Professional issues and Professional Management

Professional issues and Professional Management

Introduction

Health care organizations play a crucial role in maintaining people’s health throughout their lives.  They are vital for the healthy development of societies, families, and individuals.  The objective of most health systems in different countries is to ensure sustainable health is attained for every individual. Globally, they play a role in ensuring people live a better and healthy lifestyle (Sandberg et al., 2014).  Currently, in all countries, either developed or developing countries, the health systems have more significant, influential, and more progressive roles than before. The quality of health services depends on the efforts of society to promote, provide, and finance health care services (Sandberg et al., 2014). Health care involves activities and measures that are meant to maintain and improve the living and working environment of people.

However, the quality of services offered by health care and social care organization is highly dependent on the professionalism of health care workers. Many issues that are related to poor services are increasing.  Therefore, the professionalism of health professionals is under increasing scrutiny in different countries. Quality and sustainable health is the priority of many nations; thus, the increased examination of the academic and practical skills of medical professionals. Professional factors that affect the quality of services delivered to patients can be addressed through proper communication, multidisciplinary teamwork, and leadership and management.  The paper will be based on a case study of a 44-year old male named Sisi, who has experienced several life stressors.  He was diagnosed with an acute stress reaction and adjustment disorder. The medical team that was handling realized that he was using poor strategies to cope with stress.  He was taking excess amounts of alcohol and Lorazepam to deal with his moods and problems.  Part one of this project will discuss how communication, leadership and management, and multidisciplinary teamwork in the health care facility would have helped the health care professionals in handling Sisi.   Part two will examine how I can develop myself academically as a newly qualified nurse.

Discussion: Part one

 Communication

Taking care of patients who are fighting different conditions does not only require scientific knowledge.  It also requires technical, intellectual, and interpersonal skills.  The skills are essential in ensuring there is proper communication among health care professionals.  The professionals are also able to communicate with the patients as they treat them. Excellent communication achieves successful and positive outcomes of the individualized care offered to the patients (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014).  The patients can convey their health concerns and fears to the nurses or physicians.

Consequently, the nurses can come with the correct diagnosis and medications. Besides, excellent communication ensures accurate performance and makes it easy for professionals to handle the patients. It ensures patients are satisfied with the services, and the health professionals are well protected. However, poor communication in a healthcare set up can result in errors that can have extremely negative impacts on the life of the patients.  The professionals should ensure that details about patients are well distributed among those treating them. Proper distribution of information to the entire team will ensure errors are identified and corrected before adverse medical events occur.  Poor communications can also result in miss-diagnosis of patients, especially when they are not comfortable with the professionals who are taking care of them. Besides, poor communication can also result in incomplete follow-ups, which could lead to poor outcomes for the patient (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). Thus, professionals should work on improving their communication and interpersonal skills.

The importance and challenges of communication were demonstrated in various ways.  The scenario also revealed that medical care professionals should not solely rely on the information of the patient when treating them. For instance, Sisi denied that he does not have any issues that are related to the use of alcohol. However, close examination revealed that he is alcohol dependent as he uses alcohol to cope with his problems. The lack of communication and co-operation from Sisi resulted in delayed diagnosis and treatment for him. However, when he decided to open up about his struggles, the medical experts were able to suggest the best interventions for him. It was agreed that attending Acute Therapy Service would help him to develop the best coping strategies. Handling people who have mental health and alcohol use issues requires proper oral communication. The communication involves the medical team on the one hand and the patient or his family on the other side. Communication among these teams ensures that they agree on what is best for the patients. For instance, when the alternative hospital referred Sisi to Acute Therapy Service (ATS), his partner suggested that hospital admission would be the best option for him.  She felt that Sisi would not attend the ATS, and the medical professionals agreed with him. However, they had to ensure that Sisi was comfortable with the suggestion as he had suicidal thoughts. Therefore, handling people who have mental issues requires the collaborative efforts of medical experts, family members, and patients. However, communicating with people who have a combination of health problems can be challenging. For instance, Sisi had anxiety, he was alcohol dependence, and he was misusing Lorazepam. The general practitioners treating such a patient need to be qualified and knowledgeable.

One main challenge that General Practitioners experience is developing adequate and appropriate clinical communication skills.  The communication of a General Practitioner can influence the mental health of a patient in several ways. Proper communication is associated with increased patient satisfaction and better symptom resolution.  Another challenge when dealing with mental health patients is a lack of knowledge about the mental condition.  The patients may also not have the ability to express their needs and health concerns. They may also fear being judged by the professionals who are taking care of them. The physicians, nurses, psychologists, and general practitioners can overcome such challenges in several ways;

The professionals can overcome the challenges by creating good personal relationships with the patients.  The therapeutic relationships are prerequisites to efficient communication, which helps the professionals to address the mental problems of the patient effectively. They should ask questions in a way that creates trust and feelings of acceptance on the side of the patient. The patients can open-up about their opinions without fear. They should express their sincere concern for the patient while handling people with mental problems because most of them have trust issues. The professionals should also take their time while dealing with different patients. Patients have a distinct way and pace of revealing their problems.  They should also use a language that is easily understood by the patient.

Multidisciplinary Teamwork

With the current increase in an economic and social crisis, healthcare professionals are highly dealing with people who have mental and alcohol dependence issues.  People are using alcohol to cope with their problems, and this has increased the complexity of handling people with mental and alcohol use issues.   People with such complex conditions require unique and quality health services compared to the general public (Hartgerink, 2014). They may require getting help from different professionals in different health settings.  However, their need for intense and quality care puts them at a higher risk of receiving fragmented healthcare.  Once they visit the hospital, they can experience poor outcomes such as readmission and be referred for rehabilitative management. The complex needs of such require the efforts of a multidisciplinary team.

Globally, the use of multidisciplinary teamwork to handle people with mental health issues is on the rise. The multidisciplinary team refers to a group of professionals who combine their skills and expertise for the benefit of others.  The teams involved in treating mental illnesses are made up of psychiatrists, general practitioners, psychologists, and social workers. The development of these teams has resulted from the increased demise of large psychiatric institutions.  The collaborative efforts of people from distinct professional disciplines are essential while handling the mentally ill (Hartgerink, 2014). The combined expertise and skills are crucial in delivering comprehensive and seamless care to individuals. Multidisciplinary teams are the most effective in treating people with mental conditions, especially those that are long-term. Besides, people with mental problems can have various needs, which could be social, physical, and psychological.  Thus, combining people from different professions can help the diverse needs of these people. Multidisciplinary teamwork ensures that people with alcohol use and mental problems are monitored even after they leave the hospital. Multidisciplinary collaboration also benefits the professionals involved.  It promotes division of labor, which ensures that the medical experts are not overwhelmed with excessive duties.  The division labor ensures that the professionals will specialize in what they do best and offer the best services to patients. The professionals can also learn from one another and improve their intellectual capabilities.

Multidisciplinary teamwork was observed in the case involving Sisi. Meetings that included several professionals were held to discuss the progress of Sisi. The professionals involved included the ward manager, psychiatrist, psychologists, occupational therapists, mental health practitioners, and medical secretary. The team met to review care planning for Sisi as most of their strategies were proving to be futile. The multidisciplinary meetings ensured that everyone involved in delivering medical care to Sisi was not left out. Thus, they would come up with the best decisions regarding his medications. The meetings were essential because the team came up with review plans that helped Sisi improve his mental and psychological wellbeing. The meetings were successful because Sisi finally agreed with their plan to put him under hospital admissions instead of referring him to Acute Therapy Services. Therefore, Multidisciplinary teamwork will highly result in improved and positive clinical outcomes for the patient.

However, some particular challenges or barriers can hinder the effectiveness of multidisciplinary teamwork.  The obstacles include different attitudes towards collaboration, different levels, skills and knowledge, and the dominance of medical power.  Some professionals involved in handling people with mental illnesses may not voice their opinions for fear of being betrayed by their colleagues. Some medical professionals engaged in teamwork regard themselves as having more power than others. Thus, such people are not likely to respect the opinions of others. People who think their skills are lower compared to those of the team members may feel intimidated. Therefore, the team leaders should ensure that all members are given equal chances to give their opinions about the health and social care of the patients.  Another challenge is that the team members are torn between achieving their individual goals and those of the team.

Nevertheless, the team members should focus on improving the mental health status of the patients.  Each person in the team should understand and appreciate their role in improving the wellbeing of the patients.  Other barriers to effective multidisciplinary teamwork include gender or class-based prejudice, lack of trust among the team members, and competition within the team. Appreciating the role of each person in the group can help in reducing these barriers. Besides, focusing on the mentally ill individual and working towards improving their health status can be practical in overcoming the challenges. Primarily, the objective of multidisciplinary teamwork is to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated assessment of patients. The evaluation will help the members to come up with an intervention that s evidence-based, especially when dealing with mental illnesses.

 Leadership and Management

Evidence-based intervention and skilled professionals are practical tools for creating medical care organizations that offer quality services to patients. However, the management and leadership of the organization play a critical role in strengthening teamwork and the quality of medical care.  Leadership refers to the act of coordinating, monitoring, and directing the activities of a group to achieve a similar goal. The common goal of most teams in healthcare organizations is improving the wellbeing of the patient.  Leadership is also related to having some influence on other people, especially those who are being led. Therefore, leaders can have an impact on the clinical outcomes of patients.

Leaders are essential for creating a conducive environment that enables health professionals to work as a team.  The current changes in the medical field have made it difficult for people to work as a team. Most professionals are finding it hard to deal with pressure from leaders and patients. Notably, the style of leadership used by leaders has a strong influence on the performance of health experts. Therefore, leadership is a vital element for integrated and well-coordinated care from the patients and the medical care experts.  The style of leadership is a crucial element for improving or deteriorating the quality of care provided to patients. Effective leadership is a critical component that helps health organizations to have positive and successful outcomes.  Proper leadership leads to the satisfaction of the medical professionals. Subsequently, it improves patient comfort and reduces the adverse events that result in medical errors.  There are several leadership styles that different health organizations can use.

The institution that was attending to Sisi was using transformational leadership to direct and coordinate the activities of its staff members. Transformational leadership was observed during multidisciplinary teamwork, where the team was advised to own their responsibilities and work significantly.  The leaders also supported and acknowledged the ideas of the team members. Thus, the members were given a distinct sense of directing the activities that are related to treating Sisi.  However, although the team members are involved in the coordination of healthcare activities, there is a team leader. This was evident when the multidisciplinary team met to decide if they should discharge Sisi due to his poor engagement and non-attendance. However, the team could not conclude because the ward manager and the consultant were absent. Team members should not make decisions without consulting the leaders regardless of the freedom they have been given. The choices they make have a significant impact on the wellbeing of the patient.

In a time when health resources are diminishing, mental health and drug abuse and their impact on families and individuals have become the focus of most health organizations.  Using effective leadership styles plays a significant role in reducing the social and financial burden of mental illnesses. Proper leadership ensures that excellent strategies are used when handling people with mental and substance use issues. Leaders who use a transformational leadership style focus on creating a team whose members are satisfied and motivated.  Motivated professionals will work harmoniously to deliver quality care to patients.  Transformational leadership also includes the patients when making about their treatments.  Patients who are involved in making decisions about their treatment are likely to appreciate it and have positive outcomes.

Primarily, transformational leadership creates proper relationships among the staff members and motivates them to work for the right course.  The leaders can improve the confidence levels of other members. They achieve by allowing them to make decisions independently without the influence of the leaders. The members can make decisions about the treatment methods to use on patients.

Transformational leaders ensure that patients can acquire health services that are patient-centered and efficient.  It also promotes higher health expertise and skills by increasing the stability and retention of medical workers.  It also reduces mortality rates that are likely to occur when workers make errors due to pressure from the leaders.  Transformational leadership ensures duties are equally shared, and the professionals are using flexible schedules. The flexible schedules and division of labor give the professionals some time to relax and organize their activities. The leaders also reduce mortality rates by inspiring and supporting professionals who are skilled and experienced

Part Two: Opportunities for Professional Development for Newly Qualified Nurse

Preceptorship

Nursing is one of the most fulfilling careers, and it is continually changing and evolving.  Nurses should be open to new learning opportunities and experiences. Preceptorship is essential for mentoring new nurses and ensuring that they remain within the course. Preceptorship is needed to reduce the rate at which nurses are leaving the profession to join other careers. Though I am new to the job, I realized that most nurses are leaving the career after some time. I discovered that many people are not prepared for the experiences they experience during practice. Notably, most nurses left due to the high rates of bullying that they experienced while conducting their duties. Patients and the senior professionals bully the nurses both verbally and physically.

Moreover, newly qualified nurses may undergo culture shock as they move from the class to the place of work. The nurses may feel disillusioned and overwhelmed by the new experiences.  However, I realized that preceptorship programs have practical ways of preparing new nurses for such experiences and how to cope. The preceptorship programs are vital for decreasing the stress that nurses experience by providing a nurturing environment for them.  Hence, preceptorship refers to a period where new but qualified practitioners are guided and supported as they develop their medical practice.  They are supported by a practitioner who is experienced to help them improve their confidence as independent professionals. Besides, the program allows new nurses or practitioners to learn new things and grow as they receive support from their peers.

The preceptorship program is essential for the autonomous transition of nurses as it ensures the nurses can access adequate resources and support required during the transition period.  The resources will ensure they are exposed to all forms, activities, or experiences they are likely to undertake in their workplace. The support from other experienced professionals will ensure they receive all the necessary guidance. They will be advised on how to handle particular medical events that can occur while they are conducting their professional duties.

Preceptorship also helps the nurses to act independently by reducing the gap between nursing education or theory work and clinical environment. The new nurses can transfer what they learn in class to achieve positive clinical outcomes.  They can positive learning experiences that will help them to act professionally and safely while handling patients. The preceptor can also help new nurses to achieve autonomy by providing a suitable environment for them. They should allow them to make suggestions about the diagnostic or treatment procedures being conducted. Their ideas should also be acknowledged so that they may not feel intimidated. Excellent preceptors are vital in improving the quality of care offered to the patients by the new nurses, and this, in turn, leads to positive patient outcomes. It also increases job satisfaction, which motivates new nurses to work independently.

Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisal is an essential process in healthcare that ensures quality care is provided to the patients.  It uses methods that are meant to determine if a newly qualified nurse is skilled enough to deliver medical services to a patient.  As a new nurse, I felt that it is challenging for us to get good performance appraisals.  Many of us have not been in the field for a long time; thus, it is difficult to find someone trustworthy to appraise us. Besides, the evaluation of new nurses is affected by the discord between the managerial and organizational processes of health organizations.  However, regardless of the challenges involved, performance appraisal is essential for every nurse who wants to grow in their career.

Performance appraisals have been put in place to offer information that is useful in identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the professionals. The concerned authorities will then come up with ways of maintaining the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses.  Appraisals are used as yardsticks to drive the medical organizations towards implementing strategies that can improve the wellbeing of the patients.  I discovered that performance appraisals are not about identifying the weakness of the subject. Instead, they focus on identifying the resources that may be required by workers to achieve the goals of the health organization. The leaders also get useful information about the new nurses, which can be used to determine their effectiveness.

Performance appraisals are significant in helping newly qualified nurses to gain independence while carrying out their duties.   A nurse who gets positive feedback from the seniors is likely to be allowed to carry out particular activities on their own.  The leaders will know the best fields to place them, depending on their skills and expertise.  It also allows transition towards autonomous practices by motivating the nurses to work towards higher achievement.  Nurses who strive to achieve goals that are higher than their capabilities can be allowed to conduct particular activities on their own.  Appraisals are essential in improving communications between nurses and hospital managers.  Free communication will enable nurses to voice their concerns and needs while handling patients. They can inform the managers about the areas that require improvement to ensure quality care is offered to patients. Professionals who can identify areas that need improvement and confidently communicate them to the leaders can work on their won. Confident and keen nurses will ensure quality medical care is offered to the patients.  The performance appraisals are crucial for gaining autonomy as they help the new nurses to determine their developmental and training needs.  Once they pursue the requirements, they can be allowed to handle the patients on their own.

SWOT Analysis

Communication

Multidisciplinary Teamwork

Leadership and Management

Professional Development Planning

Conclusion

The treatment and management of patients who have mental and alcohol dependence issues require the collaborative efforts of various professionals. The patients require comprehensive and quality care, which cannot be offered by one professional. Psychologists, psychiatrists, ward managers, and general practitioners should cooperate to ensure quality care is provided. The handling of patients with mental conditions has led to the development of particular professional issues. The issues can either improve or hinder the quality of services offered to patients.  Some of the problems that can affect the delivery of medical care services include communication, multidisciplinary teamwork, and leadership and management.  Efficient communication among the professionals improves the clinical outcomes as it reduces the medical errors that result from miscommunications.  Besides, when people work together as a team, they enhance the quality of services they offer to the patients. They can learn from one another and improve their skills and expertise. The leadership and management of health organizations play a role in giving directives to the professionals.  Therefore, the quality of care provided to patients is influenced by different factors.

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