Short-Term Goal
To create an explicit and detailed healthcare policy in writing, which prioritizes concrete palliative care (PC) aspects to restructure the service delivery system within one month.
S – Specific: This goal aims to achieve a single result of having an explicit written policy that suggests several improvements to the current PC delivery system.
M – Measurable: The guidelines created to achieve this goal should address rules of staff conduct regarding integrity, interpersonal communication, and non-discriminant patient treatment regardless of race, gender, age, religion, disease, or current health status.
A – Achievable: This policy proposal’s author(s) will be responsible for drafting, writing up the final version, and monitoring the policy.
R – Relevant: The written policy will embrace three priorities of restructuring the PC delivery system, such as integrated care, personalized care, and carer support. Each of the suggested staff conduct rules is suggested according to the secondary literature review on the topic. The resulting policy will be presented in class to ensure accountability and feedback.
T – Time-Bound: The timeframe for achieving this goal is one month from the date of the project’s start.
Medium-Range Goal
To conduct an informative campaign that articulates the value of the proposed palliative care policy development to gain wider political support for its implementation within three months.
S – Specific: The single goal is to create an informative campaign promoting the implementation of the policy proposed in the short-term goal.
M – Measurable: At the end of the campaign, the author(s) would have engaged with potential sponsors and policymakers to secure the campaign’s support. Moreover, the engagement with major stakeholders such as healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients would have received their input on the suggested policy.
A – Achievable: The author(s) of this policy proposal will be responsible for creating campaign materials, selecting target locations and audiences, and presenting the campaign to them.
R – Relevant: This goal was set due to scholarly research pointing out the need to attain wider political support for PC. The campaign will be organized in local healthcare facilities, public speaking venues, and online via social media platforms to ensure accountability and receive feedback from stakeholders.
T – Time-Bound: The timeframe for achieving this goal is three months from the date of the proposal’s acceptance.
Long-Term Goal
To develop the appropriate nursing staff support, training, and reporting system to enforce the proposed guidelines in nursing facilities within a year.
S – Specific: The single goal is to develop an effective HCPs support, education, and enforcement network in local nursing facilities and elderly homes.
M – Measurable: This goal’s achievement can be evaluated using several metrics. First, all staff members in the local facilities would have been thoroughly educated on the policy’s requirements. Second, when sufficient resources and staffing to reduce burnout of HCPs would have been ensured in every local nursing facility. Third, a reporting system to detect, report, and prevent neglect due to negligence would have been developed.
A – Achievable: The author(s) of the policy will be responsible for developing the system and testing it in several selected locations. In order to ensure mutual agreement, the feedback received from stakeholders will be accounted for in designing the network.
R – Relevant: The objectives for this goal were created due to the necessity of minimizing instances of patient neglect in care facilities. Secondary literature identified that having clear rules and expectations, minimizing instances of neglect due to technical reasons, and holding staff responsible for detected neglect were the major ways to reform the PC delivery system.
T – Time-Bound: The timeframe for achieving this goal is six months from the date of policy implementation.