Assignment: Developing a Strategic Plan

Strategic planning is a disciplined effort used by organizational leaders to strengthen operations, set priorities, establish common goals and establish an approach to guide the actions of an organization (Walker, 2017). Developing a Strategic Plan will assist in guidance for a solution of an unmet need within my organization. In this paper I will identify the unmet need, describe the organization, assess the data and stakeholders involved, and develop a goal as well as broader issue to consider.

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The Unmet Need

Staffing of nurses, unit clerks, and aides is considered an organizational problem and remains stagnant and limited in the care it can provide (Singh, 2009). According to the American Nurses Association (2015), nursing practice is respect for the dignity, and worth of human rights for all individuals whom are provided care. Nurses are trained and have the moral determination to do no harm to patient’s and promote patient safety. When there is a nursing shortage, the nurses can become overwhelmed with the number of patient they have been assigned. The nurses at my organization have up to six patients each shift. This can take a toll on the nurse and the most efficient care may not be provided.

The Organization

According to Freeman (2018), Guadalupe Regional Medical Center (GRMC) is a small, rural hospital in Texas, that consists of over 700 passionate employees and over 100 skilled physicians. The facility has been the community’s preferred choice for healthcare for more than 50 years in the numerous communities and towns outside of the hospital (Freeman, 2018). An interesting fact about GRMC, as previously reported by Freeman (2018), is that it is the only city-county hospital in Texas and it is a non-profit community hospital which does not depend on tax support (GRMC, 2018).

Marquis and Huston (2015) state that the purpose of a company and the mission statement is the overall business agenda guiding the organization; the mission statement describes the present state of the organization while the vision statement looks to future endeavors of the organization. The mission statement describes the institution and programs, reason for being, the vision statement reflects the future goals, and the philosophy statement reflects the beliefs or values that are used to guide actions and decisions (Billings & Halstead, 2016).

The mission of Guadalupe Regional Medical Center (2018) is “to be the preferred provider of excellent and comprehensive health care, making a positive difference in every life we are privileged to touch”. GRMC’s vision “to be an elite medical center providing quality healthcare that is both technologically advanced and compassionate” (GRMC, 2018). Values include compassion, dedication, excellence, enthusiasm, and teamwork (GRMC, 2018).

Data and Stakeholders

It is reported that between 30-50% of new nurses leave their first job or the nursing filed within their first-year of practice (Snavely, 2016). By the year 2020, it is forecasted that the United States will succumb to a deficit of over 800,000 nurses (Sare & Ogilvie, 2010). This is only two years away! Organizations all over the region must engage in a strategic plan to ensure their staff can deliver quality patient care within their facilities.

. Stakeholders are groups of people whom show an interest in the outcome of an organization (Friedman & Miles, 2006). This can include the community and staff, or any of the people who are involved in the care that the organization is providing (Sare & Ogilvie, 2010). Nurses are identified as key stakeholders since the nurses are the ones that contain most of the workload within the facility (Sare & Ogilvie, 2010). The internal stakeholders that are involved in strategic planning is the board of directors, business partners and the employees whereas the external stakeholders include the community and customers (Sare & Ogilvie, 2010). External stakeholders include the providers’ customers, creditors, or competitors. Stakeholders and hospital administration can develop solutions to any employment issues (Schaffner, 2009).

Initial Vision and Goal

Laureate Education (2013) explains that it is imperative for nurse leaders to be able to recognize trends and patterns within healthcare. Increase in health care cost, workforce shortages, technology advancements and changes, and the increased number of sick patients that need medical attention, are all just some reasons for change in the staffing trend in healthcare. Many organizations have goals that are focused to promote quality of care, improvement of quality and performance, and increase the employee and patient satisfaction. According to Marquis and Huston (2015), planned change comes from a deliberate effort to make something happen and successful managers must be aware of change theories to apply to make these changes in nursing trend successful.

Goals to meet this need of nursing shortage include, providing float nurses by beginning an “internal float pool” within the organization. This group will consist a dedicated group of nurses that will float to different units within the hospital to provide patient care. The use of these nurses will decrease patient load and will save the organization money because they will not need to hire through different agencies or train a new employee.

Another goal includes providing new nurses with optimal orientation. GRMC provides new nurses with a minimum of twelve weeks of training. The newly hired nurses follow a seasoned nurse for this time and is allotted more time of orientation if they are not comfortable. Expanding this time to a minimum of sixteen weeks could help new nurses develop time management, ensure proper nursing skill, and develop confidence in their care. This will help decrease the nursing turnover.

The last goal I would like to address is to decrease the nurse to patient ratio to 1:4. From personal experience, having a maximum of four patients allows the nurse to provide excellent care and develop a trusting relationship with their patient.

The leaders must also be able to assist the staff members in implementing the change in their work (Marquis & Huston, 2015). Open communication should be encouraged between the staff members to discuss individual perception of the change. Patient safety, satisfaction, and increasing the quality of care should be motivation to implementing change. Identifying the proper change strategy will help the hospital or facility find the best model and provide a foundation of information to implement the change. By collaborating between administration and direct care staff members, with the support evidence-based research, success of the change will happen.

Summary

To address this unmet need, a strategic planning group needs to meet, and an outline will need to be made to develop a plan. The goal would be to decrease patient load by providing longer orientation for new nurses, starting an internal float pool, and decreasing the nurse-to-patient ratio. By developing this plan and completing these goals, optimal and safe patient care can be delivered.

References

American Nurses Association. (2018). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNurses/Code-of-Ethics-For-Nurses.html

Billings, D. M., & Halstead, J. A. (2016). Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Freeman, S. (2018). Promoting health care quality. Unpublished manuscript, Walden University.

Friedman, L., & Miles, S. (2006) Stakeholders Theory and Practice. Oxford: University Press

Guadalupe Regional Medical Center (GRMC). (2018). Guadalupe Regional Medical Center. Retrieved from http://www.grmedcenter.com/about/

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013g). Skills of a nurse leader [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Sare, M., & Ogilvie, L. (2010). Strategic planning for nurses: Change management in health care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Schaffner, J. (2009). Roadmap for success: The 10-step nursing strategic plan. Journal of Nursing Administration, 39(4), 152–155.

Singh, A. (2009). System concepts and long-term care delivery. In Author (Ed.), Effective management of long-term care facilities. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Snavely, T. M. (2016). A brief economic analysis of the looming nursing shortage in the United States. Nursing Economic, 34(2), 98-100.

Walker, N. (2017). Embrace action: engage in strategic planning. AORN Journal, 106(4), 277. Doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2017.08.011.