A staffing crisis is a serious challenge for many healthcare organizations. It may result in different outcomes, and the nursing shortage is one of the most expected problems that have to be solved (Carter, 2015). Blumberg’s Nursing Home (BNH) is a 100-bed facility where patients with Medicare and Medicaid can receive help and medical services. It is located in Philadelphia, PA. Recently, this organization experienced significant staffing changes and faced a crisis because three positions were terminated. First, it was the Director of Nursing (DON). Then, it was the position of a receptionist, and, finally, a dietary aid was fired. All of them demonstrated inappropriate conduct and involved in purchasing and using various illegal substances. The problem is that not only the facility staff, but also many lucid residents are aware of the case.
Immediate Staffing Needs
The situation under analysis is complicated due to the level of awareness and the necessity to take immediate steps and fill the unstaffed positions. Three new people should be hired by the administrator of BNH. The priority should be given to the DON position. The nursing director’s job is to focus on high-quality care and services (Moore, 2016). This job cannot be taken by a charge nurse. According to the federal nursing law, a registered nurse only has the right to become the DON. It is necessary to find a good leader with strong background knowledge and nursing experience.
The next step that has to be taken is the choice of new dietary aid. This position is crucial in providing services to people. As soon as the facility has patients with some dietary restrictions or other feeding problems, the modifications and improvements have to be offered by a professional worker.
The search for a receptionist is the last need to be considered. Though some people think that any person can take this position in the interim, there is no need to delay this task because the organization of the facility’s work and communication with patients require an expert to be in charge.
Inappropriate Conduct in the Workplace
In this situation, three workers demonstrated inappropriate behavior and used illegal substances at work. To address that inappropriate conduct, the administrator made a good decision to gather the staff and discuss possible changes in BNH’s code of ethics. The changes should influence the work of every employee and define the qualities that are crucial for BNH. A new HR policy should determine the code of conduct in BNH.
The mission of the organization is to promote health to all people and support the ideas of education, respect, and cooperation. To pursue the goals, BNH’s employees have to recognize their duties and take responsibilities in the fields they are defined as experts by the head of the organization. Employees get their jobs and a list of duties that have to be fulfilled. There are many categories in the code, including the quality of services, the completion of tasks, accountability, confidentiality, and conflict of interests.
Each employee has the right to work, complete their duties, offer modifications to the HR or other departments’ heads only after getting permission from the head of their department. The violation of this policy may lead to a penalty or termination. The process of reporting inappropriate conduct should be controlled by the heads of departments or the administrator of the facility. Other forms of information disclosure are violated.
Administrator and Leadership
Such a facility as BNH needs a good administrator, as well as several skilled employees who are ready to complete their functions and provide high-quality services. The demonstration of leadership and management competencies is crucial for head nurses and other medical staff (Kantanen, Kaunenon, Helminen, & Suominen, 2017). For example, in this case, the administrator has to demonstrate quality leadership skills by giving clear orders regarding why a new employee is required, what main qualities should be recognized, and what conditions should be met. A good leader has to motivate people to search for a new person in a team and understand that the interim is not a solution. A leader is the one who does not panic but supports the team and finds new solutions.
As an administrator with properly developed quality management skills, it is expected to organize several meetings and discuss the current state of affairs with the possibility to offer new methods of work and strengthen a team spirit and teamwork. It is not complicated to make people believe in the power of orders and the urgency of tasks that should be completed. The main challenge for an administrator as a leader and a manager is to make people listen and understand the message correctly.
As soon as all employees recognize the impact and the power of one person, they start listening and following the demands. Regarding the current situation of BNH, the administrator has already failed to control the employees that led to certain violations and mistakes. Now, the task is not to repeat the same mistakes and make people realize that their misdemeanors can lead to various negative outcomes.
Strategy for BNH
Quality Indicator Survey is a long-term care survey process with the help of which nursing homes that work with the patients who have Medicare and Medicaid certificates follow special federal guidelines. There are two stages in this survey to review the requirements: communication with all stakeholders to identify the main problems, complaints, and challenges and investigation of what can be one to find the solution. Regarding such requirements, the following strategy can be developed: communication with all employees and lucid residents has to be organized to clarify how they got to know about the inappropriate conduct of those three employees and what their reactions were and discussion of the outcomes of this knowledge.
It is necessary to investigate if awareness can be less harmful than unawareness in this situation. Besides, it is possible to analyze the possible benefits of unawareness. In other words, the task of an administrator is to gather as much information as possible about the case, its causes, outcomes, and perceptions of different people. Such knowledge may considerably improve all administrative practices and ensure future compliance. Employees can observe how deep the investigation can be organized and how unpleasant the outcomes can be experienced. At the same time, leadership should not be a threat to employees. Employees have to demonstrate their willingness to cooperate and promote the development of the facility.
As soon as all details of the case are clarified and all parties are aware to the same extent, it is possible to begin a new wave of changes and search to promote the development and growth of the facility regarding the recent problems and concerns.
References
Carter, M.J. (2015). A student nurse experience of an intervention that addresses the perioperative nursing shortage. Journal of Perioperative Practice, 25(11), 230-234.
Kantanen, K., Kaunenon, M., Helminen, M., & Suominen, T. (2017). Leadership and management competencies of head nurses and directors of nursing in Finnish social and health care. Journal of Research in Nursing, 22(3), 228-244.
Moore, A. (2016). The right stuff nurses who become chief executives. Nursing Standard, 31(2), 18-20.