Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction

NURS 473 Professional Development 1 Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction through Nursing Staff Professional Development and Training Fall 2020 Janes N. Mose Nursing 473 Professional Devel 2 NURS 473 Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction through Nursing Staff Professional Development and Training 1. Introduction According to Hayward & Wilkinson (2017), there is a general shortage of nurses around the world. Therefore, the provision of training and development opportunities for the available nurses is paramount to ensuring that the service they provide is sufficient and effective (Hayward & Wilkinson, 2017). From my experience, employers do not present sufficient opportunities to nurses for career advancement and professional development purposes. This contributes to the negative perception of such programs by nursing professionals. It is important for nursing leaders and nurses to understand the role played by staff professional development and training programs in improving patient and staff satisfaction levels. This project paper will intervene by changing the negative attitudes held towards these programs by drawing a relationship between the programs, quality of healthcare, and the staff and patient satisfaction rates. A plan will be laid out for the proposed intervention, which is a professional development or training program. It will be developed and designed to gauge the effectiveness of the program as well as its role in improving the attitudes of nursing professionals towards the training and professional development programs. This project will address the relevant QSEN competency that was chosen (quality). Eventually, the plan will be implemented, and its effectiveness evaluated and reflected upon. A conclusion will then be drawn from the findings. 1. Assessment of the Problem 3 NURS 473 a. Identification of the Problem The process that led to the identification of the problem was my virtual experience as a nursing professional. From my numerous encounters with other nursing professionals, I had the opportunity to acquire some information on the attitudes that nursing professionals hold towards training and professional development programs. Most nursing professionals had negative perceptions about these programs. From these observations, I concluded that there was a need to improve staff and staff satisfaction through professional development and training programs. The general attitude towards professional development and training programs was one of the determinants of the success or effectiveness of such programs, and I noted this as an issue that needed to be addressed. b. Review of Relevant Literature From different research studies, one can tell that continuous education is important for nurses because nurses with various educational backgrounds are allowed to apply the skills and knowledge that they acquired over time for efficient nursing practice (Butterworth et al., 2017). Continuous education ensures that nurses provide safe and up-to-date patient care. However, some challenges limit the actualization of this purpose. They include inadequate time, shortage of staff, personal commitments, patient safety issues, lack of interest from the nursing staff, lack of managerial support, and lack of integration of training programs with other components of the healthcare system (Butterworth et al., 2017). The existence of such issues is a limitation to the progression of the knowledge and skills of nursing professionals via educational and training programs. According to Hayward & Wilkinson (2017), the shortage of staff is one of the main issues that needs to be addressed to 4

NURS 473 improve staff and patient satisfaction. This project aims at increasing the competency of the existing nursing staff to help them cope with such shortages. These programs will also increase employee satisfaction among the nursing professionals to help improve employee retention rates and hence prevent staff shortage. It is the role of the management to ensure that they organize strategies to address employee retention and recruitment in the institution. The management must also ensure that training and educational programs are organized for the nursing staff to ensure that they acquire sufficient skills and knowledge to increase patient and staff satisfaction. Such programs are like investments for any institution because they all require time and money for them to be actualized. However, these programs increase the employee retention rate of the institution. According to Hayward & Wilkinson (2017), an employee survey carried out by the Royal College of Nursing in 2013 found that very few respondents acknowledged that their employers provided them with enough professional development opportunities. A smaller portion of the respondents was not convinced that their employers would set time aside to provide them with professional development or educational training. The results of this survey indicate that there is a need for nursing leaders to acknowledge the need for professional development and training programs (Hayward & Wilkinson, 2017). This is because these opportunities to enhance their careers determine the employee retention rate of an institution, their career goals, expectations, and professional development needs (Hayward & Wilkinson, 2017). Creating a balance of such factors in an institution increases the chances of achieving better rates of patient and staff satisfaction. A study conducted by Scerri & Scerri (2019) concluded that training programs are efficient for improving the nursing knowledge, confidence, and attitudes at the workplace. The 5 NURS 473 success of such training programs is dependent on any pretraining programs offered and the intensity of the training programs (Scerri & Scerri, 2019). Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction

This indicates that the more training programs that a nursing professional is exposed to, the higher the chances of developing better nursing competency. This study emphasized the role that training programs have on staff outcomes. In their study, Jankowska‐Polańska & Krówczyńska (2020), found that nurses require proper education and training programs to be in a position to teach patients diagnosed with heart failure about their conditions. Teaching heart failure patients how to observe adverse conditions at home, treatments, aims, and adverse effects of medications they are taking improved patient outcomes. Better patient outcomes result in better patient and staff satisfaction rates. Therefore, this study proved the importance of professional development and training programs in the improvement of service delivery. Today, several technological developments enable the conduction of professional development and training programs on various platforms (Cheng et al., 2019). The COVID-19 situation is an example of how technology can be utilized to conduct training programs virtually. Mobile training platforms are one of the many options that exist in terms of training platforms for virtual sessions (Cheng et al., 2019). If time or location is ever a limitation, such platforms may come in handy. Professional development and training programs are more flexible and adjustable today than ever before. Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction

Therefore, this technological advantage may help tackle several limitations. Planning 1. Overview of my project proposal 6 NURS 473 My project proposal’s purpose is to address the nursing staff’s negative perceptions of continuing education by making education accessible, fun, and interesting to nurses. This project seeks to address the issue of increasing negative perceptions of continuing education among nursing professionals. The effort put in by nursing managers to help involve nursing professionals in continuing education programs has proven ineffective. Therefore, a different approach is required. The major QSEN competency to be applied is quality improvement. This project will be conducted on an online platform. The outcome measures of this project will be the percentage of patients stating improved satisfaction with their care and the number of nursing professionals participating in the new staff development and training process. The process measures will be the percentage of improved feedback from clients, the number of nurses participating in the new staff development and training process, and the number of fellow nursing professionals stating improved motivation in a survey. The balancing measures will be the hours needed to complete continuing education, the time needed to survey clients and staff, and the daily job satisfaction of fellow nursing professionals on a scale of 1-5. Various strategies or activities will be used to achieve the project’s goal and objectives, as stated in the proposal (refer to Appendix A). 2. Summary of the IHI Model of Improvement The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Model of Improvement is a framework that guides the improvement of practice. This framework is used together with other initially implemented change models that organizations may already be using to help accelerate the change process. The IHI Model for Improvement is implemented by setting goals on what the organization wants to accomplish. The change managers will then set outcome, performance, and balance measures to help determine the changes that indicate an improvement (IHI, n.d.). This 7 NURS 473 will be followed by the implementation of the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle, which enables the change managers to implement the changes and determine their effectiveness (IHI, n.d.). In case the changes made are ineffective, then the change managers will go back to the drawing board to reevaluate their goals. This cycle continues until there is an improvement, and the goals of the change process are achieved (IHI, n.d.). 3. Project Development and Design Strategies During the development and design phase of this project, three factors were considered: the reputable resources to help identify the appropriate approach for the development and implementation of the project, ethical considerations, and cultural considerations. a. Resources During the design and development phase of this project, a goal was formulated to help determine what the project was trying to accomplish. Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction

The purpose of this project was to change the staff’s negative perceptions of continuing education to make education accessible, fun, and interesting to nurses (see appendix A). This purpose was formulated from the observations and information gathered from primary and secondary sources that supported the need for changing the attitudes of the nursing professionals towards continuing education through training and professional programs. According to Balevre et al. (2018) and Butterworth et al. (2017), well planned and implemented training and professional development programs are effective in the successful implementation of change. After a purpose was selected, specific outcome, process, and balance measures were selected to determine what changes will be identified as an improvement. The primary research articles by Blood & LaFond (2016) and Ameryoun et al. (2017) were instrumental in this 8 NURS 473 process. The strategies and activities for this project were then selected. This process was supported by evidence from the study conducted by Cheng et al. (2019). This study suggested that the use of an online platform will be an effective method in the implementation of the project. These strategies and activities were tailored to the factors that affect the effectiveness of continuous education programs that were stated by Julian & Ruiz (2020). Specific sites, participants, and dates were then selected for the implementation of the project during the planning phase of the PDSA cycle. The project was then implemented using the basic knowledge about professional nursing training programs that were obtained from the publication by Berry & Smith (2018). The research was then conducted to identify relevant and reputable research articles that would help create a base for the project. Relevant evidence-based information was also gathered on ways to improve staff and patient satisfaction along with its benefits (Fukada 2018) and the challenges of the entire process (Glasper, 2018). The action part of the project was spearheaded by the benefits of a nurse’s continuous education as the article provided a good overview of the benefits of nurses Fukada (2018). According to a research study conducted by Jankowska‐Polańska & Krówczyńska (2020), nursing education provides better patient outcomes. Hayward & Wilkinson (2017) supports the improvement of job satisfaction levels and employee retention at facilities where employers organize continuous education programs for their employees. b. Ethical Considerations The key provision of the ANA Code of Ethics from the American Nurses Association (2015) that will be amplified in the project will be provision 7. It states, “The nurse, in all roles and settings, advances the profession through research and scholarly inquiry, professional standards development, and the generation of both nursing and health policy” (ANA, 2015). This 9 NURS 473 provision states that it is the responsibility of nurses to advance their profession through active involvement in various activities in nursing and healthcare. Faking up an active role in leadership, mentoring fellow nurses, and volunteering to serve in committees that exist in the workplace. Nurses may also take part in civic activities such as initiatives that aim at improving the lives and service provision to different people (Nursing World, 2010). Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction

Nurses are also tasked with the responsibility of implementing, maintaing and developing professional standards that exist in education, clinical practices, or in the administration of healthcare facilities (Nursing World, 2010). Nurses are also expected to advance their education as a way of helping improve the experiences of other healthcare professionals and their clients. c. Cultural Considerations It is the responsibility of nurses to be considerate of the culture of their clients, colleagues, and their environment. In this case, the culture of the participants of the project will be considered. The achievement of cultural competency will facilitate the success of the project through the achievement of the project’s objectives. Additionally, the nurses will be trained on how to be culturally sensitive at the workplace because cultural competency affects their nursing practice. Cultural sensitivity can facilitate quality improvement (Burke, n.d.). Nursing professionals are also expected to adhere to the workplace culture, which are set regulations that help guide the interactions between and among different nursing professionals at the workplace. The entire project will be based on the workplace policies of the participants of this project. None of the participants will have to go against their workplace policy when they take part in this project. 4. QSEN Competency: Quality Improvement 10 NURS 473 According to the QSEN Institute (2013), quality improvement is “using data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and using improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems.” This project promotes quality improvement competency in terms of attitudes. The project will promote quality improvement by helping the nursing professionals appreciate the role that continuous education plays in their daily healthcare practice (QSEN Institute 2013). The project will also help the participants value the role of ethics in quality improvement. The nursing professional participants will also appreciate the effort of teams and individuals towards the improvement of care (QSEN Institute, 2013). Envisioning Implementation 1. Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction

Strategies to Implement the Project To address the issue of increasing negative perceptions of continuing education among nursing professionals, the following strategies were implemented: The conduction of research to identify reputable primary and secondary articles, the identification of research articles that were relevant to the study, an evaluation survey was conducted to help spread the word and determine the opinions of nursing personnel on the study that was about to be conducted, the conduction of a pre-training survey, the development of a suitable training program, educating the participants of the study, implementation of the training program, a post-training survey, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program, and the conduction of follow-up training programs were developed. 11 NURS 473 2. Facilitators that made the Project Work The facilitators that contributed to this project were categorized as internal and external facilitators. The internal facilitators were the nursing professionals, the patients, and other healthcare professionals. The nursing professionals were directly involved in the research study because they were the demographic that was studied. Some nursing professionals also took part in the development and implementation of the training program for this research study. The patients were also involved directly because patient outcomes were used to determine an improvement in the services offered by nurses. Other healthcare professionals allowed the conduction of this research study by filling in for the nurses who participated in this study. The external facilitators for this research study were hospital management and other hospital staff. The hospital management granted permission for the conduction of the research study. This was an important part of the ethical section of the research. The other hospital staff accommodated the entire training program in the hospital. 3. Actual or Perceived Barriers or Challenges during Project Implementation and Strategies to Overcome them The biggest challenge encountered during the implementation of the project was difficulty in finding nurses who were willing to participate in the research study. Another challenge was the dropout rate of the nurses during the training program. These challenges can be overcome by the inclusion of rewards or incentives e.g. credit hours, nurse recognitions, and promotions, when recruiting participants and during the program implementation. This strategy is effective because it will encourage nursing professionals to volunteer as participants. It will also come in handy when conducting other surveys because of the pleasant experience provided by the previous research study to be experienced by everyone. 12 NURS 473 Evaluation The aims and measures of this project will be evaluated by the conduction of a posttraining survey. Both nursing professionals and patients will take an active role in this survey. Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction

Additionally, some of the other healthcare professionals will be involved to help determine any positive changes in the experience of working with the nurses after they underwent the training program. The data collected during this survey will help determine the percentage of patients who experience improved satisfaction, the number of nursing professionals that are willing to participate in training and development processes, and increased motivation among the nursing professionals. The IHI Model of Improvement PDSA framework informed this project by guiding how to improve practice (IHI, n.d.). This change model provided sufficient theoretical background that helped implement change in the nursing professionals’ attitudes towards training and development programs. Through the IHI Model of Improvement, the goals for this project were set. This helped us determine what we wanted to accomplish. We also set outcome, performance, and balance measures that helped determine the changes in the attitudes of the nursing professionals (IHI, n.d.). The PDSA cycle helped … Improving Patient and Staff Satisfaction