Week 6: Application of Theory to Leadership and Management - Discussion
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Impact of Nursing Theory Upon Healthcare Organization (graded)
Discuss
... [Show More] how a specific middle-range nursing theory has been or could be applied by nurse leaders or nurse managers to effectively deal with an administrative issue (i.e., staffing, use of supplies, staff performance issues). Include an example from the literature or your own experience to illustrate your points.
6/4/2017 9:04:04 AM
Impact of Nursing Theory Upon Healthcare Organization
Nursing Intellectual Capital Theory (A Middle Range Theory): Implication for the Practice and the Nurse Executive
Christine L. Covell first described the middle-range theory of Nursing Intellectual Capital (NIC) in 2008. NIC Theory is derived from the intellectual capital (IC) theory from the accounting field. Intellectual capital (IC) is defined as a combination of collective knowledge of individuals and structures in an organization (Evans, Brown, & Baker, 2015). It encompasses the sum-total of individual workers knowledge considered vital to organizational growth, as well as company configuration including methods, consumers or other data that help to improve the company bottom line (Dumay, 2012). What Covell did was to apply the IC theory to continuing professional development (CPD) in nursing.
One of the most important roles of the nurse managers or administrator is to develop and maintain nursing human capital. There are many aspects of nursing management responsibilities that compete for time and resources. NIC is founded on the fact that there is currently limited intellectual interpretation of the link between nursing knowledge within the practice environment, patient satisfaction, and organizational objectives for improvement. Consequently, NIC theory is based on the sum-total of the intellectual capital of the practice and imagines that the sources of nursing knowledge available within an organization can influence the organization’s relationship to patient and thus the organizational outcomes (Covell, & Sidani, 2013).
The primary asset of NIC theory is that it acknowledges the intricacies of the healthcare practice setting and the need to create and develop nursing education that will affect patient care positively and help practices reach their preset goals. NIC theory maintains and recognizes the essential ideas and interrelationships that are needed to advance nursing knowledge within a practice organization. There is a strong emphasis on nursing education with support for continuing professional development (CPD), and the knowledge gained transferred into practice, so that patient experience and organizational outcomes will be impacted (Evans, Brown, & Baker, 2015).
NIC believes that appropriated mix of human capital pointers will affect patient care quality positively as well as help retain better professional nurses. As such nurse managers should spend time considering recruiting and retaining advance college degrees nurses with subspecialty certification and right level skills for the practice and for those already working with the practice providing them with additional training (Covell, & Sidani, 2013). Although there is
need to deploy NIC in our practice Nurse Executive must also appreciate the fact that there is need to adequately comprehend the method through which nursing education influences patients care and thus organizational goals. There is a concern because spending on advanced professional nursing training and associated educational and staffing development can be an expensive venture for many practices (Phillips, Piza, & Ingram, 2012).
NIC Theory Application to Nurse Management- A personal LTAC experience
In the last eight years since the commencement of the NIC approach investing in nursing capital enhancement, has now become a crucial part of nurse manager’s responsibility. Most research data now support widely held nursing leadership views that continuing education is vital towards increasing nursing knowledge, enhancing professional growth, sustaining training competencies, improving policymaking capacities in today's practice environment if we are to improve patient outcomes (Dumay, Rooney, & Marini, 2013)
Studies show NIC applications in practices facilitate staff growth and development as Nurse Managers can earmark capitals for continuing medical education and staff development. Providing financial remuneration to nurses for advanced practice training qualification or certification tends to improve staff retention and fulfillment and directly affect patient care satisfaction (Covell, & Sidani, 2013). Furthermore internal educational opportunities for nurse providers within an organization can minimize costs and also increase nurse participation (Evans, Brown, & Baker, 2015).
At the LTAC that I work in there were repeat cases of near miss incidents and some actual miss incidents. Patient lab results were not addressed or communicated to their providers in a timely fashion. In approximately 25 % of cases, Nurse could not identify and deliver crucial lab results to medical providers even when they were called in from the outside laboratory and designated as urgent and critical lab results. Furthermore, nurses were not identifying and communicating signs of early sepsis to providers as such patient were not receiving the prompt responses that such high-level abnormality needed. The institutional leaders felt this was unsustainable as it was beginning to affect patient care and thus organizational goals and outcome. About four years back the nursing leaders of our institution instituted the Advance Nursing Professional and Training Level Drive (ANPTLD) that included the following changes:
Minimum of BSN qualification before Nurses can practice in the ventilation unit of the
hospital.
Minimum of two years post-bachelor level experience after acquiring a bachelor degree was
also required for the ventilation unit.
All nurses must have ICU or ventilation management or emergency room experience to
work with ventilated patients.
Three monthly progressive and re-certification training were instituted in five specific areas
in the hospital including wound care, ventilation management, sepsis care, pulmonary rehabilitation, and peripheral/central line management. [Show Less]