Select an issue from the following list: workplace violence, workplace injury, unit restructuring, floating
Benchmark – Applying Leadership and Management Principles
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze the various approaches nursing leaders employ when addressing issues in practice.
Select an issue from the following list: workplace violence, workplace injury, unit restructuring, floating, nurse turnover, nurse staffing ratios, or use of contract employees (i.e., registry and travel nurses).
In a 1,000-1,250-word paper, discuss the following:
- Describe the issue you selected. Provide data to support how this issue impacts the quality of care in the setting in which it occurs.
- Using research evidence for support, present one possible solution that could be implemented to address the issue. In your discussion, be sure to include financial considerations as they relate to implementation of the solution.
- Describe a leadership style that would best address the issue.
- Discuss how this leadership style compares to your personal leadership style.
- Compare two different leadership theories that could be applied to resolution of the issue. Explain how each theory would be effective in addressing the issue.
- Discuss the nurse’s role within an interdisciplinary team in promoting patient quality and safety while fostering professionalism to address this issue.
You are required to cite a minimum of three sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be appropriate for the assignment and relevant to nursing practice.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
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.
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
RN-BSN
10.3: Develop capacity for leadership.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education
This assignment aligns to AACN Core Competencies 1.1, 2.5, 2.9, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 7.2, 10.3.
Expert Answer and Explanation
Workplace Bullying
The selected issue to discuss in this essay is bullying. The act of purposely or maliciously frightening or harming another person is known as bullying (Jang et al., 2022). Bullying in the nursing environment refers to the deliberate act of threatening or causing harm to another nurse. Nurses face bullying from executives, patients, and fellow nurses in healthcare environments, much like in other jobs (Jang et al., 2022). Forms of bullying in nursing include name-calling, belittling, yelling at a nurse, shoving or pushing a nurse, blocking their way, and minimizing their efforts.
Bullying impacts patients in many ways. One of the ways is that bullied nurses are less likely to provide care because of their emotional state, and this can negatively impact patients’ outcomes. Bullying also increases nurse turnover in the healthcare sector (Yosep et al., 2022). One of the most common forms of bullying in nursing is physical aggression. Physical aggression as a form of bullying could cause the nurse physical injuries, which hinders them professionally. There is a nursing shortage when nurses cannot attend to their functions physically (Yosep et al., 2022).
Consequently, the available nurses have to cover the injured nurse’s shift, hence increasing their workload. An increased workload could lead to poor healthcare services being offered to patients because of fatigue, hence leading to negative health outcomes for the patients. Patients’ satisfaction can be impacted when they witness a nurse being bullied. According to Yosep et al. (2022), nursing bullying leads to lower patient satisfaction, which negatively affects them because they may feel that their preferred nurse is a bully or is bullied, hence lowering their expectations about the healthcare organization and their healing process.
Solution to Address Bullying Among Nurses
Bullying in nursing can be addressed by educating the nurses and implementing a zero-tolerance policy regarding bullying in the workplace or online among staff within the organization. Nurses who harass and intimidate other people should not be tolerated. Establishing clear guidelines ahead of time on the reporting and handling of bullying establishes expectations for all nurses (Yosep et al., 2022). It conveys the idea that nurses should be treated with respect and safety at work.
A zero-tolerance policy for bullying means that when a nurse reports that another colleague is bullying them, the management should take the report seriously and start investigations. If found guilty, the nurse who bullied others should be suspended without pay, and if the act injured the victim, the case should be forwarded to the police for criminal investigations to be opened (Yosep et al., 2022). Nurses should be educated about the policy and made aware of the consequences of bullying others. Implementing this solution will not harm the hospital’s finances since less financial action is needed to address the problem.
Leadership Style Effective in Addressing Workplace Bullying
The leadership style that can be effective in addressing workplace bullying is transformational leadership. It is known as a leadership style that affects both social institutions and individuals (Niinihuhta et al., 2022). In its perfect state, it transforms followers into leaders by bringing about significant and constructive change in the followers.
Transformational leadership prevents workplace bullying by promoting open communication and engagement between workers and motivating workers to achieve greater heights. Through open communication, nurses who are being bullied can have the courage to face their leaders and report on their experiences in the workplace.
Also, when all nursing staff feel respected, they will be less likely to bully their colleagues. Transformational leadership also fosters collaboration among nurses. Nurse managers who practice transformational leadership often promote teamwork among their nursing staff, increasing positive relationships among the staff, thus reducing workplace bullying (Niinihuhta et al., 2022).
This leadership style is also anchored in a well-functioning feedback process, creating an environment where staff can safely report any forms of bullying, they are experiencing. Lastly, transformational leadership promotes safe idea-sharing (Niinihuhta et al., 2022). Workers who feel safe sharing their ideas are more likely to report any form of bullying they experience in the workplace.
How Transformational Leadership Compares with My Leadership Style.
As a transformational leader, I actively solicit feedback and engage in collaborative goal-setting with staff rather than taking a top-down approach (Niinihuhta et al., 2022). Yet, working in a bureaucratic system, I occasionally find myself issuing directives from the administration in a transactional manner instead of working to translate and implement changes collaboratively with my team. As a result, most of my staff fear coming to me and reporting any safety issue they experience.
I strive to be a strong role model by demonstrating competence, integrity, and high ethical standards. But there are moments when the tremendous responsibilities of my role overwhelm my capacity. My vision is to build communication channels and support systems to empower nurses and nurse leaders to reach their highest potential while providing compassionate care. I aim to foster resilience within myself and my team. I believe that through open communication I aim to create, my nursing staff will be willing to share with me their plights.
Two Leadership Theories
Two leadership theories that can be used to address the problem are transformational and transactional. Transformational theory focuses on promoting innovation and change within an organization. However, transactional theory ensures that processes are implemented as quickly as possible. Transformational theory should effectively address workplace bullying by promoting teamwork and open communication.
Workers who learn to work as a team are less likely to bully each other (Niinihuhta et al., 2022). Also, this form of leadership promotes open communication and creates a safe space where workers can share their ideas, and thus, they are more likely to report when they are being bullied.
Transactional also addresses workplace bullying by promoting collaboration and teamwork. In this theory, staff is needed to work together and move quickly to achieve the goals of an organization. This theory also addresses the problem by clearly communicating rewards and consequences. Leaders can use this leadership style to effectively communicate the consequences of bullying each other in the workplace.
The Role of Nurses
Nurses have many roles in preventing workplace bullying to promote safe and quality patient care. One of the roles of nurses is to report any form of workplace bullying to the hospital authorities (Anusiewicz et al., 2020). Nurses are responsible for ensuring the health and well-being of each other. Thus, they must report any form of bullying.
Another role is to advocate for their fellow nurses. They can do this by confronting nurses who are bullying others. They also have a role of behaving professionally and respecting each other’s space in the workplace (Anusiewicz et al., 2020). Nurses are expected to maintain professional conduct by working with integrity and respecting each other.
Conclusion
Workplace bullying is a serious problem. It can lead to high nurse turnover, low patient satisfaction, and fatigue among nurses. It can also negatively impact morale of nurses and lead to physical injuries. It can be addressed by adopting a zero-tolerance to workplace bullying. Practicing transformational leadership can also help in addressing the problem.
References
Anusiewicz, C. V., Ivankova, N. V., Swiger, P. A., Gillespie, G. L., Li, P., & Patrician, P. A. (2020). How does workplace bullying influence nurses’ abilities to provide patient care? A nurse perspective. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(21-22), 4148–4160. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15443
Jang, S. J., Son, Y. J., & Lee, H. (2022). Intervention types and their effects on workplace bullying among nurses: a systematic review. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(6), 1788-1800. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13655
Niinihuhta, M., Terkamo‐Moisio, A., Kvist, T., & Häggman‐Laitila, A. (2022). Nurse leaders’ work‐related well‐being—Relationships to a superior’s transformational leadership style and structural empowerment. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(7), 2791-2800. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jonm.13806
Yosep, I., Hikmat, R., & Mardhiyah, A. (2022, August). Types of nursing intervention to reduce impact of bullying and aggression on nurses in the workplace. In Healthcare (Vol. 10, No. 8, p. 1463). MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/8/1463
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