This week we focused on healthcare policy initiatives and ways in which nurses can advocate and influence change. For our discussion, please complete the following:

1. Identify a healthcare issue within your community and explain the issue to your class colleagues. (You may use the same issue you identified in Week 2, but please expand your responses to address this week’s focus). Please review my post on week 2.
2. Describe the type of healthcare policy you would advocate for in an effort to change this issue.
3. What type of campaign would you need to launch in order to gather a network of support?
4. Compose a Tweet that describes what you have shared with your class colleagues. Remember, Twitter only allows for 140 characters so you will need to be concise.

Post week’s # 2

Explore a social determinant issue in your community that may be impacting quality of life or health care. Take a picture of this issue as it may be represented on a billboard, or like Dr. Riley, a bus stop. Upload that picture into the discussion.

Share your perspective about the social determinant issue with your class colleagues defining what role you might play in changing this social determinant in your community.

 Unemployment is a serious social determinant issue that is affecting our society today. There are a lot of Americans who are searching for jobs currently and this is an indication of a very high level of unemployment. The social effects of unemployment range from financial stress, homelessness, poverty, poor nutrition, and crime, all of which affect the health of an individual. The longer an individual remains unemployed, the severe the effects of unemployment become. “Those who are unemployed report feelings of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, demoralization, worry, and physical pain” (Health People.gov). Most lifestyle diseases related to stress such as high blood pressure, arthritis, stroke, anxiety, depression, and heart disease attack the poor. Both the physical and mental health are affected by situations such as lack of job security, underemployment, and workplace closure. Unemployment is the major cause of poverty and people who cannot be able to pay for better healthcare services. Health insurance, and proper sanitation. This is why there is a strong relationship between unemployment and poor health. According to Briody, Doyle, and Kelleher (2020), the health effects of unemployment are severe on children and young people who sometimes cannot attend school due to poverty and end up engaging in crime and drug and substance abuse. All these are detrimental to their health.

       As a healthcare provider, I plan to use my role to ensure the public is aware of the health effects of unemployment and the importance of employment. I will provide educational programs to individual employees and the community at large which will focus on the long-term benefits of health and wellness. The goal of every healthcare provider is to ensure a healthier society where more and more people are supported by health nurturing jobs. This will allow people to earn enough to support their families’ wellbeing. To pursue this important public health and economic priority, I will request help from other stakeholders in the ministry of public health and the government. I will request all leaders at the community level to work with me in ensuring there is employment for the people.

The success of this initiative will also call for the participation of owners of large scale and small-scale businesses. They will help in the design and development of job training programs that are best suited to today’s employment requirements. They will also provide ideas on ways of maximizing job opportunities for the unemployed.

I will also be an advocate of the people and come up with policies such as the lowering of employment taxes such that there will be high labor demand. I will forge for discussions with employers and businesses to ensure a changed attitude towards employees, health, and community wellbeing. Other stakeholders who will contribute a lot to the creation of employment include the NGOs, different public health advocacies, social service workers, state and federal social benefit providers, and faith based organizations. They will help come up with different programs that may help generate jobs for the unemployed.

Compose a 140-character Tweet that describes what you have shared with the class. Remember Twitter only allows 140 characters so you will need to be concise. Share this Tweet in the discussion.

Tweet:

Unemployment has become the major cause of poor health among Americans. There is need for a collaboration between different stakeholders starting with the government, healthcare providers, and employers to ensure there are proper strategies of creating employment for the jobless. 

References

Briody, J., Doyle, O., & Kelleher, C. (2020). The effect of local unemployment on health: A longitudinal study of Irish mothers 2001-2011. Economics & Human Biology, 37, 100859.

HealthyPeople.gov. Unemployment. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=unemployment+a+serious+social+determinant+issue (Links to an external site.)

(1 post:)  In the video, “Motivation -leader and teamwork” the ants are working together by carrying an object and piling it up. At one point a huge leaf falls in front of one ant and he beings to panic. The one leader told everyone “we do not need to panic; we are all trained professionals” and advise them to go around the leaf (Bahumaid,2017). During the whole time each ant was going around the leaf, he cheered them on and gave them motivation to keep on going. The ants were so happy they made it around the leaf. When they made it around, the leader told them what a good job they did. The point of this video is that by working together, you can find other ways to do accomplish a goal. Sometimes to reach a goal you must find a different route to get there.

This video exemplifies teamwork in many ways. The first way is that everyone is helping each other to accomplish a common goal. Next is that when an issue arises and the team is unsure what to do, the leader is there to step in and help. The leader helps them complete the goal even though there was a hurdle in the way. Not only did the leader guide them down another path to complete the goal, but the leader was there to cheer them on. These are great skills for a leader to have, to collaborate and communicate with the time, finding an alternate route and to cheer them on from the sidelines because they may lack the confidence in something new.

In the article, “How effective is teamwork really? The relationship between teamwork and performance in healthcare teams: a systematic review and meta-analysis” it talks about the relationship between teamwork and performance (Schmutz, 2019). The article states that, “teamwork as a major impact on the performance and it should be valued to maintain a positive outlook for the patient” (Schmutz, 2019). The article discussed, “ the importance of members of the team that have different backgrounds and having a different understanding on how something works” (Schmutz, 2019). This statement is so true. The leader in the video, could have had a different background, he could have been though something like this before. The leader found a different way to get to the top even though there was an obstacle in the way. In the working world, everyone is going to be coming from different backgrounds. Take our group we have now, we students from the generic RN, LPN’s and the Medics. Each of these groups bring something different to the table. Each of these groups has a different way of doing something that you may not have thought of. Having a diverse group of people can help lead to a different way of doing something and get the goal you have in mind.

References: 

Schmutz, J. B., Meier, L. L., & Manser, T. (2019). How effective is teamwork really? The relationship between teamwork and performance in healthcare teams: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ open, 9(9), e028280. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028280 (Links to an external site.)

Ali Bahumaid. ( 2017, August 9). Motivation – leader and teamwork! animation video . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MO1aY1xC80

(2nd Post:) Teamwork in Nursing

Teamwork is one of the most important parts of being a successful organization, especially when it involves healthcare. To be a successful nurse in any setting, being able to work as a team is crucial. When teams coordinate care, they decrease the level of stress patients may experience and positively affect outcomes. In addition to easing patient concerns about treatments and procedures while raising efficiency, teamwork may reduce the number of issues related to nurse burnout. The short YouTube video, Team Work Inspirational Video, by PK Production, did a great job expressing the importance of teamwork by explaining that when you replace “I” with “We” even illness can become wellness (PK Production, 2019). Even in a patient’s darkest moments, if they feel safe around us and that us nurses are all working together to achieve the best possible outcome for this patient, it will make their experience that much more bearable. This video also went on to illustrate that we can do so much more when we just work together as a team. I loved how the video explained that sometimes we win, but sometimes we learn (PK Production, 2019). In any healthcare profession there will be trials, tribulations, and mistakes; what is important is learning from them.

Teamwork Defined.

            Teamwork is defined in many ways, however one I especially prefer is “the interaction of two or more professionals about behaviors, cognitions and attitudes, which contributes to reaching shared goals through interdependent performance” (Holmes, 2020). This is especially important in nursing because patient care is not a one-person job. As a nurse, we constantly work with different doctors, specialties, families, and departments, this makes working well with others and as a team crucial in having the best patient outcomes. In recent years, the World Health Organization has increased its focus on teamwork in inter-professional healthcare teams to improve patient safety (Holmes, 2020). In addition to giving patients the best possible experience when we care for them, optimizing patient safety is a key result of working well as a team.

Conclusion.

            Teamwork is essential in healthcare.  Fundamentals of teamwork include good communication and collaboration between co-workers reducing the risk something is overlooked, potentially leading to an error being made resulting in harm to the patient.  Nurses must possess a wide array of traits in addition to working well with others and as a member of a team, but teamwork is one of the most important ones.

References

Holmes, T. (2020, March 1). A qualitative study of how inter-professional teamwork influences perioperative nursing. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/nop2.422 (Links to an external site.)

PK Production [YouTube]. (2019, April 3). Team Work Inspirational Video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVk06wpq8zg&t=52s

Assignment: Strategic Planning and Financial Management

Presentation:

The advance practice nurse is preparing to examine the role of strategic planning and financial management. There is a need to address and explore the process of reviewing financial plans and bench-marking to promote quality care. This presentation will examine the Doctor in Nursing Practice Essentials and reflect on how the advanced practice nurse will function in an increasingly global, complex healthcare system. 

• Review the DNP Essentials and choose a competency to address in this presentation.
• How does the competency that you choose prepare you to address an increasingly complex practice, faculty, and leadership roles related to complex healthcare finance?
• How does enhanced knowledge help to improve nursing practice and patient outcomes fiscally.
• How does the advanced practice nurse lead inter-professional teams in the analysis of complex financial concepts?
• How does the advanced practice nurse integrate considerations of fiscal responsibility into professional practice?
• As you reflect on being an advanced practice nurse, how will this role enhance global nursing practice?

This PowerPoint® (Microsoft Office) or Impress® (Open Office) presentation should be a minimum of 20 slides, including a title and reference slide, with detailed recorded audio and speaker notes on all content slides. Use at least four scholarly sources and make certain to review the module’s Assignment Rubric before starting your presentation. 

 Follow the discussion questions participation and submission guidelines.

·      Follow the 3 x 3 rule: minimum three paragraphs per DQ, with a minimum of three sentences each paragraph.

·      All answers or discussions comments submitted must be in APA format according to Publication Manual American Psychological Association (APA) (7th ed.)

·      Minimum of two references, not older than 2015.