Health Care Culture NUR 630

Health Care Culture NUR 630 Topic 2

Health Care Culture NUR 630

Health Care Culture NUR 630 Topic 2 DQ 1

Using the AHRQ SOPS Surveys webpage, provided in the topic Resources, select the SOPS survey appropriate for the practice setting in which you work. Complete the survey at your site and discuss how your facility scored. What changes would you recommend based on the survey results?

Health Care Culture NUR 630

Sample Approach for Topic 2 DQ 1

The AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS) present an opportunity to analyze patient safety as perceived by care providers in a healthcare facility. The development of survey instruments specific to different care settings has enabled effective analysis of patient safety based on the unique setting characteristics. I work in a skilled nursing facility for long-term patient care.

The AHRQ SOPS tools provided, however, do not present specific survey for this nursing facility. Nevertheless, the website presents a survey tool for nursing homes which share several characteristics with skilled nursing facilities for long term care (AHRQ, 2020).

The survey used for this analysis, therefore, was the SOPS Nursing Home Survey which best captures facility structure in the skilled nursing facility. The SOPS analysis of the skilled nursing facility shows that the facility provides conducive environment for staff to ensure safety but improvements could be implemented for communication to more effectively improve patient safety.

The survey has five major parts analyzing the culture of safety in the healthcare organization: working in the nursing home, communication, supervision, the nursing home, and overall rating. Among the five categories, the best ratings by staff in the facility were in their experience working in the facility as well as the facility organizational culture in general.

The survey revealed that staff collaboration is high and members help each other out, often working as part of a team. However, it was identified that staff have a lot of work to handle and some may be overwhelmed by this workload. 80% of staff who responded to the survey presented a positive perception of working in the nursing facility while 15% were neutral and only 5% had negative responses.

Moreover, it was concluded that the organization has a very strong culture of safety, often encouraging correction of mistakes and providing opportunity to make changes. Staff identified that the nursing facility makes changes to improve patient safety, the organization is responsive to need for change, and the nursing facility does a great job to keep patients safe. Under this organizational culture category, 95% of responses were positive and 5% were neutral showing that the facility is effective in implementing change and ensuring patient safety.

On the other hand, communication and supervision could be improved in the skilled nursing facility to promote patient safety. Under the communication category, the main problem identified is that staff opinions and feedback are not always implemented in enhancing care safety. The failure to incorporate staff opinions and views in the care process reduces the effectiveness of safety improvement interventions.

Similarly, although supervisors are identified as responding to patient safety issues, most of the respondents showed that supervisors may ignore their input towards safety improvement. Therefore, patient safety is largely based on supervisor views and opinions rather than those of nursing staff.

In the overall rating, 65% of survey participants responded that they would recommend the facility and 35% answered ‘maybe.’ In terms of rating, 70% said the facility is ‘very good’ (4/5) while 30% said it is ‘good’ (3/5). Generally, although the facility performs well in terms of enabling staff and organizational culture, there is room for improvement.

Improving safety in the skilled nursing home is possible through training supervisors and managers on staff involvement in patient safety. The main areas of safety that were identified is that supervisors did not integrate staff opinions and findings in their efforts to boost safety. Research on supervisor collaboration with administrative managers and staff shows that higher levels of job satisfaction are achieved when collaboration is perceived by nurses (Weaver et al., 2019).

Training supervisors on collaborative practice with nurses and managers is thus crucial in enhancing staff job satisfaction and transferring the same to patient safety. Similarly, nurses are at the forefront of care delivery and hence their opinion is instrumental in implementing safety measures. The SOPS survey at the skilled nursing facility shows that although there are high standards and consideration for patient safety, more nurse involvement could be implemented for enhanced safety.

The proposed action is to train supervisors on how to involve nurses in collaborative care and decision-making to improve patient safety. The survey presents the need for a more collaborative approach to improving patient safety.

Health Care Culture NUR 630 References

Health Care Culture NUR 630 Topic 2 DQ 2

Two nurses make a medication error: One causes an adverse event with a patient and the other does not. Should the nurses be disciplined, and, if so, should they be disciplined the same way? Why or why not? How would this be addressed in a just culture?

Health Care Culture Assignment

Assessment Description

The purpose of this assignment is to discuss health care culture and describe how CWV can be used to improve ethical practices. In a 1,000-1,250-word essay, discuss the important factors associated with health care culture. Include the following in your essay:

  1. A definition of health care culture, including culture of excellence and safety.
  2. Two or three examples of principles for building a culture of excellence and safety.
  3. An explanation of the role of various stakeholders in improving health care culture.
  4. An explanation of how Christian worldview (CWV) principles might be used by health care organizations to improve ethical practices, whether the organizations are Christian or not.
  5. Two or three examples of how the integration of faith learning and work at GCU can be implemented by individuals to improve health care culture.

Health Care Culture Sample Essay

Culture affects virtually all aspects of life, including our interactions. Culture represents the rationale for our beliefs, values, and actions and impacts our viewpoints of health, illnesses, wellness, death, disease, and all other health-related factors. In addition, culture is a vital aspect of communities and organizations and defines possible improvements and relationships. This essay evaluates healthcare culture and related factors, such as a culture of safety and excellence, and how individuals can use the Christian Worldview to improve healthcare culture.

Definition of Health Care Culture, Including Culture of excellence and Safety

Healthcare culture refers to behaviors, including beliefs, values, and practices regularly implemented in a particular setting, often a healthcare organization. Safety, quality, excellence, and patient-centeredness are all components of a healthcare culture. A culture refers to what an organization does frequently and regularly, consistent behaviors that impact patient care and patient outcomes (Fondahn et al., 2016).

The culture is reflected in the directional organizational strategies and daily activities. For example, a healthcare culture of transparency and collaboration may have infrastructure such as patient portals and educational websites that show patients care interventions and rationale and educate patients on their conditions to enhance their collaboration. Thus, a healthcare culture must be supported by policies and practices that it claims to support.

A culture of safety is necessary for healthcare and other industries at risk for safety issues. It refers to practices that minimize risks and maximize patient and staff safety, primarily focusing on patients. A culture of safety entails measures to recognize the sources and causes of risks, a blame-free environment that promotes safety issues reporting, and professional and patient-provider collaboration (Fondahn et al., 2016). A culture of excellence refers to the organizational-wide approach that synchronizes thoughts and works towards measurable improvements in care quality.

Thus, a culture of excellence, which implies performance improvement through better patient health outcomes, and a culture of collaboration are necessary for patient care and patient safety in healthcare facilities. Fencl et al. (2021) note that the biggest risks to developing a culture of safety are the lack of a blame-free environment and poor communication. Managing these issues can help organizational efforts as they work towards developing a culture of safety and excellence.

Two or Three examples of Principles of Building a Culture of Excellence and Safety

The origin of a safety culture was not in healthcare. It originated from the Chornobyl catastrophe when analysts grew interested in the 1986 dramatic event causative factors. Principles of a culture of safety entail redesigning systems to create high reliability, limiting blame to individual care providers, promoting transparency, learning from medical errors, and ensuring healthcare systems are responsible for eliminating preventable harm (Hollinger, 2019).

Principles of excellence include aligning, enabling, and improving. These principles are pointers that help organizations align practices with desired changes, facilitating change and propelling the shift to a culture of excellence (Fondahn et al., 2016). The IOM report of 199 propelled drastic changes in healthcare toward preventing medical errors through interventions such as encouraging error reporting and the development of new clinical programs to reduce medication errors. 

Stakeholders in Improving the Health Care Culture

The stakeholders in improving healthcare culture are internal and external. Internal stakeholders include patients, care providers, and healthcare leadership. In contrast, external stakeholders include professional bodies, federal and state agencies, national and international strategies (such as Healthy People 2030), and insurance firms (public and private). Healthcare providers, patients, and healthcare leaders assess the institution’s culture and offer their perspectives to create a safe and excellent healthcare culture (Iman & Zaheer, 2020). Healthcare leaders control resources and management, important aspects of the healthcare culture. 

Governments and their agencies are responsible for the laws, policies, and regulations that improve the healthcare culture (Campos & Reich, 2019). For example, government policies regarding patient safety include hospital readmission payment reduction programs that support quality and safe care delivery. National and international strategies such as Healthy People 2030 play a vital role in setting achievable standards and outlining steps to achieve these standards. Insurance systems play a vital role in the healthcare culture. They ensure fair pricing of healthcare services and ensure hospitals maintain quality and safe care delivery for their approval and appraisal of affiliation with these firms. Thus, all these stakeholders are crucial to improving the healthcare culture.

Christian Worldview in Improving Ethical Practices

The Christian Worldview can be used to improve ethical practice in institutions, whether founded on the Christian faith or not. A major principle in the Christian Worldview is the belief in a supreme God and the life of Jesus Christ. Thus, individuals should have a moral compass that directs their thoughts and actions for better care for humanity. The Christian worldview emphasizes that human life is sacred and everyone should protect it at whatever cost (Nicolaides, 2020). In addition, the Worldview holds that human life is the same and individuals should not be discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, age, or gender (Nicolaides, 2020). It also holds that alleviation of human suffering is crucial to the Christian faith, based on the healing works of Christ. 

Thus, care providers should develop interventions that ensure beneficence and maleficence in their institutions. Czerniawska and Szydło (2020) note that the Christian Worldview holds that individuals should strive to love and assist others, which calls for collaboration and concern for others, including focusing on quality and safe care delivery. Christ’s mission was to work, and not just for Christians. His personal life sets an example for Christians, and the lessons learned can be used to help others, whether they are Christians or not. These principles can be upheld in any organization and resonate with all ethical cos. Thus, the Christian Worldview can be used to improve ethical practices whether organizations are Christian or not.

Integration of Faith Learning and Work at GCU and Health Care Culture

Faith learning and work at GCU can be implemented to improve healthcare culture in various ways. Culture and spirituality are vital in healthcare as they reference morals and support ethical practices (Lelani et al., 2021). Individuals can effectively consider their perspectives and those of others in investigation, reflection, and dialogue, hence quality decision-making and interactions. Another important aspect is love and respect for humanity. Caring for others and loving them as we love ourselves will help implement interventions that relay the best benefits and no harm. It also entails continuous improvement efforts, improving the healthcare culture. Thus, the integration of faith learning can be implemented by individuals to improve the culture of health.

Conclusion

Healthcare culture refers to an organization’s beliefs, values, and routine practices. A culture is supported by policies and regulations, beliefs, and programs that help achieve what the organization claims to support. A culture of excellence, for example, is supported by continuous quality improvement initiatives. In contrast, safety culture is supported by a systemic approach to problems and an environment that supports error reporting. The Christian worldview principles can be used to improve healthcare culture because they focus on respect and love for humanity and the desire to serve all humankind. Faith learning and work at GCU can help individuals participate in improving the healthcare culture.

Health Care Culture NUR 630 References

Campos, P. A., & Reich, M. R. (2019). Political analysis for health policy implementation. Health Systems & Reform, 5(3), 224-235. https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2019.1625251

Czerniawska, M., & Szydło, J. (2020). The Worldview and values–analyzing relations. WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, 17(58), 594-607. https://doi.org/10.37394/23207.2020.17.58

Fencl, J. L., Willoughby, C., & Jackson, K. (2021). Just culture: The foundation of staff safety in the perioperative environment. AORN Journal, 113(4), 329–336. https://doi.org/10.1002/aorn.13352

Fondahn, E., De Fer, T. M., Lane, M., & Vannucci, A. (2016). Washington manual of patient safety and quality improvement. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Hollinger, T. (2019). “Flag the Play”: Overcoming unseen barriers to speak up for safety. Nursing Management, 50(7), 7-9. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000557623.19814.17

Imam, H., & Zaheer, M. K. (2021). Shared leadership and project success: The roles of knowledge sharing, cohesion and trust in the team. International journal of project management, 39(5), 463–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2021.02.006

Lalani, N. (2020). Meanings and interpretations of spirituality in nursing and health. Religions, 11(9), 428. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11090428

Nicolaides, A. (2020). Contemplating Christian ethics and spirituality for sound leadership in organizations. Pharos Journal of Theology, 101, 2020.

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