Briefly describe the problem and how it impacts the organization, patients, and/or the nursing profession.

Develop a 6-7-page proposal for executive leadership that addresses changes you would like to see within your organization that would advance the field of nursing.

Nursing is in the midst of many changes. In this assessment you will consider how you can be a driving force to bring about needed change within the field of nursing.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Explain strategies for effective interprofessional teamwork and collaboration in health care delivery.
  • Identify other health care professionals to enlist as members of an interprofessional team to drive change in an organization.
• Competency 2: Analyze the implications of working with interprofessional teams in multifaceted health care settings.
  • Describe a problem and how it impacts an organization, patients, or the nursing profession.
  • Analyze barriers and resistance to change from an organization, patients, or colleagues.
• Competency 3: Develop evidence-based nursing interventions to address specific problems and enable systemic change.
  • Describe evidence-based solutions to a problem.
  • Describe strategies to overcome barriers and resistance to change.
  • Develop a plan to implement evidence-based solutions to a problem.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations of a nursing professional.
  • Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
  • Correctly format citations and references using current APA style.

Collaborative interprofessional groups are at the heart of resolving contemporary nursing issues. The work of groups and teams is based on strong decision-making and problem-solving skills, led by effective and engaged leaders. Nurses leading collaborative teams are critical for resolving a number of issues such as errors in medications, accidents involving patients, and unsafe shortcuts.

Nurses truly are expert problem-solvers. Tucker and Edmondson (2002) found that nurses utilized problem-solving skills so often that it had become a routine aspect of a nurse’s day. However, nurses must be able to maximize their problem-solving skills in order to lead health care teams in addressing challenges, identifying evidence-based solutions, and implementing those solutions.

Reference

Tucker, A. L., & Edmondson, A. C. (2002). Managing routine exceptions: A model of nurse problem solving behavior. Advances in Health Care Management, 3, 87–113.

Preparation

To prepare for this assessment, you will need to think about changes you feel are needed to address a problem either within nursing as a professional field or within the organization where you work. Narrow down your options by considering which change would best be undertaken by an interprofessional team. Some examples for you to consider might include:

• The use of mobile and portable technology to support patients.
• Using evidence-based practice (EBP) to improve patient care.
• Increasing patient safety and quality of care.
• The use of medical technology such as genes and stem cells, or robots in the OR.
• Addressing the nursing shortage now and into the future.
• Improving the work environment (providing calm, supportive spaces for nurses; improved dialog between health care professionals).
• Better safety for nurses at work (violence, spreading diseases, physical injury).
• Substance abuse by health care professionals.

Or you can narrow the scope to an issue within your own organization:

• Developing a mobility program for an inpatient unit.
• Implementing “smart” technology to assist in patient monitoring.
• Creating a mentoring program to attract and retain nurses.
• Implementing protocols for infection control and/or treatment of an epidemic.
• Developing a plan to eliminate physical violence and verbal abuse in the workplace.
• Other.

Once you have selected an issue to address, look for scholarly and professional articles that focus on the problem, the needed change, and how interprofessional teams can work together to drive change.

Requirements

Lately you have noticed the need for changes within your organization that would advance the field of nursing. You have decided to develop a proposal and submit it to executive leadership. Format this assessment as a professional proposal. You may want to look at how proposals are drafted within your organization and follow that format. You will still need a references page; follow APA guidelines for in-text citations and references.

Address the following in your proposal:

• Briefly describe the problem and how it impacts the organization, patients, and/or the nursing profession.
• Describe possible evidence-based interventions for the problem.
• Analyze potential barriers and resistance to change that might come from the organization, patients, and/or colleagues.
• Describe strategies to overcome barriers and resistance to change.
• Develop a plan to implement evidence-based interventions. What steps would you take? What resources might you need?
• Identify other health care professionals to enlist as team members to help drive change in the organization.

Your completed assessment should be 6-7 pages in length, not including title page and references page. Support your statements and intervention plan with references to and citations for at least four scholarly or professional resources.

Additional Requirements

• Include a title page and references page.
• Reference at least four current scholarly or professional resources.
• Use APA format for citations and references.
• Use Times New Roman font, 12 point.
• Double space.

Scoring Guide

• Analyzes (not just describe) a problem and how it impacts an organization, patients, or the nursing profession.
• Describes evidence-based solutions to a problem and examines the pros and cons of the solutions.
• Analyzes (not just describe) barriers and resistance to change from an organization, patients, or colleagues and explores the consequences of not solving a problem.
• Analyzes (not just describe) strategies to overcome barriers and resistance to change.
• Develops a plan to implement evidence-based solutions to a problem and includes methods to evaluate how well the solutions are working.
• Identifies other health care professionals to enlist as members of an interprofessional team to drive change in an organization and outlines how the team will drive change in an organization.
• Writes clearly and logically with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; uses relevant evidence to support a central idea.
• Correctly formats citations and references with no errors.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

The United States, among other countries in the world, is experiencing a shortage of workers in the healthcare sector which is projected to get worse in the near future. The biggest shortage is felt in the nursing field which is marked by a substantial imbalance between the demand and supply available. According to Clarke and Donaldson (2013), the escalating shortage of registered nurses has a significant impact throughout the healthcare sector in terms of quality of patient care which is witnessed in the closure of healthcare beds and hospitals. Up to date, there has not been a feasible strategy that will take the appropriate action towards fixing this problem. As it has…