Contributions of the Project
The landscape of healthcare is rapidly changing with the changes and advancements in science and technology. As such, changes and developments in healthcare should aim towards keeping up with these changes in science and technology. My capstone project, team communication strategies, does exactly that. This paper is a review of how my capstone project which looked to improve communication among healthcare staff and especially among nurses by use of new locator and communication software contributes to the diverse society whilst considering the ever-changing healthcare environment.
First, the project, as it is, contributes to the technological advancements in healthcare that aim towards enhancing its effectiveness. The project looks to incorporate locator software in the current pager system that is used to aid communication among nurses. By doing this, the software will enhance accountability in nursing. It will enable the communicating nurse to know how far the nurse they are communicating to is and for them to estimate the time required for the second nurse to arrive and attend to the patient. The full implementation of this project will also force the nurses to be close to their point of duty since their distance from the place of duty will be detectable. This enhanced among nurses will be of an advantage to the patients and fellow nurses. Patients will enjoy better health outcomes and their safety will be guaranteed (Manolitzas et al., 2016). For the nurses, more accountability and a decrease in the rates of malpractice and malpractice accusations will likely enhance their job satisfaction. In addition, because of the improved technology, it will be better to link this new communication system to a computer system which will enable tracking of communication if need to do so arises (Manolitzas et al., 2016).
Secondly, the modern healthcare environment emphasizes of evidence-based decisions and practices (Kent & McCormack, 2010). This project, as a scholarly research, is aimed at collecting evidence which will enhance nursing practice. The successful completion of this project will mean that there will be enough evidence to show that the new communication system with locator and communication software is much more effective than the pager system utilized prior to this implementation. This evidence can be taken by other departments in the hospital and other hospitals to implement the same communication strategy. Moreover, the project fulfills the professional characteristics of nursing which require professionals to participate in scholarly studies to continually add to the body of evidence that is currently available.
Finally, in the course of this project, the participants of the project team enhanced their leadership and research skills. Transformational leadership was the preferred mode of leadership in the course of this project. The project team thus had a chance to learn about, experience, and practice transformational leadership. In addition, the project has confirmed that transformational leadership is the best leadership model in project managements (Mattus, 2012). The teamwork, coordination, and level of commitment that this project bore reveal the values of this transformational leadership while undertaking projects. In other words, the project emphasizes the role of transformational leadership in healthcare (Mattus, 2012). Many health institutions in current times are resorting to this model of leadership.
My capstone project, team communication strategies, is of great relevance to the modern practice of healthcare. By embracing technology, the project epitomizes a key characteristic of modern healthcare – the use of science and technology to improve practice. Moreover, the project led to the collection of evidence that can be utilized by future managers to make decisions on communication strategies. Finally, the project emphasizes the importance of leadership and the models of leadership that are most effective in healthcare.
References
Kent, B., McCormack, B., & Sigma Theta Tau International. (2010). Clinical context for evidence-based nursing practice. Chichester, West Sussex: Blackwell Pub.
Manolitzas, P., Grigoroudis, E., Matsatsinis, N. F., & Yannacopoulos, D. (2016). Effective methods for modern healthcare service quality and evaluation. Hershey, PA: Medical Information Science Reference.
Mattus, T. (2012). Transformational leadership for project managers: how to lead, not just manage projects. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2012—North America, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
