Nursing Management Residency
By using quality improvement methods and available evidence, it becomes easy to pinpoint an underlying problem and manage different projects efficiently (Harris, Roussel, & Walters, 2011). With this in mind, various problems associated with the administration of drugs to the patients have been reported in the Outpatient Day Surgery Unit in our hospital. These problems have led to the formation of a team to look into the matter and come up with a valid solution. To facilitate this, a mentor will be selected. Using a mentor, in this case, will be of the essence because mentors understand the system properly, accept change, and they are diverse in nature (Association, 2009).
In our case, the mentor chosen is highly knowledgeable in the field of surgery, and he manages various departments such as the outpatient care, infusion, and chemotherapy, and the surgical area of care departments. Apart from this, the mentor is compassionate and leads by example. I can base my argument on the fact that when the nurse director is out on leave or absent, the mentor takes the mantle and manages the hospital.
An interview was conducted between myself and the mentor. During this interview, we discussed issues affecting the department and how they can be solved. Apart from this, we discussed the current state of the nurses and the number of patients who were catered for by the nurses.
We were able to identify the Outpatient Day Surgery Unit as the central unit with an underlying problem. In this department, 25 registered nurses are mandated with taking care of the patients. Each and every nurse is accorded, eight patients. The department operates from Monday to Friday from 06:45 am to 11 pm. In a regular day, the department treats about 6-32 patients.
We were able to know that some nurses have been administering pain medications without documenting pain assessment in the EPIC Documentation System. Apart from this, some nurses have been taking and not returning pain medications from the Pyxis. Some are going to the extent of wrongfully administering the drugs to the patients three minutes later contrary to the set standards.
The proposal aims to educate the nurses on the best practices to use when assessing pain in a pre and post medication situation. This will be in line with the parameters ordered by the doctor (s) in charge.
The proposal will also recommend a change of leadership style as a way of promoting good governance in the department. In this case, transactional leadership which promotes compliance, supervision, and organization will be proposed and the nurses will be educated accordingly.
Another aim of the proposal is to educate the nurses on the best-preferred methods to use when it comes to taking and using pain medications from the Pyxis. Rather than mandating the drug administration process to other nurses, the proposal aims to educate the less-educated nurses on the importance of using the drugs within three minutes upon removal from the Pyxis as recommended by the hospital guidelines.
The project schedule is expected to take four weeks. In between this four week period, the nurses will be educated on how to use the narcotic pain medications, the importance of documenting the pain assessment in the EPIC Documentation System as well as learn to properly use the Pyxis when it comes to administering medication.
References
Association, A. (2009). Nursing administration (1st ed., p. 7). Silver Spring, Md: American Nurses Association.
Harris, J., Roussel, L., & Walters, S. (2011). Project Planning and Management: A Guide for CNLs, DNPs and Nurse Executives (1st ed., p. 3). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
