Developing Organizational Policies and Practices

Developing Organizational Policies and Practices

Most healthcare organizations are for-profit and, hence, are operated as business entities. Due to this, they must implement policies that ensure adequate financial and human resources management. Failure to do this may result in the collapse of the business. There are always competing interests in healthcare organizations that are for profit. Healthcare professionals expect their welfare to be looked after and fair pay, while patients expect safe, cost-effective, and quality healthcare. Consequently, COVID-19 is the current healthcare issue that has resulted in competing needs for my healthcare organization.

Competing Needs

Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2021. It has negative impacts on healthcare organizations. The mental health effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been well documented. Healthcare professionals directly involved in diagnosing, treating, and caring for COVID-19 patients are at higher risk of suffering from mental health issues (Khanal et al., 2020). In addition, the increased infection rates, mortality rates, work burden, media coverage, inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), vulnerability to the virus, isolation, and feelings of inadequate support can result in a mental burden to healthcare professionals. Ultimately, psychological well-being impacts individual performance.

Healthcare professionals in my organization were drastically affected by the pandemic. Many of us develop mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. Most staff members also contracted the virus, and some even succumbed to Covid-19. Due to the financial constraints in the organization, many employees got laid off, which further worsened the psychological well-being of individuals who remained in the organization. Due to inadequate staff and long working hours, we experienced burnout and fatigue. Study results have revealed that burnout can negatively affect the quality of care (Mudallal et al., 2017). Most staff members were emotionally exhausted and had few hours of sleep. The first competing need in my organization was the need to offer psychological and mental health services during the pandemic to ensure nurses’ mental health needs were effectively met. During the pandemic, it is critical to assess the nurses’ mental health needs and mental health status to help the healthcare leaders implement strategies that reduce psychological distress.

Secondly, another competing need was quality care for Covid-19 patients. Covid-19 has high infection rates; therefore, there was a high surge of patients in our organization. The symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, chills, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, headache, sore throat, loss of smell, and respiratory failure in severe disease (Shereen et al., 2020). Covid-19 thus negatively impacts the quality of life of patients. Thus, the healthcare organization had to ensure quality care to the patients. There was, however, a significant challenge to this due to the financial implications of Covid-19; many employees were sent on leave. The remaining employees had psychological issues, which may have negatively impacted their ability to provide care to patients. In summary, the two competing needs in my organization were the nurses’ mental health needs and the quality of care provided to patients.

Policy/Practice

Due to the pandemic, my organization devised a policy that aimed to protect it from the pandemic’s financial implications and reduce infections within the organization. The organization developed infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols to minimize the spread of viruses. The IPC protocols were in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These protocols included installing handwashing points, providing adequate PPE, developing isolation and quarantine units, canceling elective surgeries, and limiting visits to the hospital. This policy also involved laying off some staff to reduce costs of operation. Due to this, many healthcare professionals were assigned more shifts to cover the gap left by the laid-off employees. However, the remaining employees were given adequate protection through regular restocking of PPEs.

Policy Critique

IPC protocols are critical in reducing the transmission of the virus. This was a positive aspect of the policy since it ensured that the rate of transmission of the virus within the hospital premises was reduced. According to the CDC, the IPC guidelines include promoting the use of PPE, vaccinating healthcare professionals, limiting visitations, hand sanitation practices, encouraging physical distancing, patient isolation and quarantine, and environmental infection control (CDC, 2021). This part of the policy incorporated evidence-based practice to protect patients and healthcare professionals from the virus. The second policy was, however, not healthy. Due to the financial implications of the virus, many healthcare professionals’ contracts were terminated. This meant that they did not have a source of income. These employees had dedicated themselves to serving the organization, and they did not deserve to be expelled. The expelling of employees resulted in shortages of staff. The remaining staff had to work for many hours, which resulted in fatigue, burnout, and job dissatisfaction.

Even though terminating employees saved finances for the organization, it may have negatively affected the quality of care since the remaining healthcare professionals had to work for longer hours with mental health issues. In effect, this policy negatively impacted both patients and healthcare professionals. Patient safety and quality of care were also compromised while the psychological well-being of nurses further deteriorated. This policy went against the principle of non-maleficence. This policy requires nurses to provide care that minimizes risk to patients (Motloba, 2019). Laying off staff resulted in nurse shortages, which could have negatively affected the quality of care given to patients. One strength of this policy is that it enabled the implementation of IPC protocols that reduced the spread of the virus within the healthcare organization. Laying off employees also freed up finances that could be used to purchase PPE to protect the remaining healthcare professionals.

Policy Recommendations

Several policies can be implemented to ensure the provision of quality care and the psychological well-being of nurses. Since the pandemic has worsened nurses’ mental and psychological well-being, it is critical to provide psychological support for the nurses working in the COVID-19 wing and create a healthy work environment. The nurses should be trained on positive and healthy coping strategies. Training will improve their self-knowledge and help them alleviate psychological stress (De Kock et al., 2021). The hospital should also provide guidance by setting up a psychiatry department dedicated to handling nurses’ mental health issues. The guidance will be voluntary for nurses willing to take the services. This policy helps solve the issue of mental burnout and fatigue due to psychological stress related to Covid-19. This policy will also ensure that nurses are in an optimal functioning state to offer quality care to patients.

The second policy will be to seek partnerships with philanthropists and foundations. These partnerships will allow the organization to seek funding that will allow them to retain staff. One of the reasons for the burnout was that some staff members were laid off. This additional funding from these foundations will allow the organization to meet its financial obligations without firing some of its employees. One of the foundations that can be approached is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which offers healthcare financing to many healthcare organizations.

The third policy I would implement is the use of telemedicine. Telemedicine will ensure optimum service delivery while reducing the risk of exposure (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020). Telemedicine will allow the hospital to generate additional revenue and buy additional PPE to protect its workers. Many individuals and families have access to portable electronics, and hence, they can communicate with healthcare professionals remotely. Telehealth can also be used for individuals who are in quarantine. This will reduce exposure to healthcare professionals. They will feel safe and have the morale to offer quality service to patients. Telehealth can also reduce healthcare resource utilization and minimize the risk of transmission of Covid-19 (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020).

The three policy recommendations address the ethical concerns in the existing policies. Accordingly, the existing policy went against the ethical principle of non-maleficence. The policy did not cater to the mental health needs of nurses. This resulted in exhaustion and burnout, which negatively impacted the quality of care to patients. As a result, the proposed policy addresses this issue by ensuring that nurses’ mental well-being is taken care of, which allows them to provide quality care to their patients.

Conclusion

In summary, Covid-19 is a serious pandemic that is currently ongoing. Navigating this healthcare issue may be challenging for healthcare organizations since it results in competing needs for the psychological well-being of nurses and the quality of care offered to patients. Therefore, healthcare organizations should implement policies that ensure that competing needs are effectively addressed without compromising the quality of care.

References

CDC. (2021, June 5). Healthcare workers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control-recommendations.html

De Kock, J. H., Latham, H. A., Leslie, S. J., Grindle, M., Munoz, S., Ellis, L., Polson, R., & O’Malley, C. M. (2021). A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: Implications for supporting psychological well-being. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-10070-3

Khanal, P., Devkota, N., Dahal, M., Paudel, K., & Joshi, D. (2020). Mental health impacts among health workers during COVID-19 in a low resource setting: A cross-sectional survey from Nepal. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-40089/v1

Monaghesh, E., & Hajizadeh, A. (2020). The role of Telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: A systematic review based on current evidence. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-23906/v3

Motloba, P. (2019). Non-maleficence – a disremembered moral obligation. South African Dental Journal, 74(1). https://doi.org/10.17159/2519-0105/2019/v74no1a7

Mudallal, R. H., Othman, W. M., & Al Hassan, N. F. (2017). Nurses’ burnout: The influence of leader empowering behaviors, work conditions, and demographic traits. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 54, 004695801772494. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958017724944

Shereen, M. A., Khan, S., Kazmi, A., Bashir, N., & Siddique, R. (2020). COVID-19 infection: Emergence, transmission, and characteristics of human coronaviruses. Journal of Advanced Research, 24, 91-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2020.03.005

Wind, A., & Van Harten, W. H. (2017). Benchmarking specialty hospitals, a scoping review on theory and practice. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2154-y

Assignment: Developing Organizational Policies and Practices
Competing needs arise within any organization as employees seek to meet their targets and leaders seek to meet company goals. As a leader, successful management of these goals requires establishing priorities and allocating resources accordingly.

Within a healthcare setting, the needs of the workforce, resources, and patients are often in conflict. Mandatory overtime, implementation of staffing ratios, use of unlicensed assisting personnel, and employer reductions of education benefits are examples of practices that might lead to conflicting needs in practice.

Leaders can contribute to both the problem and the solution through policies, action, and inaction. In this Assignment, you will further develop the white paper you began work on in Module 1 by addressing competing needs within your organization.

To Prepare:

Review the national healthcare issue/stressor you examined in your Assignment for Module 1, and review the analysis of the healthcare issue/stressor you selected.
Identify and review two evidence-based scholarly resources that focus on proposed policies/practices to apply to your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
Reflect on the feedback you received from your colleagues on your Discussion post regarding competing needs.
The Assignment (4-5 pages):

Developing Organizational Policies and Practices

Add a section to the paper you submitted in Module 1. The new section should address the following:

Identify and describe at least two competing needs impacting your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
Describe a relevant policy or practice in your organization that may influence your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
Critique the policy for ethical considerations, and explain the policy’s strengths and challenges in promoting ethics.
Recommend one or more policy or practice changes designed to balance the competing needs of resources, workers, and patients, while addressing any ethical shortcomings of the existing policies. Be specific and provide examples.
Cite evidence that informs the healthcare issue/stressor and/or the policies, and provide two scholarly resources in support of your policy or practice recommendations.
Due to the nature of this assignment, your instructor may require more than 7 days to provide you with quality feedbac