Assignment Task:
In this discussion, the concept of workarounds will be explored. They are paradoxical in that the workaround might be a novel, even ideal, solution to a persistent problem. Alternatively, a workaround often is a quick, convenient fix to a problem that requires a greater depth of investigation. Of course, patients' best interests must be first and foremost in analyzing workarounds.
Imagine you work as the nurse manager in a major oncology treatment facility. The oncology facility plans to invest a significant amount of money in new equipment and technology to improve patient care. However, to afford this new equipment and technology, the plan necessitates limiting other expenses for at least the next six months. It's believed the new equipment and technology could diagnose cancer in patients sooner, leading to saved lives and decreased levels of invasive treatment needed, too. But, as noted, the tight budget will also cause financial constraints throughout the organization.
As a nurse manager, you are confronted daily with insufficient resources, a primary one being the limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff use when caring for immuno compromised patients. You have repeatedly tried to engage with your nursing supervisor about the matter with no success. To this end, your staff members are now bringing their own PPE into the facility as a workaround. Some are ordering substandard PPE products from online vendors, while other staff is reusing the same PPE for many days, despite hospital policy and OSHA guidelines prohibiting both unsafe actions.
In your initial post, address the following:
Q1. What manner and types of rewards might be used as an incentive in this situation. Also, what aspects of staff behavior would be affected or changed by the rewards?
Q2. From a regulatory perspective, how would you assess this organization's compliance with PPE usage?
Q3. How does this situation impact the ability of the organization to have a just culture environment?
Q4. How do you strategically navigate this matter? How do you engage staff support to follow facility policy and not the easier, though unsafe, workarounds they have admitted to using?