Instructions: this assignment addresses the role the nurse plays using political strategies to help influence policy decisions. step 1: read the following situation carefully. a hospital is planning to purchase new telemetry heart monitors for the intensive care unit (icu), emergency department (ed), and intermediate care unit (imcu). to make the capital purchase productive, hospital administration forms a committee consisting of the unit managers, nursing representatives from each unit, a bio-med individual, and the financial officer. each unit is allowed representation based on the number of nurses employed on the units. this results in three icu nurses, three imcu nurses, and one ed nurse. management is concerned about the costs of replacing the telemetry monitors; therefore, the financial officer pushes for the cheapest product, insisting that budget constraints and decreased revenue require the purchase of a less expensive system. however, the icu, imcu, and ed representatives gat

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Action Campaign: Political Strategies

How the nurses used political strategies to influence the decision

Politics influence distinct aspects of organizational functions. However, navigating organizational political dynamics requires individuals to use manipulation, persuasion, and negotiation techniques to exert influence (Montalvo, 2015). As per the case scenario, the nurses use persuasion strategies to influence the decision. For instance, they use persuasion skills to convince the financial officer that the most expensive telemetry heart monitors would enhance care delivery. They support their arguments by devising a proposal that highlights the expensive system’s benefit over the affordable one. For instance, the expensive system would result in an uninterrupted patient flow and would meet the emergency department, intensive care unit, and the intermediate care unit’s needs. Additionally, the system would result in cost savings in the long-term and boost patient outcomes.  Their convincing facts that the expensive system is better than the cheaper one helped them gain support from several local cardiologists and the bio-med representative whose mother was in the ICU and would benefit from the system. Thus, the nurses in the case study used persuasion to influence the decision to purchase the expensive system. 

How the Case Reflects the Political Power of Nurses

Nurses influence politics and policy in their organizations and at the international level.  For instance, they influence politics that boosts healthcare delivery because they consider themselves as their patient’s advocates. However, nurses should partner with other healthcare providers like physicians to lead in the healthcare system’s redesign. Thus, nurses ‘political power is evident in the case because of their collaboration to ensure that the most effective system is implemented to improve care delivery and workflow in the organization. They also get support from other health professionals like cardiologists and bio-med representative because their evidence proves that purchasing the expensive telemetry services is beneficial both to the nurses, the organization, and the patient’s population. The nurses’ ability to work together, gain support from other medical professionals, and influence the decision to purchase an expensive system despite decreased revenues and budget constraints reflects their political power.

How the Nurses Demonstrate the Political Skills Described in the Text

As per the case study, the involved nurses demonstrate a high level of political skills described in the text.  For instance, nurses in the case scenario exercised great power by working collaboratively with other healthcare workers to influence the final decision. Accordingly, they used evidence to demonstrate the benefits of the expensive over the less expensive system. Therefore, it was difficult for the finance manager to go for the less expensive system despite nurses providing evidence of the benefits to the facility, the patients, and their units if the finance manager bought the expensive system.

The Purposes behind the Nurses Forming a Coalition

Nurses understand their organizational structural authority and power. Thus, they can contribute to expanding healthcare access, reducing costs, and improving quality outcomes. Achieving these outcomes requires them to understand the importance of organizational influence and political knowledge. However, various factors influence nurses’ decision making in the clinical setting, including resource constraints and relationship with other healthcare providers (Montalvo, 2015). Thus, to avoid incidents that can result in a political vacuum and reduced power,  nurses teamed up to ensure that the finance manager purchased a system that improved care delivery, reduced costs, and promoted an uninterrupted  patient flow despite financial constraints in the facility. 

Reference

Montalvo, W. (2015). Political skill and its relevance to nursing: an integrative review. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 45(7/8), 377-383.