Benchmark – Critical Decision-Making and Organizational Performance

View the scenario called “Critical Decision Making for Providers” found in the Allied Health Community

media.

In a 1,000-1,250-word paper, examine the scenario involving Mike, the lab technician, and discuss the

following:

The health care industry consists of numerous amounts of employees with differing talents and

skill sets. That said, all are entrusted in keeping patients and family members safe while within our

health care facilities. This assignment focuses on the critical decision making of health care providers and

the effects of those decisions. This writer will discuss this topic using a scenario called “Critical Decision

Making for Providers” which involves an employee who faces a dilemma requiring him to make a

decision that will either protect or put others in harms way.

1. Discuss the consequences of a failure to report.

Mike is a lab technician who has a history of showing up to work late. The last time Mike was

late, his manger informed him that if he is late again, he may face termination. Unfortunately,

Mike is running late again, and upon entering to the facility he comes across a spill on the floor,

now faced with a dilemma to either clock in on time by ignore the spill and assuming that

someone else will clean it up or clock in late by safe guarding the spill. Mike not only has the

added stress of potentially loosing his job, but also the stress of being the main provider for his

wife and newborn baby. Two scenarios are presented in this assignment, first scenario describes

Mike making the right decision by stopping to safeguard the spill while notifying his manager as

to his where abouts and why he is late. The second scenario describes Mike passing the spill

leaving it for someone else to safeguard so that he can clock in on time. Later, Mike finds out

that a lady had slipped in the lobby broke her hip in the puddle that he failed to safeguard. Mike

is now faced with another dilemma, to admit to his manager the circumstances that led to the

hospitalization of the patient. Based on the scenario, it is more favorable to make the right

decisions the first time. Choosing to violate company policy by ignoring issues or making poor

decisions in a health care setting places fellow staff members, patients, and visitors safety at risk

in addition to legal consequences for both Mike and the organization for whom he works for.

Health care professionals are faced with dilemmas daily, requiring decisions to be made. For this

reason, it is essential that health care providers make the right decisions by communicating

effectively and remain accountable (Cunningham & Geller, 2008).

Cunningham, T. R., & Geller, E. S. (2008). Organizational behavior management in health care:

Applications for large-scale improvements in patient safety. In K. Henriksen, J. B. Battles,

M. A. Keyes, & et al. (Eds.), Advances in patient safety: New directions and alternative

approaches (Vol. 2). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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2. Explain the impact his decision had on patient safety and organizational performance (risk for

litigation, organization’s quality metrics, workload of other hospital departments, etc.).

Mike’s decision to clock in on time versus safeguard the spill, placed his own needs before the

those of others. His poor decision-making lead to a guest slipping in the lobby who sustained a

broken hip. First and for most Mike should have notified his manager of the situation that

presented itself. That said, any reasonable manager would agree to Mike staying late to make up

lost time while not penalizing him from clocking in late to safeguard the spill protecting staff and

guest from injury. The organization that Mike works for should have some form of employee

patient-safety culture program. Programs like these instill a sense of commitment prompting

employees to discuss and learn from their mistakes, acknowledgement of errors made, and

taking action to resolve issues so that they do not occur again. Organizations with safety culture

programs in place, have shown improved communication regarding safety and the efficiency of

preventative measures, thus reducing the risk of litigation and poor-quality metric scores

(Garuma, Woldie, & Kebene, 2020).

References

Garuma, M., Woldie, M., & Kebene, F. G. (2020). Areas of Potential Improvement for Hospitals’

Patient-Safety Culture in Western Ethiopia. Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety, 113. https://doi-

org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.2147/DHPS.S254949

3. As Mike’s manager, describe how you would address the issue with him and steps you would

take to ensure other staff members do not repeat the same kind of mistake.

Based on the scenario that was provided, I would personally hand down some form of

disciplinary action, but not termination. Knowing his history regarding clocking in late, he was

also coached about tardiness, and to outright ignore a spill in the hallway which led to someone

slipping and breaking a hip due to fear of termination is unacceptable. That said, after typing this

out makes me reconsider termination. As a leader and a nurse that leans towards compassion of

other allows me to reflect on where I failed as a manager and how can I improve this situation,

granting Mike one last chance. This will be accomplished through a write up, review of company

policy, in addition to providing employee patient-safety culture training. As a leader it is my

responsibility to lead by example, if not the team will not work well together thus failing to reach

their maximum potential. Leaders can influence team members behaviors and actions, resulting

in conscious efforts to create a safe environment as a norm (Weiss & Morgan, 2018).

Weiss, D., Tilin, F. J., & Morgan, M. J. (2018). The interprofessional health care team leadership

and development [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Retrieved from https://viewer.gcu.edu/jtzynR

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4. Reflect on the scenario and describe what underlying aspects or issues may be contributing to

workplace dilemmas such as this.

Some underline issues that may be contributing to workplace dilemmas that resulting in poor

behaviors and decision making that lead to less favorable results include the lack of leadership,

culture safety awareness, or lack of collaboration. WellStar is an example of an organization who

has actively sought out measures to minimize or reduce workplace dilemmas that influence our

behaviors and decision-making process. WellStar uses ARCC which stands for “Ask a question,

Request a change, voice a Concern, and call in someone higher up the Chain of command”. This

approach empowers employees to speak out regarding safety concerns of employees and or

patients. Other aspects of the ARCC program include safety huddles that include valuable

statistical information, updates regarding best practices, in addition to providing staff with

positive feedback regarding what is being done right. Programs like ARCC instill a sense of

organizational ownership and creates an environment of honesty and accountability which helps

employees like Mike not only take responsibility in managing their time appropriately, but to

make appropriate decisions when faced with dilemmas without fear of disciplinary action

(Raines, 2014).

References

Raines, L. (2014). COVER STORY: How are hospitals handling safety? Employees focus on healing,

keeping patients in low-risk health care environment. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta,

GA).

5. Consider the manner in which most health care organizations function (structure, people,

technology, environment). As a leader, discuss what principles of organizational behavior and

development can be applied to effectively contribute to the success of a health care

organization. How could these principles be applied to this scenario?

Nurses are in a unique position capable of influencing the health care system through policy and best

practice. Another way in which nurses can contribute to the success of an organization is through

improvements made to the workflow of an organization. Positive workflow results in efficiency

allowing an organization to meet its goal while delivering consistent, reliable, and safe patient care in

compliance with standard of practice. Professional practice models such as shared governance can

be used by organizations that consist of interdisciplinary group requiring collaboration with one

another. This model promotes accountability to patient care, organizational ownership, value, and

collaboration. Measures or methods like the ones described above ultimately influence behaviors

and decisions of employees, thus contribute to the success of an organization (Thomas, 2018).

Thomas, J. (2018). Nursing leadership & management: Leading and serving. Retrieved from

https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs451vn/nursing-leadership-and-management-leading-and-serving/v1.1/