Journal Entry 3

10/6/09

Journal 3

This week’s learning experience was quite different from the previous week, in the sense that it was more of an educational/information led session. I was opportune to attend a staff development meeting and one of the pressing issues discussed, addressed one of my objectives (i.e. how mentorship and professional socialization can influence and create the environment in which professional nursing can flourish). The prime goal of the staff development meeting was centered on team building. According to Julie, there have been recent complaints from clinical supervisors and other staff members on lack of teamwork, conflict/tension noted between clinical supervisors and other staff members, increasing trends in employee abstinence, non compliance with facility’s policies and procedures. She stated that within the last two months, she had to fire two employees due to work related conflict that resulted to violence. In other to address these problems, she had to consult with the central office for a clinical educator to in-services employees on staff development.
The meeting started off exploring 4 key characteristics of quality teams: effective leadership, positive attitudes, successful collaborations and efficient communication. The emphasis was for each member to adopt the last three characteristic in their individual practice to promote a cohesive team that offers mutual support for each member. The importance of effective leadership was primarily directed to the clinical supervisors and managers. As explained by the clinical educator, it is important for an effective leader to seek out a positive environment that will encourage all staff members to learn and contribute. However, such an environment would foster cohesion, collaboration and would ultimately lead to an excellent team. She showed illustrations on how positive attitudes builds on teamwork and also that mutual trust among staff members are critical to successful team processes. Additionally, she explained that mentoring is a responsibility that is crucial to effective leadership. A clinical supervisor/manger that fosters a positive attitude in employees will allow development of the capacity to work together as a team and overcome obstacles. With a positive attitude, staff members would become comfortable in addressing issues among themselves, problem solving together and resolving conflicts.
From the whole experience, I learnt that as a practice management issues’, building a successful team is essential for staff development within a clinic setting. Additionally, a positive work environment, would increase employee satisfaction and reduce turn over as well as improve quality of care, patient satisfaction and patient outcomes.

Total clincal hours- 6hours