NURS 6053 Module 4: Workplace Environment Assessment

Hi Sunday, 

This is an informative and well-written post on the Workplace Assessment results at your particular workplace. The example you’ve shared is a common and unfortunate scenario in today’s organizational landscape. As corporations seek creative and innovative methods for reducing costs while maximumizing access to care, the critical aspect of demonstrating empathy and professionalism in work environments is often ignored. Many times, staff are expectated to demonstrate high performance, without having access to key pieces of information to effectively discharge their responsibilities to meet the defined goals. Yet the solution is so readily apparent and effective: proper communication. 

As you’ve stated so well here, demonstrating civility and respect in the workplace matters. Respect for everyone involved, including staff, patients and the community served, is demonstrated by a decision to ensure solid communication plan is in effect, and followed by everyone involved. And, when the staff feel that they have been given an opportunity to fully understand the situation and expectations of performance, more positive outcomes can result. Having innovative ideas that include perspectives from staff is considered a best practice for respectful collaboration and safe patient care work environments. 

Thank you for this informative response! 

A healthy working environment is an essential factor for every employee. Based on my experience after working in various organizations in different countries, the situation of the working environment affects how employees and the organization perform. I have evaluated the current facility I am affiliated with using the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory Clark, 2015). The score is 67, meaning the facility has a mildly healthy working environment. The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (2023) emphasized that a healthy working environment allows nurses to provide their patients with the highest standards of care while being fulfilled at work. Skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership are the standards expected in establishing a healthy working environment. 

       To be fair, there are good things I have observed, like teamwork, employee recognition, and staff support. However, there are also some factors that I believe need to be addressed. The first thing is the less competitive salary. Apart from living in a low-paying state for nurses, the facility has a lower pay scale than its competitors around the area. As a result, many nurses decided to take a travel contract or move to different facilities that offer better compensation. The resolution for this concern is an ongoing negotiation for a pay rise. I hope this will come to fruition. Regardless of the financial gains corporations generate from the expensive healthcare of the country, nurses and other healthcare workers receive low wages and undesirable benefits (McDermott & Goger, 2022).  

        Another issue is the lack of employee wellness and self-care programs. It would be beneficial if the organization could devise a program that helps employees maintain wellness and self-care support like psychological counseling, group physical activities program, etc. Last month, the nursing leaders gathered suggestions from the nursing staff on what programs they could create to improve the nursing staff experience. I put in recommendations for wellness and health programs for employees, like gym membership discounts, free classes for yoga, martial arts, etc., fun run events, and psychological evaluation. Bal (2023) highlighted that nurses practicing self-care can provide the best possible treatment to their patients. Self-care among nurses must ensure that physical, psychological, and social welfare are promoted. Davis (2023) reported that organizations that support wellness tend to have nurses with better physical and mental health and participate more in healthy lifestyle practices than those who do not have the same level of support.  

References: 

American Association of Critical Care Nurses. (2023). Healthy Work Environments. AACN. https://www.aacn.org/nursing-excellence/healthy-work-environmentsLinks to an external site. 

Bal, D. (2023, March 23). Self-Care For Nurses | NurseJournal.org. NurseJournal. https://nursejournal.org/resources/self-care-for-nurses/Links to an external site. 

Clark, C. M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a