is largely patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Your patient mix is predominantly Medicare and Medicaid patients. Your nursing home is part of a larger system that includes a major medical center, as well as VNA, outpatient dialysis, and a fully integrated network. Your nurse manager is getting feedback from the hospital that your nursing home is sending too many patients to the ED who really don’t need to go. How would you go about figuring out what could be done at the nursing home to prevent avoidable ED visits? Scenario 2 You’ve been associated with an outpatient cardiology clinic that is part of a large academic medical center.
Your patients are mostly charity care and managed Medicaid. Most have a prescription plan, but none have a “family doctor†and use the clinic (and the ED) regularly. Most are unfamiliar with their medications and do not have the resources for care coordination in their family/social network. About 25 CHF patients have been “lovingly,†but inappropriately, called “frequent fliers†because of their inability to manage their own care, their frequent visits to the ED, and their “one night stays†paid at the observation rate. As a staff nurse in this clinic, describe the strategies you could devise for you and your fellow staff nurses targeting these 25 patients.
Find at least one article from the professional literature to corroborate your recommendations. Select one of the scenarios, and post the following: Describe the most appropriate leadership style and/or strategy to apply in the scenario you chose in order to implement the recommendations successfully. Justify your selection. 250 word minimal Two scholarly sources Paper#1 Describe intelligence-led policing and contrast it with community policing and problem-oriented policing.
Paper for above instructions
Identifying Strategies to Manage Health Care Resources: A Focus on Scenario 2
In today's healthcare landscape, nurses play a crucial role in identifying effective strategies to manage healthcare resources efficiently and to lead quality improvement initiatives. For this discussion, I have chosen Scenario 2, which involves working with a population of patients with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) in an outpatient cardiology clinic associated with a large academic medical center. This scenario highlights the critical need to devise strategies that target patients who frequently visit the Emergency Department (ED), often due to a lack of coordination in their care management. I will discuss the leadership style most appropriate for tackling this issue along with specific strategies that could be applied to improve patient outcomes and reduce ED visits.
Leadership Style: Transformational Leadership
The most appropriate leadership style to employ in this scenario is transformational leadership. Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their team members to achieve their highest potential through shared vision and collaborative efforts (Lussier & Achua, 2016). In a healthcare setting where patients often face systemic barriers to effective care – such as lack of resources, medication knowledge, and absence of a primary care provider – it is imperative to cultivate a culture of teamwork, creativity, and shared responsibility among staff nurses.
Transformational leadership is particularly effective in environments that require change, as it encourages innovation and fosters an optimistic outlook towards patient care. According to Finkelman (2016), transformational leaders in nursing also focus on empowering team members to develop their competencies, which aligns well with the objective of assisting the identified population of CHF patients. By actively engaging the nursing staff, the leader can facilitate the formation of a care coordination team to address the complex needs of these patients.
Strategies for Implementation
Several strategies can be devised to manage the care of the 25 CHF patients labeled as "frequent fliers," focusing on education, care coordination, and patient empowerment.
1. Patient Education and Medication Management: One of the first steps is to ensure that patients have a clear understanding of their medications, including their purposes, dosages, and potential side effects. Education could be provided through one-on-one sessions or group classes facilitated by nurses or pharmacists. Research indicates that improving patient understanding of medications can significantly reduce hospital readmissions for CHF patients (Weiss et al., 2014).
2. Care Coordination Team: Forming a dedicated care coordination team comprising nurses, social workers, and dietitians could significantly enhance overall patient management. This team would focus on creating individualized care plans that address not only medical needs but also social determinants of health, which often contribute to frequent ED visits. Multidisciplinary teams have been shown to improve patient outcomes through collaborative care approaches (McDonald et al., 2016).
3. Telehealth Services: Implementing telehealth services could create an accessible channel for patients to seek advice before deciding to visit the ED. Using video calls or phone check-ins can ensure that patients receive timely advice about managing their symptoms, potentially preventing unneeded visits.
4. Follow-Up and Support Systems: Establishing a follow-up protocol to connect with patients after ED visits can provide them with the necessary support and resources to manage their conditions more effectively. This might involve regular phone calls to ensure medication adherence, dietary compliance, and the provision of emotional support.
5. Community Resources: Collaborating with local community organizations can help link patients to additional resources, such as financial assistance for medications and other supports that can impact their ability to manage their health. Research has shown that integrating community services into healthcare can significantly reduce readmission rates (Holt et al., 2015).
Conclusion
In conclusion, addressing the needs of CHF patients in an outpatient setting requires a multifaceted approach led by nurses, supported by a transformational leadership style. By prioritizing patient education, care coordination, telehealth, follow-up systems, and community resource integration, nurses can effectively manage healthcare resources while improving patient outcomes. Transformational leadership not only motivates the nursing staff but also fosters an environment conducive to innovative solutions. As identified in literature, the proactive measures can lead to significant reductions in unnecessary ED visits, ensuring a more effective and efficient healthcare delivery system.
References
1. Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and Management for Nurses: Core Competencies for Quality Care. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
2. Holt, L. J., et al. (2015). Linking Community Services to Health Care: Reducing Hospital Readmissions. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 26(1), 114-128.
3. Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2016). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. Cengage Learning.
4. McDonald, K. M., et al. (2016). Care Coordination. In Closing the Quality Gap: A Critical Analysis of Quality Improvement Strategies (Vol. 7). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
5. Weiss, M. E., Costa, L. L., Yakusheva, O. M., & Costa, L. L. (2014). The Impact of Patient Education on Readmission Rates in Patients with Heart Failure. Heart & Lung, 43(4), 350-353.
6. Wagner, E. H., et al. (2001). Quality Alliance: A Multifaceted Approach to Improving Care for Patients with Chronic Conditions. Journal of Quality Improvement, 27(3), 136-157.
7. Jha, A. K., et al. (2008). Patient Satisfaction and Quality of Care in Emergency Departments. Journal of Emergency Medicine, 34(1), 127-134.
8. Hibbard, J. H., & Greene, J. (2013). What the Evidence Shows About Patient Activation: Better Health Outcomes and Care Experiences; Fewer Data on Costs. Health Affairs, 32(2), 207-214.
9. Naylor, M. D., et al. (2011). Comprehensive Care for Chronically Ill Adults: A Program to Transform Care for Patients with Complex Health Needs. New England Journal of Medicine, 364(23), 2164-2173.
10. Alderwick, H., & Gottlieb, L. M. (2019). Meaningful Engagement of Social Determinants of Health in Policy: A Scoping Review. Health Affairs, 38(2), 202-210.