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Creating an Innovative Culture of Caring

Alison R. Douglas

Jacksonville State University

NU 713 Organizational & Systems Leadership for the Advanced Practice Nurse

January 14, 2019

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1. What attributes or characteristics do you believe you possess that make you uniquely

different from others?

Characteristics that make me uniquely different from others are my assertiveness,

organizational skills, and the ability to sympathize toward patients. As an individual, I've always

been assertive (even as a child), if I had an idea; I knew exactly how to put it into action. I have

an affinity for organization (with a side of perfectionism), where I work currently is undergoing

many construction projects, with vacant areas used for patient care, and workflow is frustrating

as no one is managing the organization of the unit. As a float pool nurse, flexibility is a crucial

component of success. Recently, several nurses in the float pool worked together to organize

certain areas and improve the speed of workflow, with the motto of “work smarter, not harder” at

the forefront of our decision-making. Lastly, I have a strong ability to be sympathetic towards

others especially after spending time as an ICU nurse. Due to the nature of acuity and illness,

patients and families in the ICU often face making decisions regarding end of life care; this time

can be emotionally difficult for obvious reasons. Often, ICU nurses have a unique opportunity to

give sincere, sympathetic support to those losing a loved one.

2. What life experiences have influenced the “way you think” and influenced the person

that you have become?

I was active in my youth group as a child and dedicated my life to Christ when I was in

the fourth grade. I grew up in a very loving home with a pleasant upbringing, my father is a

military man, and my mother is a nurse and teacher. Both were good at enforcing rules (which I

loved to test), I think knowing that my parents would follow through with consequences, molded

my childhood and developed the way I think today, as an adult I am very grateful for the

disciplines learned. I was always involved in team sports, so I was always taught “I am only as
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good as the team” – this is something that greatly influenced the person I am today. As an adult,

teamwork is vital in the clinical setting as it instills value in the individual but also creates a more

productive environment. Health care is so multi-faceted, and I believe that there is a greater

chance for positive outcomes when we work as a team.

3. Share how you believe you may think “differently” than others about providing care to

diverse clients (what matters to you that may not matter to others)

Diversity is what makes our country such a beautiful and interesting place to live. I

believe that every patient I meet has something to teach me about them as an individual, and I

have come to learn that when I have an open mind to others, I usually learn things about myself.

All patients have a life story that is unique to them, and unless “I have walked in their shoes” and

experienced what they have, I can never fully know what their life experiences have been. What

matters to me is that I give excellent care, one of my priorities when I walk into a patient’s room

is to greet them and their family members and try and establish trust. Gaining the trust between

caregiver and patient is probably the most important piece of breaking down walls created by of

diversity.

4. What do you think it means to “care” for others? What does it look like from a

leadership perspective, what does it look like in practice?

To me, really “caring” for others means treating them the same way I would want to be

treated. From a leadership perspective – you must give respect first, to receive respect from

others. Dr. Donald O. Clifton stated that his greatest discovery after three decades of leadership

research was: “A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter know his tools, or as a

physician knows the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that

each truly known his or her strengths – and can call on the right strength at the right time. This
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explains why there is no definitive list of characteristics that describe all leaders” (Rath &

Conchie, 2008). In the practice setting, caring for patients should include being kind to them,

helping them, and not hurting them.

5. What do you believe is the difference in person-centered care versus patient-centered

care and more importantly…how do your values and beliefs influence how you provide

this type of care?

Person-centered care is more holistic, focusing primarily on patients with chronic

diseases and disabilities and assessing the needs of the unique individual, it takes into account

the social, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs apart from the diagnosis, physical, and medical

needs. Patient-centered care focuses on the preferences, needs, and values of the patient and

that those characteristics guide the clinicians’ decisions. Patient-centered is a newer model of

care aimed at giving the patient responsibility for their health and treating them as a partner by

empowering and involving them with access to their personal health information. The goal is for

patients to remain informed through active participation (Kumar & Chattu, 2018). I believe that

patient-centered is a more proactive approach to care from the clinician and better for the

patient/family.

6. If you were given the opportunity (unlimited resources and time) to make a difference

in promoting a caring culture at your organization…what would you do?

Promoting a caring culture at my organization would include promoting the retention of

nurses. Nurse turnover is a current issue. There is evidence for the importance of psychological

empowerment in improving the job satisfaction of nurses. Exploring the impact of psychological

empowerment and job satisfaction can create a supportive and satisfying work environment for

nurses thus promoting the retention and alleviation of nurse shortages (Li et al., 2018).
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Personally, in recent years I have been frustrated at nurse staffing ratios – there is no easy answer

to such a complex problem. In a leadership position I would fight to make sure that staffing

ratios were acuity based and have appropriate limits to ensure patient safety.
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References:

Kumar, R., Chattu, V.K. (2018). What is in the name? Understanding terminologies of patient-

centered, person-centered, and patient-directed care! Journal of Family Medicine and

Primary Care, 7(3), 487-488. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_61_18

Li, H., Shi, Y., Li, Y., Xing, Z., Wang, S., Ying, J., Zhang, M., & Sun, J. (2018). Relationship

between nurse psychological empowerment and job satisfaction: A systematic review and

meta-analysis. J Adv Nurs, 74, 1264-1277. doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13549

Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths based leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why

people follow. New York, NY: Gallup Press Inc.