Health care organizations and the way patient care is delivered is rapidly changing. The ability to manage, promote, and facilitate change is one of the most important skills that nursing leaders need to be successful. Influencing change requires effective communication skills, and the ability to help other see the vision (Curtis, De Vries, & Sheerin, 2011). This paper will discuss leading change and effective communication as nursing leadership priorities for St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Leadership Priorities at St. Vincent’s Medical Center
St. Vincent Medical Center is located in the Bridgeport, Connecticut, in Fairfield County. It is a 520-bed, faith-based community teaching hospital …show more content…
The purpose of communication is to provide information and to increase understanding. Effective communication in a healthcare organization engages staff, conveys trust, and sets expectations for accountability (Men, 2014). St. Vincent’s being part of Ascension Health, there are many initiatives that start at the national level and are communicated to the organizations though care excellence teams. A current Ascension initiative is to address the palliative care needs of patients admitted to the hospital. When a patient is admitted, the nurse will get an alert in the EHR if the patient meets the criteria for palliative care. This change to the EHR was communicated to the nursing leadership council in October 2015 and educational information was distributed to discuss at unit huddles and team meetings. The expectation was that nursing leaders would be responsible for the communication. The first quarter results showed a 30 percent documentation rate, with 70 percent of the nurse not addressing the alert. Part of successful communication is addressing expectations and accountability (Aroh, Occhiuzzo, & Douglas, 2011). In this case, there was a breakdown in communication from nursing leadership to the bedside nurse that affected adoption of a new workflow and appropriate …show more content…
Effective nursing leadership is an essential part of nursing practice. The ability to communicate effectively and lead change are the qualities of an effective nurse leader. Ineffective leaders who do not communicate well or poorly lead change, creates and environment that leads to poor patient outcomes and staff dissatisfaction. The focus for nursing leadership competencies includes specific skills to better position nurses as leaders in the health care system. (Curtis et al.,