NURS 6053 Workplace Environment Assessment |
Work environment assessment is an important activity that enables healthcare organizations and their stakeholders like nurses to determine various issues which impact the delivery of quality patient care. Incivility is one of the primary issues that such an assessment can assist to determine and address because it impacts on the performance of healthcare providers and their interactions with colleagues and patients (Broome et al., 2022). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the results of the workplace environment assessment of my health organization based on the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory and review existing literature to identify a theory or concept from the articles and their application in the organization. In final part, the paper recommends evidence-based strategies to develop high-performance inter-professional teams.
Part 1: Work Environment Assessment
The overall civility score based on the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory for the workplace is 58 implying that it is unhealthy. For instance, the level of trust between and among formal leadership and all members of the workplace is lacking as the score was 1. Communication at all levels of the organization is not transparent, direct, and respectful. Again, employees asserted that they do not feel valued as as core assets in the organization. The employees assert that there is a low level of satisfaction, engagement, and morale (Clark Inventory, 2024). As such, the workplace assessment indicates that the setting is not healthy for employees. Two things that surprised me included the low level of communication in the organization as stated by the employees and employees being treated unfairly and disrespectfully. While I knew the workplace was not conducive, I did not expect the employees to give it such a low overall score. Before conducting the assessment, I believed the organization values the free expression of diverse and even opposing ideas and perspectives. The assessment confirmed this position as the employees gave it the highest score.
An unhealthy work environment encourages incivility which can negatively influence staff commitment to the organization and its performance. The results suggest that the organization is unhealthy and uncivil because of its low scores. The results suggest that employees in the organization lack motivation, satisfaction, and teamwork due to a deficiency in values and shared vision and mission of the organization (Hover et al., 2022). The assessment is categorical that employees do not work as a team, there is ineffective communication, and low degree of trust between them and the management. Consequently, many cannot join the organization, and staff turnover continues to increase. The results suggest that employees want change and transformation, beginning with appreciating their presence and contribution to the performance and productivity of the organization.
Part 2: Reviewing the Literature
Existing literature provides various strategies which guide nursing practice to reduce incivility and foster a culture of civility and respect in nursing to improve patient safety and quality of care. The concept selected from the articles is the DESC model as advanced by Clark (2018). The article asserts that the DESC model in combination with Cognitive Rehearsal (CR) can help nurses and organizational managers address incivility and foster a better culture. DESC is an acronym for a description of the specific situation, expression of concerns, stating the alternative, and determining the consequences. Again, Clark also emphasizes fostering a culture of civility and respect implying that when nurses deploy the DESC model, they can determine areas to improve through a systematic approach and increased engagement of all stakeholders (Clark, 2018). My organization scores highly on shared mission and vision based on trust, respect, and collegiality. However, core areas such as sense of belonging and being valuable, and effective communication have low scores. Using the DESC model and cognitive rehearsal, nurses can learn different approaches to patient situations and develop evidence-based alternatives to improve communication. Clark (2019) stresses harm reduction by improving communication and employee engagement.
The concepts presented in the articles relate to the outcomes of my work environment assessment as they demonstrate the organization can enhance its setting to improve performance and productivity. These concepts show that organizations should value their employees and develop effective communication channels to increase engagement, expression of ideas, and perspectives. Fostering civility and respect implores the organizational leaders and managers to treat employees fairly and respectfully, and allocate reasonable, manageable, and equal workplad distribution. For instance, the assessment shows that the facility offers competitive salaries, benefits, compensation and other rewards (Broome et al., 2022). Again, it has sufficient opportunities for career development and promotion. These positive attributes can only be sustainable when the management and leadership foster a culture of civility and respect for nurses. The articles describe the cognitive rehearsal concept as critical to effective and productive communication. Through the DESC model and cognitive rehearsal, employees and the management can develop a better collaborative culture of civility.
The organization can apply these concepts to enhance organizational health and develop robust work teams by incorporating the ideas into the work culture. For instance, using the DESC model, managers and leaders can conduct surveys to determine areas that require improvement like communication and ensuring that employees feel valued and respected. The organization can apply these concepts to increase collaboration and develop teams to expected outcomes (Lewis, 2023). The DESC-CR model can be used to recommend solutions like having change agents champion the overall organizational culture. The model will ensure that all internal stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities for effective care delivery, patient safety, and employee satisfaction.
Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Develop High-Performance Inter-Professional Teams
The work environment assessment revealed a host of shortcomings in the workplace that should be addressed using evidence-based strategies. These shortcomings entail ineffective communication, lack of respect, and employees feeling not valued, and low trust levels between them and the management require evidence-based approaches as supported by the literature. The first strategy based on the evidence from the literature is fostering a culture of civility and respect (Clark, 2019). The management and leadership in the organization should consider the ethical, legal, and regulatory implications of incivility in the workplace. Imperatively, they should inculcate a culture of civility and respect, recognize efforts by employees, and develop a teamwork approach to the issue.
The second strategy is to implement models like the DESC-CR approaches that allow the management and employees, through their leaders, to identify deficient areas and respond using effective tools (Lewis, 2023). The management will identify areas leading to reduced morale and employees’ satisfaction, and improve them. They should use models like the root cause analysis (RCA) to determine the cause of low motivation and employee satisfaction (Allison et al., 2022). These strategies are critical to attaining an improved workplace for nurses and other healthcare providers.
Sustaining best practices based on the assessment is critical to improving the workplace environment. In this case, the organization should focus on building cohesive and effective teamwork as advanced by Broome et al. (2021). The organization should also develop and implement collaborative approaches to leadership. These strategies will enhance employee’s participation and perception of their value and contribution in the workplace. As advanced by Lee et al. (2022), these strategies will enable the organization to develop diversity, equity, and civility teams for inclusion and better workplace organizational culture.
Conclusion
Assessing the workplace environment is important to understand issues affecting overall care delivery in healthcare settings. The assessment helps organizations determine the best approaches to issues like incivility and employee satisfaction. In this case, the evaluation of my workplace shows an unhealthy environment that implores leaders and managers to develop effective interventions based on best practices to improve the scores and encourage employees as well as motivate them for better care delivery and performance. Best practices like developing teamwork and effective communication will enhance the workplace environment in the organization.
References
Allison D. B. & Peters H. (2022). Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for the improvement of healthcare
systems and patient safety (First). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003188162
Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Clark, C. M. (2019). Fostering a culture of civility and respect in nursing. Journal of Nursing
Regulation, 10(1), 44-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256 (19)30082-1
Clark, C. M. (2018). Combining cognitive rehearsal, simulation, and evidence-based scripting to
address incivility. Nurse Educator, 44(2):64-68. DOI:10.1097/NNE.0000000000000563
Hover, L. A., & Williams, G. B. (2022). New Nurses’ Experience with Lateral Violence and
Their Decision to Remain in Nursing. International Journal for Human Caring, 26(4), 199-208. http://dx.doi.org/10.20467/HumanCaring-D-20-00069
Lee, S., & Miller, K. (2022). Developing a Diversity, Equity, and Civility Council to Advance
Health Equity in Nursing Academia and Practice. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 46(3), E16-E23. DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000528.
Lewis, C. (2023). The impact of inter-professional incivility on medical performance, service
, and patient care: a systematic review. Future Healthcare Journal, 10(1): 69-77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7861/fhj.2022-0092
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Workplace Environment Assessment
Clearly, diagnosis is a critical aspect of healthcare. However, the ultimate purpose of a diagnosis is the development and application of a series of treatments or protocols. Isolated recognition of a health issue does little to resolve it.
In this module’s Discussion, you applied the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory to diagnose potential problems with the civility of your organization. In this Portfolio Assignment, you will continue to analyze the results and apply published research to the development of a proposed treatment for any issues uncovered by the assessment.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and examine the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, found on page 20 of Clark (2015).
- Review the Work Environment Assessment Template*.
- Reflect on the output of your Discussion post regarding your evaluation of workplace civility and the feedback received from colleagues.
- Select and review one or more of the following articles found in the Resources:
- Clark, Olender, Cardoni, and Kenski (2011)
- Clark (2018)
- Clark (2015)
- Griffin and Clark (2014)
*Template completed in the Week 7 discussion should not be submitted with this assignment.
The Assignment (3-6 pages total):
Part 1: Work Environment Assessment (1-2 pages)
- Review the Work Environment Assessment Template you completed for this Module’s Discussion.
- Describe the results of the Work Environment Assessment you completed on your workplace.
- Identify two things that surprised you about the results and one idea you believed prior to conducting the Assessment that was confirmed.
- Explain what the results of the Assessment suggest about the health and civility of your workplace.
Part 2: Reviewing the Literature (1-2 pages)
- Briefly describe the theory or concept presented in the article(s) you selected.
- Explain how the theory or concept presented in the article(s) relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment.
- Explain how your organization could apply the theory highlighted in your selected article(s) to improve organizational health and/or create stronger work teams. Be specific and provide examples.
Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams (1–2 pages)
- Recommend at least two strategies, supported in the literature, that can be implemented to address any shortcomings revealed in your Work Environment Assessment.
- Recommend at least two strategies that can be implemented to bolster successful practices revealed in your Work Environment Assessment.
By Day 7 of Week 9
Submit your Workplace Environment Assessment Assignment.
submission information
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Rubric
NURS_6053_Module04_Week09_Assignment_Rubric
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Part 1: Work Environment Assessment *Template, completed in the week 7 discussion, should not be submitted with this assignment · Describe the results of the Work Environment Assessment you completed on your workplace. · Identify two things that surprised you about the results and one idea that you believed prior to conducting the assessment that was confirmed. · Explain what the results of the assessment suggests about the health and civility of your workplace. |
|
45 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Part 2: Reviewing the Literature · Briefly describe the theory or concept presented in the article you selected. · Explain how the theory or concept presented in the article relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment. · Explain how your organization could apply the theory highlighted in your selected article to improve organizational health and/or stronger work teams. Be specific and provide examples. |
|
15 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams · Recommend at least two strategies, supported in the literature, that can be implemented to address any shortcomings revealed in your Work Environment Assessment. · Recommend at least two strategies that can be implemented to bolster successful practices revealed in your Work Environment Assessment. |
|
20 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Resource Synthesis |
|
5 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Written Expression and Formatting—Paragraph Development and Organization: Paragraphs make clear points that support well-developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused—neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement and introduction is provided, which delineates all required criteria. |
|
5 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Written Expression and Formatting—English Writing Standards: Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation. |
|
5 pts | ||||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Written Expression and Formatting: The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, running head, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list. |
|
5 pts | ||||
| Total Points: 100 | ||||||